The two commodities of business are TIME and MONEY, and to succeed we strive to get the most money out of our TIME. One of the reasons that people will go into business for them selves, is that they see the opportunity to get greater financial rewards for their effort. If you work at Second Cup as an employee, you get an hourly rate. If you are the owner, your earnings can grow based on how well you grow the business.
When we begin the journey of “Self Employed” , we dream of our great financial success. We see ourselves sitting on the sandy beaches of Bora Bora, sipping margaritas, while the business that we envisioned is being managed by highly dedicated staff, who are so excited that they are building our empire so we can have the time to bask in the sun.
(pretend you hear record scratching sound)
If this is what you are visioning, then I recommend either getting a salaried or hourly paying job or changing your vision.
Success takes sustained and dedicated effort. If you speak to anyone you will see that for the first three to five years, they ate, slept, and breathed their business. Every waking moment was dedicated to its growth. Yes you will meet or read about some of those people that made millions in a month, but they are few and far between. You will also find that the people that make it instantly spend it instantly too. If you didn’t earn it you won’t value it.
For those that are getting into blogging for money making purposes, again, keep in mind that just because there are financially successful bloggers out there, it does not mean that you can go to Blogger or MySpace, set up a blog, write one post saying “Hi my name is Farley” , and suddenly make a million dollars. It takes hard work.
A few tips when you begin your journey to success.
* Realize that success is a long journey. For most businesses it takes 3-5 years to realize a profit. Successful Bloggers have said that it took at least six months before they started getting solid awareness of their blog, and another year and a half until they were able to really monetize it.
* Have a game plan. You don’t need a 10 page business plan, but you will benefit from a one page strategy, so you can constantly review where you are and where you are going.
* Especially in the beginning treat this as a job. Set hours and stick to them. You can’t succeed on “an hour here, an hour there attitude” .
* Let supportive friends know what your goals are. They will hold you to it and push you on.
* Reward the steps. It will be a while until you reach your goal, but recognizing the steps along the way will make it easier, to continue. If you are going to build a blog, then once you have set it up and put in your first post, celebrate. Pour yourself a glass of wine and toast to you effort.
If all you visualize is drinking on the beach you will spend your life as an employee.
If you visualize an unstoppable drive towards success you will end up sipping margaritas on the sandy beaches of Bora Bora.
