10 Common Online Business Assumptions Made Every Day By Individual Entrepreneurs

Not all online business strategies work for all businesses. Unfortunately, many Solopreneurs will continue to force themselves into a standard. Don’t let it be you. Learn some PROVEN tactics to help you avoid these common assumption mistakes and set your brand up for profitable success.

With more than 4 billion active online businesses, and all of them fighting for attention, the Internet has made it possible for companies of various sizes to compete on equal terms. The main problem remains that most of these companies are not sure how to attract the attention of potential buyers for their products or services. Building a Power Crew will be essential to your success as a Solopreneur because you will have to rely on someone to help you handle your day-to-day tasks. Take a look at these 10 common assumptions made in online businesses that you should avoid in order to have a successful head start.

  1. Taking a look at the investment. There is a big difference between spending smart and being cheap. Cheap is expensive“Cheap is Expensive” – Judge Marilyn Milian). Reciprocity goes a long way and helps you build a secure and reliable network. Everybody wants a deal when they spend their hard-earned money. Most business people have heard the saying “you have to spend money to make money.” In reality, when you take your brand seriously enough to invest in it, whether in time or money, you will ensure that all members of your Power Crew receive adequate compensation. This could be financially or through barter systems. Either way, you must be willing to give as much or more than you receive from others.
  2. Remain blissfully ignorant. Do you leave your clients unattended because you refuse to explore new opportunities and creative possibilities? Put some investigative action behind your motives. Ask your virtual assistant or intern to review some new avenues. Hire someone to manage these new tracks for you and add them to your Power Crew. Typically, they would focus on these tasks for at least 5 hours a week; 1 hour a day. Ignorance is not a blessing, especially in business. There are too many opportunities for Solopreneurs to head off and dominate some corner of their market.
  3. Blind financing for no reason. How can you properly guide your brand to financial success or at least avoid bankruptcy if you can’t track how much money is flowing through your business? If you’re amazed at how much money you’ve spent over a one-year period, constantly looking for all of your tax-time expenses, and / or always living in the red, then you’re doing everything wrong. Don’t accept that your business is a financial burden on you. You should have a budget in place to help you stay on track. Remember, you started this with FREEDOM so as not to trade one pair of shackles created out of frustration for another.
  4. Maintenance is an option. I see many clients who believe that paying someone to manage their website is a waste of time, yet these are the same people whose websites are constantly out of date behind the scenes and vulnerable. Your carelessness is the key to the hackers dream for your information buffet. Many of these elements can and should be automated, but you must remain vigilant to protect your online business. If you are collecting customer information, there is no place to be casual about the security and maintenance of the website.
  5. Keeping up with the neighbors. Doing your best to follow what the crowd is doing rather than taking stock of what will work for your brand is ultimately a waste of time for you. This is not to say that seeing your competition and friendly peers cannot be a learning experience. you simply have to learn to take the learning knowledge and chart your own destiny.
  6. Online businesses don’t need a budget. As an extension of financing your business blindly, you need to realize that just because you have an online business, you are not without a budget. many believe that because they do not have the rental of a physical establishment, they are free to spend like crazy. That is not the case. Your “rental” is your hosting provider, your domain name, and your SSL certificate. Your “utilities” are your financial manager (accountant / apps), email automation services, payroll, and anything else that helps you run your business. You MUST track them down and make sure you’re not spending all of your resources without making some kind of profit to pay your rent or mortgage AND put food on your table.
  7. Disconnected from the reality of running a business. Stay strong and connected to the roots of your business so that you are aware of what is happening and ready to rework any strategy accordingly. Even when people consider themselves “successful,” they know that there is ongoing work involved in maintaining the level of success that they enjoy or want to excel at. With everything we’ve discussed in mind, all of these pieces come together to help you face the realities of running a business head-on.
  8. Blaming others for your failures. The blame game is a waste of time. Don’t let responsibility become a passive slogan in your business. Live up to how you would like customers and another business to treat you. If you or your brand fell short or got it wrong, take it as an opportunity to improve and get back on track. Ask for feedback. Failure is not bad if you don’t allow it to become an obstacle or a crutch. Lead and take responsibility while showing others who work with you that they should do the same. Showing is so much better than telling!
  9. Being online is an automatic success. No online business is an automatic success and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying to you. I thought that once my website was up and running, it would be good to go. Well, not exactly established, but most of my work would be complete. I was so wrong and I didn’t even realize how wrong I was. I had to become a quick study on e-marketing, copywriting, and product creation to really get my business up and running. I’m not an expert, but I had to get my butt going quickly so I could handle enough to get things where I wanted them to be. Automation can make things easier for you, but without you putting ACTION behind the KNOWLEDGE you collect, your brand is dead in the water.
  10. Disinformation. Stay as informed as possible. “He said, She said” it doesn’t work when you need to share information with your Power Crew and customers. Never miss out on innovative movements that occur within your industry or in other industries. If an app or software wasn’t compatible with your business in 2011, check back and see if things have changed. If you didn’t think TwitterPinterest, or Instagram were a good fit for your business and your customers would not be interested in a company blog, reconsider these moves. Try things. You may be surprised at the results and the new information that flows from these various options.

Boss

Once you’ve figured out what makes your business thrive like a well-watered plant, you’ll start to reap the benefits of an overall profitable business and brand. I think of my business as a well-watered plant because there is energy linked to it. It needs my care to survive. My emotions affect my business and I need to maintain them both.

Customers want to know that you, as a business owner, care enough to pay attention to small details while maintaining the overall picture of success.

The summary

Put everything in your business. After all, most of us are not here for a one-night stand. Instead, we are in this to win it! So go out and build your brand against these 10 common assumptions that most Solopreneurs make in online businesses.

For your continued success and learning!

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