In today´s digital world, where traditional employment is becoming increasingly much insecure, taking personal responsibility for your income is more important than ever. What could be a better opportunity than to unleash and to use your creativity by starting your personal online business? By doing so, you are not only proactive and responsible for your income and life, but also have the opportunity to make use of ALL the creative potential within you, and ALL of your skills.

Here are a few useful tips for creating and starting your online business:

1. Determine your goals and values. 

Before starting, make sure to know what your goals and values are. While making money is important for survival, living and working a purposeful life is in fact more important. At least, do determine what you are not willing to do to reach your goals! This often includes shutting out certain activities, or even complete industries, while working on your goal(s) and sticking to your life values. If you have a special niche that you are interested in, do not be afraid of going after your dreams! After all, we live only once and following your passion may be more important than having a secure paycheck once a month. And, what could be better than creating a (secure) income by sticking to your values and following your passion?

2. Start small, but dream BIG! 

What most people are afraid of, is to think too big. Make sure to be an exception to the rule! Dare to dream big, and do not let naysayers talk you out of your goals. Or, even better, do not even involve naysayers. Shut them out, involve people who support you, and be prepared to put all your focus upon believing in yourself and your vision. Some entrepreneurs say that if you have a plan B, you do not believe enough in your idea/in yourself/in your capability to execute your great ideas into action, and reality. Not everyone can “jump off” the cliff and become 100% entrepreneurs at once. If that is the case for you, start small and build your business as a hobby or as a second income beside your full-time job. Just make sure that your current employer/contract allows for any outside activities and check that what you do is legal. Planning is an essential part of entrepreneurship: many entrepreneurs fail at this, which is why it is so important to have a three-year, or even a five-year-plan. Both long-term and short-term planning are essential for business success. Focusing upon your daily, weekly, and monthly activities is as important as focusing upon where you want to be in three, five, or ten years from now.

3. Determine your WHY

Determine your why for being in business. If you do not know why you are in the business you are, you will be trampled down by competition in zero time. Be inspired, passionate, and have a clear purpose for what you do. In addition to knowing your why, make sure to know your where, and to whom: segmentation is an essential aspect of any business, whether you are operating online or offline. Without knowing your why, where, and to whom, you will be segmenting your business to basically everyone. Needless to say, not everyone will be your customer: at least not a loyal/paying customer, so segmentation can save you a lot of effort, money, and time.

4. Create your website on WordPress.com

Depending upon the type of online business, you do not necessarily need a business website. If you are for instance trading the stock market, there is no need for a personal/business website. However, creating a business/personal website for instance on the world´s most used platform WordPress is completely free of charge. WordPress is not only the most commonly used website worldwide, but also one of the most visited. You can choose between several different options, starting with a completely free-of-charge version and upgrading to a business version where you can easily not only monetize your website in a number of ways but also connect it to all your other social media sites, such as Twitter, and improve your overall web traffic including search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO).

5.  Focus, focus, focus!

Never ever be afraid of making mistakes. We all make mistakes, all the time! After all, what would life be without mistakes? Just make sure not to get stuck with your mistakes, as long as what you do is legal. Be brave enough to experiment, but also remember to keep your focus on your goal(s). Find people to collaborate with, or at least be generous with your (online) networks. There is no such thing as a self-made entrepreneur or person, because we all do depend upon other people and external events. Even if you are working completely alone, you are always dependent upon the outside world. Give credit to people around you, especially to those who do deserve it. Be thankful for all the lessons you learn through your experiences. The hardest lessons in life and business are the most valuable ones. Do not let them hinder you from focusing upon your goals, and from striving forward and making your business and life a success.   

Make sure not to miss this opportunity!

If you personally are/your business is on social media, you simply cannot afford not being present on Twitter Inc., which has been among the top 10 most visited websites for years already. In fact, there is not one business in the world that could not benefit from being on social media!

In Twitter Branding & Marketing 2018 you will learn how to become a Twitter Power-User, including the many benefits of your business being on Twitter. Don´t miss the opportunity to download my FREE OF CHARGE, step-by-step guide to becoming a Twitter Power-User! Make sure to share my personal Twitter tips with friends, family & your networks too. Yours sincerely, Anne-Maria Yritys

Simply click on the following link to access and to download Twitter Branding & Marketing 2018:

Twitter Branding & Marketing 2018

Connect with me on Twitter @annemariayritys. For climate/environment-related posts only @GCCThinkActTank. Subscribe to Leading With Passion to receive my latest posts.