10 Typical Mistakes When Starting an Online Business & How to Avoid Them!
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| Image by Priya Muduli from Pixabay |
Hanifmr.com - Starting an online business is a tempting opportunity for many to make money these days, but it also makes many mistakes that don't have to be.
Therefore, only part of it becomes successful and by “successful” I don't even mean rich. You should be able to live off it and exist for more than 6 months. :-)
Regardless of whether you are offering a service, opening an online shop, starting a blog, offering a service, or building another type of online business, you should avoid these 10 mistakes when starting.
10 Typical Mistakes When Starting an Online Business
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| 10 Typical Mistakes When Starting an Online Business & How to Avoid Them! |
Regardless of whether you start unemployed, after your studies, or simply because you would rather work for yourself than for someone else, I keep observing these 10 typical mistakes.
And unfortunately, these mistakes are made over and over again. These are relatively easy to avoid and you will find out how below.
Mistake 1: "I Have So Many Good Ideas"
Ideas are all well and good and without ideas, it will be difficult to start an online business, but ideas in themselves are initially worthless because only the implementation of an idea counts!
Many online business ideas never become reality because the founders have a new idea or are happy that they have so many great ideas in the first place.
It's about implementation! Only then do you have a chance of success?
Mistake 2: "I Fell in Love with My Idea"
Internet founders often talk about their babies. They mean their online business. And it's not bad that you put your heart and soul into it, but this is not about you. It's about your customers. You don't have to like the idea (only), it has to please people out there.
That is why it is important to do market research and find out whether there is a target group for your online business. If you only ask your girlfriend/boyfriend, you shouldn't be surprised if you end up with no customers and no income.
Mistake 3: "People Will Like This"
Of course, many companies develop a product and then push it onto the market with all their marketing power. However, it is much easier and more promising if you satisfy a real need in the target group with your idea.
What problems does your target group have and what has been scolded about for a long time? What problem would you like to spend money on?
These are often the very best starting points for successful online business ideas that meet an existing need. Then you don't have to “sell” anything to this target group, just show them that you have the solution to their problem.
Mistake 4: "I'll Do It Just Like XY"
This is common practice offline. For example, you see a flourishing business in a neighboring town and then open one in your town.
It's a little different on the Internet. Simply copying an existing online business is not enough. Of course, you can take an existing one as a model, but you should always make sure that you do something not only different but also better.
The competition is much closer online and the location advantages of offline business are no longer important on the Internet. That's why you should always go one step further than the others.
With my board game blog, I started a topic area in 2017 where there were already a lot of websites and blogs. Nevertheless, it developed very well because I tried to make certain things even better and different things to be able to offer something special.
Mistake 5: "I Have to Plan Everything Carefully First"
I admit I am also someone who plans too long. I want to start with a well-rounded concept and not one that still causes problems in all areas or is unclear.
Still, you shouldn't wait too long. The Internet in particular offers the opportunity to start quickly with a beta version and to test how the market reacts to it.
If you want to start a perfect online business, it not only costs a lot of money and time, you also only realize too late if this concept is not accepted. It is better to start faster and get feedback quickly to adapt it to customer requirements.
For example, I started my new website Video Camera & Streaming Studio after a short planning phase, because every week counts to be successful and you still learn and change a lot “on the go” anyway.
But of course, it is also wrong to start without any planning. Market research, competitor analysis, etc. should take place so that you have a solid base.
Mistake 6: "My Product is So Good, It Sells by Itself."
This is a typical mistake made by many self-employed people and I keep coming across this view on the Internet. No matter how good your online business is, if nobody knows about it, it will not be successful either!
Maybe it's because of many associate negative things with advertising and marketing. The point here is not at all to throw any kind of garbage on people. It's about making your own online business known. And there are many possibilities on the Internet.
Mistake 7: "I'm Just Running a Few Ads"
As already said, there are many ways to make your own online business better known on the Internet. But many founders want to work with offline marketing methods and that is often not the right way.
Promoting an online business with classic print ads is usually unsuccessful. Instead, one should look at the possibilities of the internet and realize, for example, that most of the visitors these days come from Google. Many customers also come via social networks such as Facebook.
So you should invest your money in the right marketing channels and measures (e.g. on-page SEO) and test a lot. Not everyone has to go through this expensive learning process. :-)
However, it would also be wrong not to take any money in hand.
Mistake 8: "I Give My Online Business 30 Days"
You don't become successful overnight! The mere fact that a new website on Google initially takes a long time (6 months or more) to be displayed in an appropriate position shows that perseverance is required.
In contrast to offline business, where you can perhaps rent a shop in a busy street, you first have to “lay” these streets yourself on the Internet. This means that you have to take care of SEO and provide backlinks, although you can also attract customers at short notice with Google Ads, for example, which costs money.
Therefore it is certainly not bad to start an internet business as a part-time job, because the start-up times are often longer than an offline business.
In any case, perseverance is one of the biggest differences between successful and unsuccessful online founders. You shouldn't let every problem immediately throw you off track and stick with it.
Mistake 9: "I'll Do It All Myself"
Of course, you want to save money at the beginning. That is why many start their online business all by themselves and do everything themselves. But it doesn't save you money. Because, on the one hand, a lot of things just take longer if you do it yourself and, on the other hand, you simply won't do a lot as well as an expert.
That is why you should look at which points you can enter into collaborations and which activities you prefer to have specialists do. This also includes, for example, buying a good specialist book instead of just looking up some information on the Internet in a very time-consuming and incomplete manner.
Even with special topics such as online marketing or search engine optimization, if in doubt, it is better to fall back on the know-how of others. This means you have expenses, but you usually get customers/visitors faster and earn more money.
Mistake 10: "I'm going to do this exactly as planned"
The last mistake listed here is also often made. You are too inflexible and so convinced of your idea that you blame the customer if things don't go as desired.
Sentences like “The customers just don't appreciate quality anymore” or “The customers are just stingy” may be partly true, but mostly these are just lazy excuses in order not to have to deal critically with one's offer.
Needs and corresponding target groups abound, even today. You just have to be flexible enough and approach customers.
More Typical Mistakes?!
Many mistakes can be made when starting an online business. That's why you should think about it a little beforehand but also learn from your mistakes.
What experiences have you had and are other mistakes missing in this list, which you may have already made yourself or seen in others?
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