Making money has become a huge dream for many people. The coronavirus has taught us that the internet is not just a place we cool off at the end of the day, but also a place where we can work and make more money than we ever thought possible.
Many people are becoming freelancers, others starting YouTube channels while others are still pondering the idea. If you have already taken the first step, you may have been wondering why this “make money online” thing is not working for me. “Perhaps it just doesn’t work”. “Maybe it’s a scam”. But deep down, you know it works. You have seen people make some full-time income from spending only a few hours a week on their laptops yet make what you make in a year in just 3 months.
The internet is perhaps responsible for the most millionaires of our time. So, why isn’t it working for you?
In this article, we explore why the internet economy doesn’t seem friendly to you and what you can do to better your chances of success. The internet is full of opportunities and it is about time you learned the right way to get a real online business running.
Making Money is Not For Everyone
Before we get into the reasons why you may not be seeing success online, it is perhaps best to make it clear that the internet economy is not for everyone. Many people have equally become successful without building an internet asset or business. Just like being a teacher is not for everyone and being a lawyer doesn’t appeal to everyone, it is possible that you do not have interest enough or a reason to make this happen. And that is okay. Now that you are free to forget about making money online, if you are still interested, read on.
The internet is full of opportunities and mainly appeals to people who are passionate, want freedom, willing to work for their dreams and to make things happen. Internet entrepreneurs not only want to make some extra money on the side, but they also want something that their family can inherit. They want something that would allow them to retire early and yet want to continue working for the joy of it. If this is you, and you love the internet, this might just be for you.
Let’s look at why the majority of people fail at online businesses.
What Is The Biggest Reason Why People Fail To Make Money Online?
1. Thought It Was a Get Rich Quick Scheme
One of the main things that make the internet attractive is that you can make money almost instantly. Or so you have been told. While it is true that you can make money in an instant and while you sleep, the space is polluted with so many “half-truths”. You will find that you are often sold the good side.
In some cases, you get attracted by the shiny object syndrome forgetting that it doesn’t take a day to make a million anywhere. It may be manifested in a single day, but the actual gains have been made over months and even years of hard work.
There is no get rich quick scheme and the internet rewards those who work hard, apply the right strategies and provide real value. If you have what it takes to do this, then you have no need to worry, you are on the right path.
2. Lack of Understanding of How Things Work
It is often said that compound interest is the 8th wonder of the world. I think Einstein made that statement. Most people who want to make money online do not understand what it takes to succeed.
Understanding how things work is such an asset that you can only gain from experience or taking programs from experts. Even experts cannot teach you everything. And you would have to find out the real insights with your hands dirty. Unfortunately, most people do not have the patience and mindset to give their online businesses time and commitment.
When you start an online business, it is practical to leave a few months or even a year to learn, grow, understand what it takes to succeed. Do this before you think of making money. But before you get started, make sure that it is a profitable niche or idea. That is always important.
3. Trying to do Everything By Yourself
If you have started any business, you would realize that you need help to grow a successful business or brand. It doesn’t matter whether it is an online business or an offline one. You need extra hands.
The scale of the business and the rate of growth also determine how to approach hiring people. But most people never hire anyone. The truth is that you can run on your own if you are just starting out and do not want to grow very fast.
But in a case where you want to grow fast, do not have the knowledge, and neither the skills to do what is necessary, there is no need for prophecy to know that failure is almost inevitable. Running an online business requires a lot such as content, strategists, and more.
Paying a coach or consultant will help you. Hiring a specialist to get the job done will increase your revenue. That is how businesses run at scale. If you want to go far and fast, start thinking about building a team around your business.
4. No Commitment to Learning
The internet 10 years ago is not the internet in 2022. A lot of things have changed. And TikTok was not even a thing then. The idea here is that the internet is an ever-evolving place. Also, people are constantly changing their habits based on trends, new studies, and more. Creating lasting solutions means being able to understand your customers or your audience.
Another important reason to commit to learning is that no one knows all about the internet. Even Google is constantly running tests to understand things. There is a lot that if you knew, your business could skyrocket. It may be in the pages of a book, in the lessons of a course, or in the brain of a coach.
