What is that stops many of us from opening our own online business? 

ARTICLE  1 OF 3

   Attitude can define or destroy an entrepreneur. This is the second article in the 'Obstacles to Starting my Online Business' series, and it addresses what often comes next for an entrepreneur. In the first blog (Fear), once an entrepreneur overcomes the concerns or uncertainties associated with starting a new business and overcomes external sources of discouragement, they still are not done with overcoming obstacles. The next giant they face is the self, more specifically, one's own attitude. I faced this as well on my own journey and it is a formidable foe.

• NEGATIVITY 

   Whether it be called negativity, uncertainty, doubt, or any other word that could describe harmful thinking toward online business goals, a destructive mindset in an entrepreneur needs to be changed. It does no good for that potential new online business owner to keep away from the bad influence of friends or loved ones that want to discourage their journey if they themselves are full of pessimism. Before even allowing the chance to commit to their own dreams, an unwise entrepreneur can allow negative thinking to ruin everything before the journey even starts. It often manifests verbally. Below are some examples that many are perhaps guilty of saying. 

 "This is scam"   -OR-   "That just happened to work for the guy pitching this"   -OR-   "I don't have the experience, I wouldn't know what to do"   -OR-   "It's ridiculous to think that I can get results even close to that"   -OR-   " I don't have money for that"   -OR-  " Oh, I guess I will give a try"

                        STOP! 

   If this is what is coming out of an entrepreneur's mouth or their thoughts, that is the negative and toxic mindset. It needs to be stopped because it is self-sabotage and it will destroy dreams before they even have a chance to blossom. Words, spoken internally or out loud, have an amazing power when used in a positive manner. This is not some silly 'mantra', but is proven by scientific studies and in clinical case studies. One potent example where that can be seen is with children. Any typical child Psychiatrist will be able to share about the extent of the damage that occurs to a child when they hear a constant barrage of negative words while growing up. Hateful parents or family members can cause huge damage to the child's emotional well being with repercussions that reach far into adulthood. Just because an entrepreneur is an adult does not mean they can escape the effects of self-pronounced negative words. They just process it differently, but the harm is still done. Positive words build a positive mindset. The need is crucial to start changing the mindset to one of positivity and they should help that process by associating with people who are like minded. That kick-starts the creation of a healthy positive mindset that will better align with the goals of the new company.

• PROCRASTINATION

   This is another big killer of dreams. When an entrepreneur has invested money, time, and started their business, but then they lose motivation or focus, it often turns into the end of their dreams.

An evolving mindset can be present along with the knowledge that they are on a good path, however if they become discouraged or frustrated and quit, none of that matters. Often this will come from trying to do too much at one time, leading to the feeling of overwhelm. That leads to procrastination. The ironic part is that these same people can be attributed to providing many of the negative online reviews of companies or products. The fault for becoming disillusioned in this case falls squarely on the shoulders of that individual, not a company or product. One way to looks at this is to understand that if we fail to plan, then we should plan on failing. Online business owners need to have a systematic approach that has individual steps which will guide them. Part of this approach includes writing goals down that are realistic and achievable, as well as flexible because they sometimes cannot be met and will have to change a little. If not done, the journey can become aimless and get lost somewhere along the road. A daily, weekly, and monthly schedule will help meet goals, resulting in much less frustration. These benchmarks will also help meet 3 or 6 or 12-month goals.

   For other kinds of procrastination, the specific markers need to be identified. Bad habits can pull a well-intentioned entrepreneur away from building their business. They need to be dealt with aggressively. Maybe it is playing video games, or too much television, or maybe they are spending too much time on the fairways playing 18 rounds of golf. Maybe it is fishing, spending all the spare time hanging with friends, or just getting lost on social media. These kinds of things might be enjoyable but stem from not wanting to do the work 'now'. The thought is, "I will do it later". That can quickly become a snare, stealing away all the time that is needed to build success. If left unchecked, these bad habits of unproductivity will eventually assure that they will have to keep working for someone else instead of owning their own business. Counterproductive habits will slowly erode and destroy any chances of success and that is why a plan needs to be enacted ahead of time to squash those temptations when they arise. Knowing the 'ahead of time' response means they will have a newly learned default response that will allow for a victory over temptations, and instead, then that time can be put it into building their company and their future.

• COMMITMENT 

   Don't just "...try it out...", commit to it. Any legitimate online business will take money, time, and hard work. Far too many times, a budding entrepreneur can have the wrong idea about the sacrifice of money that will be required to run a business. There is no such thing as an online company that can be a smashing success after spending only $20 or $30, nor is there such thing as a push button business that will generate thousands of dollars in a few weeks. For the money needed to start an online company, the correct and positive mindset needs to be in place. I am not talking about needing $100,000 and mad tech skills to start completely from scratch because that is not reasonable for the majority of people. Instead, think 'partner company'. My partner company created low-cost affordable access, which is exactly how I got started, making it a possibility for just about anyone. However, I did understand that to remain at a lower level long term does not make a lot of sense when the business can grow much better when I invest capital back into it, as would any business. This reminded me of a car dealership owner that I know of where I live. His 1st dealership was doing okay but for the 2nd dealership that he was going to be opening, he heavily invested in buying an even larger property and building an even better building. The income from the 2nd car dealership dwarves the sales of the more established, older, (but smaller) 1st dealership. He could have purchased a pre-existing place to set up another smaller dealership without nearly as much money or risks but instead, he chose to invest heavily and was rewarded with income beyond compare. All online companies will need money to operate, and it will stretch the budget hard. The reward of exceeding any current level of income is what inspires the bold entrepreneur to commit to their online business and stay the course. It can also be for the time freedom or that they are passionate about being in the online marketplace. Either way, it will only happen because financial reserves have been used to enable the company growth. Only the business owner who stays committed through those times will meet with the maximum success.

