Being an online entrepreneur takes a lot of damn hard work…
I remember over a decade ago when I first started out trying to make a few bucks online.
First it was buying and flipping domain names.
Then it was setting up my first website and doing domain name appraisals (with a piece of software).
I even sold quick little ebooks on all types of subjects: pets, hobbies, toddlers, etc.
All of these things never lasted, and I never really felt good about them anyway. They didn’t feel like a REAL businesses. They were short little projects that fizzled out rather quickly.
But one thing was for certain…
Behind all my hard work and effort was the ability to plow through my own personal fears, absorbing failures, and most of all…never ceasing the actual art of creating things and testing them out. Even if they failed.
Eventually, I stumbled upon something about a year later that would yield a solid 6-figure per year income business for me that lasted for a solid 5 years in a row. I became my own boss, and I was forever changed.
It just goes to show, you NEVER know how close you are to success unless you keep doing things. Keep creating. Keep learning new things.
In today’s online world as an entrepreneur, it’s easy to get stuck in throws of social media, responding to mindless emails, or chasing the latest shiny new business models that are always tagged as “the next big thing”.
Then, the next thing you know, it’s 4 o’clock in the afternoon and you’ve been doing nothing productive all day. You’ve only been doing tasks. And the worst part is, you haven’t CREATED a single thing to either grow your current business or to help build the foundation for a new one.
So what separates those who fail from the super successful online?
It’s the consistency of always creating something. I like to call it the ABC habit.
The ABC Habit stands for:
Always
Be
Creating
This means every single day, you should be creating something that either improves your own business, or helps to create a new one. It doesn’t have to be overly complicated. It’s all about creating “tiny” wins now that will eventually lead to “big” paydays later.
Examples of these “tiny wins” could be…
- Sending out a quick email to your subscribers telling them about a really cool and useful tool you found online. Or just to say hi and ask them if there’s anyway you can help them. Learn their problems.
- Mapping out an epic blog post outline and breaking it down into 7 sections. Then each day, fill one section in. In one week, you’ve got a meaty blog post that will be online forever, and could help create value (and traffic) for your business for years to come.
- Creating a Facebook Post, 3 Twitter responses, or a 10 minute Periscope in order for you to gain even 5 new followers. Do this once a day, and you’ve got 150 new followers/subscribers in a month.
- Write out 10 crazy ideas for an app, a website or an online tool on a short piece of paper. Don’t think about it, just write whatever comes to your mind. Anything goes. This helps you flex your creativity muscle. And you never know what your subconscious might reveal to you.
No matter what, create something every single business day to propel your business or brand.
If you’re exhausted that day…send out 3 tweets only. Nothing more.
If you’re full of energy…tackle a new blog post or a create several cool posts for your social media (like Instagram).
Install this app, and set a Pomodoro for 25 minutes. During that time, CREATE something and don’t do anything else.
The more you can create something every single day that’s big or small, you win.
Remember…
It’s about momentum.
It’s about consistency.
It’s about impact.
And it’s about keeping your end goal in mind…one creative step at a time.
“Tiny Wins Now. Big Paydays Later.”
Make this your new mantra both mentally and physically, and see what it can do for your own online business.
You’ll be amazed.
Trust me.
And lastly, speaking of creativity…
Be sure to check out the book Damn Good Advice. It’s by the legendary George Lois, and his thoughts on unleashing your creative potential. It’s only around $5 and it’s a quick (yet very insightful) read.
You’ll be glad you did.