5. Lack of Skills and Knowledge
Making money is one of the main motivations for looking to build an online business. What most people have not been taught is that it takes skills not qualifications to make money online. You cannot post your resume on the internet and make money. You may get a job. But that would be an online business.
If you want to make money online, you need skills, hard and soft. Skills like writing, content creation, social media marketing, are the building blocks of successful businesses today. Invest in your growth and development and make sure what you learn is what you can do. One of the best ways to do that is to implement things as you learn them in real-time. The ideas are far more likely to stick and you get real-time feedback on your skill level.
6. Banking on Hope for Results
On the internet, there is no hope. Or maybe there is. You can hope your content will go viral. But you cannot hope that your business will make sales and meet targets. To get results, you will have to consciously work for it.
That includes knowing what works and what does not work. It includes being able to test ideas. When you start an online business, one of the biggest challenges will be that it is lonely and that there is no one to hold you accountable. Whether you record a video or not, no one cares.
Whether you write an article for your blog or not, no one checks. It is all up to get things done. And that is where most people fail: They cannot be accountable to themselves.
7. Lack of Focus and Shining Object Syndrome
There are probably a thousand ideas on how to make money on the internet. Do you possibly think you can do all of them? If not, then why do you move from one idea to the next and never quite commit to one? If you believe in an idea, there is no reason to sidestep it for another shiny object.
Jumping from one idea to the next shows a lack of commitment. But on a deeper level, it shows that you do not understand the business and the potential it holds. It is as simple as Jeff Bezos sticking with Amazon for decades. Like him, many entrepreneurs have stuck with their ideas long enough to break the rules. But how can you break the rules and succeed if you keep moving from one idea to the next?
Remember, you need to spend 10,000 hours according to the 10,000-hour rule. You can only quit after 10,001 hours of failure. And that’s long enough to not succeed.
8. Stuck on Analysis Paralysis
Analysis Paralysis is real and most people start (in their heads) and end up giving up even before doing a single thing. They spend more time analyzing a thousand steps instead of figuring out the next step and taking it. The internet is full of information and anyone can get drowned in it easily.
The best way to start an online business is to speak to an expert or someone making money in that niche. If you like what you hear, spend some time doing your own research partly to validate what they say and also to create your strategy. Then simply start taking steps.
There will always be new things, new ideas, various computations to analyze, but if you follow them, you do so at the risk of never getting ahead.
9. You Follow Gimmicks
The internet is full of fads, trends, and things that seem to engulf everyone. Such trends can quickly invite lots of people to explore the business opportunity. Interestingly, most of such people do not make money. If you have fallen for such a trend, it may be that you didn’t understand the business.
10. You Don’t See It as a Business
Internet business is a business. Get it? Right.
How Can You Make Money Online
Value. You only get paid online if you give value. It doesn’t matter whether your audience directly pays you or a platform pays you. You need to be valuable to people before you can make any lasting income online.
YouTube channels do this by making high-quality entertaining and informative videos. Virtual assistants do this by providing high-quality service to clients. Bloggers write good content that people want to read. So, how do you provide value?
1. Build Your Skills
Skills will help you build the online business of your dreams. Your niche and what you do will determine the skills you need. But on an almost universal level, you will need marketing skills as an online business owner. Creating content is one of the most important activities on the internet. It should be a key skill on your list of skills to learn.
2. Always Be Learning
No one knows it all and things are always changing. Building your ability to learn and act fast will put you ahead of your competitors.
3. Make Time: Be Committed
An online business is also a business. Treat it as you would treat a traditional or brick-and-mortar business. Be committed to it and have a schedule that you follow religiously. Consistency will pay you more than any skill can.
4. Don’t Be Greedy!
Most people think “If I give them my ideas for free, they won’t pay me”. If that is true, why do most experts give free advice yet get paid a high ticket for their services? It is possible to be generous and still make money. Being generous with what you know online in the form of content will get you more clients and money than you could imagine. Even land you clients you never imagined. Keep sharing value.
Conclusion
While no one is cut out from birth to be good at online business, no one is also cut for it. Building a business involves various moving parts involving skills and knowledge. If you want to make it work, build the capacity and make it work.
