Starting A Business Online: 5 Common Myths Debunked

This post is for those of you who are thinking about starting a business online or have started and feel stuck.

Have you been signing up for several opt-ins, checklists and freebies looking for that magic bullet?

Do posts of people living their “dream lives” constantly fill your social media feeds?

You may have even paid thousands of dollars on online courses believing that you can become an overnight sensation.

Many entrepreneurs spruik starting a business online as easy.

That anyone who has an internet connection and access to a laptop, can start a business online.

This post looks to debunk 5 common myths about starting a business online.

 

5 Common Myths Of Starting A Business Online

 

Myth #1 – You can become an overnight sensation

FACT: There is no such thing as an overnight sensation.

You will find that many successful online entrepreneurs, took a few years to become “overnight sensations”.

Many successful online entrepreneurs, such as Amy Porterfield and Stu McLaren will openly talk about their entrepreneurial journey.

The mistakes that they made, and the lessons that they needed to learn in order to become successful.

All things that every person starting a business online for the first time can relate to.

 

Myth #2 – All you need is a laptop and an internet connection

FACT: Your new website will not appear on the first page on Google on Day 1.

Last year, Google reported that there was over 5.2 million new websites created.

That works out to be approximately 380 new websites, EVERY SINGLE MINUTE.

When you think about it, that is totally insane.

So, with those numbers in mind, it is easier to understand why you will not appear on the first page of a Google search when you hit publish.

There are a number of things that go into making your post or website appear on the first page of google.

They include:-

• Your on-page SEO. (HINT – download the Yoast plug-in to help make this an easy win)
• Ensuring that you are using searchable long-tail keywords in your blog posts
• Writing more content – the more frequent you are blogging, the more content that you are producing
• Writing lengthy content e.g. substantial blog posts as opposed to a couple of hundred words

 

Myth #3 –  You Can Get Away With Not Being On Social Media

FACT: To be successful in the online business world, you need to have some kind of social media presence.

Regardless of whatever type of business that you run – whether it be a bricks and mortar store or an online business – social media needs to be a part of your marketing strategy.

Social media platforms, such as FaceBook, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest – have the ability to help you to create connections with your current (and future) customers.

Social media will help you to:-

• Build awareness – it is an easy way to become more visible with your new and exiting customers
• Be authentic – people want to have a connection with those that they want to buy from. By giving them even a little insight as to who you are, it allows people to see your “human” side
• Demonstrate authority – gives businesses the ability to demonstrate or show your authority in their particular field
• Provide support to your customers – social media increase the real time connectivity between your business and your customers – feedback, online support and customer care are all becoming increasingly important to the offering to customers by businesses
• Grow your business – regardless of the size of your budget, there is room for everyone to grow their potential audiences and increase their customer base.

 

Myth #4 – Anyone can start a business

FACT: This may or may not be a myth. Anyone can start a business – if they have the right mindset.

Starting a business online is not brain surgery, but it is hard work.

Entrepreneurs need to have a growth mindset.

This means that they need to have the ability to be able to learn from their mistakes.

To be able to adapt and tweak what is not working well.

For those people who believe that they do not have the ability to learn and grow – starting a business online is not for you.

Starting and running your own business will create a number of situations that may trigger a fixed mindset that you need to be aware of.

These situations include:-

• Situations where you need to put in a huge amount of effort
• Times where you are challenged and feel yourself outside your comfort zone
• Situations when you got given feedback
• Scenarios where you compare yourself to others

 

If you are able to manage these scenarios, and learn from these situations, then it will put you in good stead to be successful.

 

Myth #5 – Everyone who starts a business will be successful

FACT: 90% on online businesses will fail.

Competition in the online business space is very high.

Due to the fact that it is so easy to enter into the online business world, it will lead to higher failure rates.

There are a number of factors that contribute to this failure rate, that are easy to fix.

They include:-

• Not understanding basic business principles. A profitable business is based on the concept of supply and demand. If you are offering a product or service that is in high supply, you need to ensure that you have priced it accordingly
• Not understanding who your customers or niche is – if you don’t know who your customers are, how can you create a product or service for them that will sell
• Lack of business goals. Saying that you want to make money online and not having specific goals in mind will not help you to be successful. Setting your business goals – and making them realistic and achievable will put stepping stones in place for your business.
• Not being willing to learn – the online business world is constantly evolving and changing. A new business owner needs to understand what the current trends are, and as they change, learn how to keep up with the changes.

So there you have it, 5 common myths, and the truth about starting an online business.

Starting a business online is a rewarding, challenging experience that will keep you on your toes.

With the right mindset, and systems in place, it is is not brain surgery, but more a combination of hard work and persistence.

If you are thinking of starting your own online business, and want a step-by-step guide, check out Business Basics.