Do you need an online business plan and how do you go about creating one? Without planning, you have little chance of success so let's look at some ideas.
Time management and planning
Running an online business takes time.
You must allow for adequate planning to ensure you can cover all the necessary parts of the business and what you need to do.
Allow time everyday to do the things that must be done.
It is important that you allocate blocks of time to concentrate your energies into producing the necessary material.
Therefore it is very easy to put things off and no better exponent of that than me. I have had to follow the rules to stay focussed.
Goal setting for your online business
No ship sets sail without a destination, no plane takes to the air without a flight plan and your business is no different, you can not wallow at sea without a plan.
The plan starts as an annual written objective and then gets broken down into months and days.
However, you should remember it is a plan and it is not a contract or deed. Stuff happens so sometimes we need to happen with it.
We can catch up, fall behind and even change direction if the circumstances require it as long as the line heads to the chosen result.
I have a blog and the plan is 250 posts a year with a total of about 375,000 words.
That is about 21 posts a month or about 4 a week. A tall order when it is part-time so I have to be organised.
What do you want to achieve?
Be realistic in your choice and break it down so you will have a chance of success.
If you want to be the best food blogger in the country it is not achievable in 12 months unless you have a really big brand following or similar.
But you may aim for 2,500 followers by the end of the year and advertising revenue of $500 a month.
This can then be broken down into bite-sized chunks that are far easier to digest.
On day one, a mass of followers seems like a huge leap in faith that is hardly achievable.
In the early months, you may get a bit disillusioned because you are still running uphill and the going is hard and the end a long way off.
Coming home is often downhill so the pace picks up and the results grow faster.
My old dad had a favourite saying that said “never make a decision when running uphill” and as a runner and businessman, this really makes a lot of sense to me.
Fear of the unknown in planning
Still today we try and improve things by trying out new ideas and implementing new procedures that take us from our comfort zone.
This will happen to you and instead of throwing your hands in the air you should battle through the changes and come out victorious.
It often seems daunting when these are thrown at you and you fail on your first walkthrough.
it happens and we just need to think, google or take advice from somewhere like the member's forum at Wealthy Affiliate.
I have had trouble with a Social Media Plugin on my WordPress site, many of them slow the mobile feed down so it has been trial and error but I am still not happy.
Mobile phones are the search engine's first factor now so writing for them and using appropriate material is necessary. I tried several headers before I found one that maintained a high mobile open rate.
Take enough time to achieve a result
Nothing much is achieved in a day nor in a short burst of energy.
I know that I write slowly so I must allow sufficient time in a day to achieve the results I want. If a Blog takes 4 hours or even six I must program that effort into a day otherwise it will never get done but we have a priority board for those things that matter.
My priority board starts with clearing emails and tasks before I choose the one action that will make me money for the day. It might be an email, a phone call or another assignment from which I can hopefully obtain some traction
Don't over-train, overdo
This is an important heading that will impact your output and compete with your time. We all like to do the training, of course, it is necessary but leave it till non-productive times.
When you can do productive work do it. We all need to train but it is not a substitute for effort.
The shiny object syndrome has you seeking new and better opportunities but is taking you away from the applied effort.
Beware the scammers with the no experience needed type headings.
Just 10 minutes per day to earn $5000 a week, I did this in just half an hour you can too. Make money without a website and on and on.
You will make money by doing, not talking about it or even wishful thinking.
An Online business plan is about you.
.
Don't compare your work with others
When we start writing you will be part of a group or forum belonging to a niche you follow. Wealthy Affiliate Group Chat is an ideal venue to find out what others are doing in comparison to yourself.
There will be better writers than you, those with greater ideas and some with a lot more posts than you.
However, you will not know the amount of effort or training they have been exposed to. Time makes a difference and you are not in a race with others. Your race is with your planning and goals and that is the only comparison you can make.
At Wealthy Affiliate, some of us have a 12-month challenge to build a successful business making affiliate income. Note that I said 12 months it is not a quick fix plan but a dedicated and consistent approach to a target.
The 50 or so people selected are achieving on different levels depending on other commitments. However, we are nearly all rigidly fixed on our own result.
Others have written more than me, I envy some of the writing and some, unfortunately, have given up.
Your efforts are your measure against your very own online business plan.
Don't shift the blame
This is one of life's best games. Everyone else is responsible for my actions.
My work life is too busy, my partner does not understand me, the kids are in the way, I had to visit my parents.
We can always find someone else to bear the responsibility for our failings.
However, do you know what? We are solely responsible for ourselves. You can divide your 24 hours up anyway you want and use it to your best ability.
I am an early starter usually at my desk by 5 am so at 8 am I have a good three hours of work behind me.
Others work better in the wee small hours of the morning and then sleep in.
Your allocation of hours is important. Yes, you need partner time, kid time, exercise time and even to eat occasionally.
I asked a friend of mine the other day about a project he needed to complete. his answer was that he did not have time because the wife had been on his back, I said so it is her fault then and he wisely nodded in agreement.
Shifting the blame is a great game that can be really contagious. The more often you practice it the better you get until you have no faults at all.
You may see it in others but don't be the victim yourself in making the feeble excuses and repeating it's not my fault.
How is your online business plan working?
Let's recap a little here and have a look at where we have come from.
- We have a plan and know where we are going.
- The timeline is penciled in and achievable.
- Cash Flow has been considered and projected forward.
- The fear of the unknown is a challenge we will face.
- The work product is a commitment to which we shall adhere.
- Our work is our own work and we shall not compare.
- Our result depends on our effort and we shall not lay blame on others.
Conclusion
We are all guilty of a fault, none of us wears the perfect badge of life but we learn to live with it and use our time and effort to the best of our ability.
However, you can do a lot better than your worst and often get miraculously close to your best. It is up to you and no one else so seize the opportunity and run as fast as you can to the finish line.
Peter Hanley is a full-time blogger on business matters and runs a normal daily business as well. With a background in marketing and small business
achievements I really hope some of my insights may help you to achieve your goals in life
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