“Will running my business ever get easier?” asked Patience, a new business owner of 6 months.
“It seems I can’t work long enough hours to get everything done!” she lamented during her initial coaching orientation.
This feeling is one of the most common complaints business owners face. And it seems even more intensified when they’re running an Internet business.
The entrepreneurs who have a detailed, accurate vision of what their Internet business will look like once it gets launched are usually in it for the long haul. But every once and a while, these business owners have a moment of weakness. A moment where they wistfully think back to the days when life was much more simple. Back to when they worked for someone else and knew where their paycheck was coming from.
What can Internet entrepreneurs do to get through the beginning stages of small business ownership? Lets explore this through an analogy I used to help Patience and countless clients who completed the Small Business Big Profits TeleCourse I teach.
Make It More Tangible.
If you compare each step of developing your Internet business to building an actual, brick-and-mortar building, you’ll walk away with fresh understanding of all that’s involved. Think as if you were building your business in the “real” world and plan that way. When you do, you’ll know how much time needs to be reserved to lay the proper foundation in the cyber world.
The most important component of building an Internet business is similar to building a physical store or home. Have a blueprint before you break ground. Always know where you are in the process of turning the blueprint into a reality.
Setting up your infrastructure and systems for your Internet business is just like laying the foundation for an actual building. To be successful in your venture, you must have the systems for running the actual business in place before your walls are built and the shelves are stocked.
Systems such as your product production and delivery methods, Web site, logo, sales copy, marketing materials, customer service procedures — all designed to get people clamoring to your store to see what the buzz is all about.
Think of each brick as a critical component. Laying it properly along with the other bricks ensures your business will be around for a long time to come. Just like building a store in your community, the foundation and framing takes quite a bit of time. It may seem like “forever” until you actually see progress being made.
But once the walls go up and the painting begins, you gain hope. Finally you’re able to begin decorating to attract people to your store, encouraging them to stay a while.
This is when the fun begins! You gain momentum as you stock your shelves with delicacies clients enjoy. Finally, you’ll be able to put your OPEN sign on your door. The line of eager clients can now come on in and shop.
Every time I share this analogy, people develop an entirely new perspective on how they view their start up companies. This shift motivates them to continue on, even during the darkest days.
”’Deborah Cole Micek is a Business Coach and Growth Strategist with RPM Success Group, Inc. and facilitator of the new TeleCourse “Small Business, BIG Profits” — the complete manual of low-cost, hi-impact marketing. She can be reached at:”’ mailto:Deb@RPMsuccess.com ”’or toll free at 888-334-8151. See the company’s Web site at:”’ http:www.RPMsuccess.com