Disclaimer: I am not writing this to promote any companies whatsoever. I am sharing some wisdom with you! Please take the time to read and digest what I have to say.
First of all, you might wonder, “Why should I start an online business? It’s so unrealistic and too much work. I am realistic and I have a real job. How likely am I going to survive off an online business?”
I’m not telling you to quit your job! Hear me out:
1. You should strive for multiple sources of income. This is a given. Why would you want to rely solely on your job? Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
There are no guarantees you can make money from an online business. But stop thinking of reasons why it can fail rather than the possibilities you could have if you do succeed!
2. The internet gives you unlimited possibilities. Your customers can be anyone around the world. Unlike having an actual store, you do not need someone to enter in order to make a profit.
Most people are lazy. Even if you have a great store, they may not want to go to it because it requires too much effort (the time it takes to walk/bike/drive there). On the other hand, going onto a website only requires a person to type in the address and click a few buttons.
3. The risk is low. You do not need a lot of money to start a website.
This post is actually inspired by an experience of mine. Recently, I met a restaurant owner and he told me that during Winterlicious, he would lose approximately $600 per day (For those who don’t know, Winterlicious is a period *usually two weeks or so* when some restaurants offer deals for 3 courses meal). The reason being is that he would only make $25 per head (tips and taxes do not go to him). Furthermore, most people would choose to order steak (the most expensive item on the menu). He told me his rent for the restaurant alone was around $20000 per month.
Then, I came to the realization:
There are so many factors that could affect his profit.
If the prices of meats, vegetables, and etc goes up….
If the rent goes up…..
If the minimum wage goes up….
If the cost of electricity goes up….
If the economy is doing poorly….
If he has a lot of competition….
If taxes go up….
If the weather sucks…. (I live in Canada, so depending on the weather, it can really affect a restaurant. If it is warm, more people are willing to come out and patios are usually full. But if the weather is terrible, the restaurant might lose a significant number of customers).
All the reasons above are out of his control. Hence, in my opinion, it is VERY RISKY for most people to start a traditional business/store.
By the way, you have to be open in order to make any money. How many hours could the store/restaurant be open for? 12 hours? (Unless it’s a 24 hours store/restaurant, but again, you would have to pay people to be there). Whereas, if you have an online business, people can come to your store at any time and you wouldn’t have to pay for labour!
Now, I’m telling you this not because I am a successful online business owner. HOWEVER, I am finally starting to make money from my blog after 2 years!! Although I only make $0.01 for every ten views, as long as I keep this up AND I have loyal followers, I will be making residual money. The amount will only increase, and who knows? Maybe one day I will have millions of readers!? (Most likely not going to happen but there’s a slight possibility :P)
So, think beyond!!! Don’t give up before you try.
Note: I went from zero views per day to hundreds (sometimes, thousands) of views per day. So, don’t expect results right away. Great things take time.
Please read on how to develop loyal followers.
I talk about residual money in . Check it out!