   Time is also needed. For starting out with an online business, initially, the business will take much time to learn the needed skills and how to implement those skills. That must come first. The quicker they are learned and applied, the quicker that person can start earning money. When one business owner only puts in only 2 hours each day to learn in their company but another owner puts 8 to 10 hours a day on theirs, of course, the owner who puts more in will usually have a higher level of results. That is not a good excuse to get discouraged and quit, especially when 2 to 3 hours each day is all that is available. For myself, the part-time way of 2-3 hours was all I could do at first. It may have taken longer, but I am still going to be in a much better place a year or two from now, than if I had never started my company. Education that centers on marketing skills, mindset shifts, compliance, and other related courses are essential. The opportunity for success increases exponentially with every concept that is learned and applied. Entrepreneurs need to realize that they have to be willing to make the sacrifice and commit to the time needed to learn their skills. It will often be tough at times but that is not a time to give up, no matter how frustrating things can seem.  

  Even with much hard work, do online entrepreneurs have failures on their journey? It is not a question of if, but when will those failures come. It is not something to fear though. The response to failures will determine whether success will still come about or if that owner ends up closing that business; needlessly delaying or even ending his dreams. I tend to fall back to the example of Abraham Lincoln for encouragement. Before becoming a Senator and then the 16th President of the United States, he was a businessman. He had five companies that he opened but eventually, he had to close each one when they failed. The difference between him and others around him who had tried the same is that he kept going and stayed committed. He opened his 6th company, which thrived. He just figured that if others could do it, why couldn't he? While I wouldn't want to fail that often, it needs to be remembered that it is easy to feel dejected and depressed when a business appears to be going belly up, or some mistakes happen that end up costing hundreds of dollars. After pouring much time and money into the business, a failure of any kind can be a huge blow to the confidence levels of a starting entrepreneur. This is when commitment needs to take over though. Plan ahead with what the response will be when a failure arises because a failure is not the time to quit. Instead, it is time to re-assess, re-adjust, correct the problem, and then set a new course in motion.

   The partner to hard work is being willing to be subject to learning from a mentor.  Hard work needs to have the maximum potential for creating income and freedom. Many successful online entrepreneurs would be able to share that despite their hard work, they did have some failures along the way too. Instead of being 'dark' spots though, those failures became turning points that they could learn from. A mentor like that should be walking the entrepreneur through the journey to aid them. It does not mean the student will never fail, but like with procrastination, the pre-planned response can be invaluable and it should include reaching out to that mentor, no matter how painfully humbling it can be. The mentor can objectively look at where things went off the rails and give counsel that can get things on a better path to recovery. He will help ensure that the hard work being put in also rewards accordingly. When the new online business owner thinks "What are the obstacles to starting my online Business?", a lack of good counsel should not be one of them. They do not have to go it alone. Hard work is always needful but it becomes even more potent when guided by someone who has been there already.

• CONCLUSION

   Our attitudes toward the obstacles that come our way define our success. Negativity can have entrepreneurs talking themselves out of starting their online company. However, it becomes a very achievable goal when that entrepreneur can partner with a company that has the kind of platform and mentoring needed to excel in the online marketplace. Another obstacle to deal with harshly is the attitude of procrastination. Even with the decision to start the business, putting things off is a killer to thriving. Little effort applied will equal little success. The online journey will also require much sacrifice along the way. Any business online will require time, money, and education in the operations of an online business. Failure will surely come to visit here or there, but it is important to be prepared. Like the temptation of procrastination, the temptation to quit should be met with a preformed plan that will guide the entrepreneur through those trying times. Wise mentors can help not only by strengthening the journey along the way but also by offering wisdom and plans to meet failures head on and push through. While mentors can be available offline as well as online, the online mentoring environment is often more readily accessible to an entrepreneur. That allows for more opportunity to immerse themselves in teaching and education that will foster the needed changes in mindset. For most though, they simply do not have tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to start an online company from scratch, or to even the know how to do that. Necessity dictates the decision to have to do research and find an online company they can partner with who already provides that. It will be one where they can be nurtured and instructed, as well as have their dreams and ambitions become reality.   

                                    -DORR TOTTEN-

P.S. - My own success comes from a partnership with Stuart Ross and Jay Kubassek, creators of the education and marketing platform at The Six Figure Mentors. I have been taken advantage by online offers, which is the very reason I had to do my own research before trying again. If you would like to find out why I chose them over so many others, click the link, and then sign up and for FREE, find out why you also should consider doing the same - Obstacles to Starting My Online Business

If you would also like to reach out me directly, please do so. I would be honored and I am available to answer your emails at MyGravityDreams@gmail.com 

                       Thank you - President and Owner -  DORR TOTTEN