Bob's Home Business Blog

Most people dream of financial independence on a daily basis. They wonder how they can create a full time income with their own home based business so they can walk away from the 9 to 5 daily grind and take control of their own destiny. Unfortunately these dreams go unfulfilled 95% of the time for a variety of reasons with the main one being failure to take action.

This applies particularly to online home businesses when individuals sometimes have the whole procedure laid out for them step-by-step yet they still fail to put the process in place so they can make money from the comfort of their own home and fire their boss. There are also a variety of reasons why people do nothing even though they have a mentor, they’ve paid for the system to get them where they want to be and they have the budget to get them there.

When this is the case why don’t people take the action necessary to succeed even though they want it so badly they can taste it? This article outlines 4 explanations for this failure to make an attempt at succeeding online when you have the resources to do so:

1. One of the biggest excuses I hear for this failure to take action is self doubt on behalf of the potential business person. Most people, when faced with a new challenge, have feelings of doubt about their ability to succeed with their new endeavor especially if they experience set backs early in the process.

The key to overcoming these feelings is to not let them consume your thought process. In other words you must stay positive even when you’re faced with negative results. We must learn from our mistakes while pressing forward toward our goals with the attitude that we will accomplish what we set out to do no matter what set backs we may encounter along the way.

2. Fear of failure is another leading cause of this inaction by hopeful home business owners online. People, more often than not, let one failure sabotage their whole Internet marketing strategy. If you’re intent on pursuing this type of lifestyle there’s one thing you must understand from the outset: “You are going to experience failure along the way.”

However we mustn’t let one or even a series of disappointments defeat us and keep us from reaching our goals. The secret is to learn from these results to ensure we don’t repeat them and then move on toward our reaching our prime objectives.

3. Listening to the nay Sayers and negative individuals who have nothing positive to contribute about your attempts to make it on your own and become an independent business person can stand in the way of you reaching your goals if you allow it. Most people believe when you tell them you work from home that you don’t have a real job or you must be unemployed.

They don’t seem to be able to grasp the idea of being able to make a living on the Internet and they will tell you at every opportunity that it isn’t possible and you should get a real job. I guess the old adage “misery loves company” is true and these people who aren’t happy with their own lives don’t want anyone escaping the 9 to 5 trap they’ve become a prisoner of because they can’t see any way out. Avoid these people like the plague and stay positive and focused on achieving your dreams.

4. Finally, some people believe they can do it entirely on their own. Internet marketing is like any other offline business endeavor in that networking with the right people is a very important aspect of achieving success. No one knows everything especially when you’re just starting out on the web; so it’s a good idea to surround yourself with people who have achieved what you want to accomplish and who know how to get there.

Never be afraid to ask for help online if you’re stuck with some aspect of your Internet marketing campaign or if you’re stalled on some technical facet of your strategy. The Internet marketing forums and home business chat rooms are great places to network and to get to know people who are in the know.

By avoiding these 4 obstacles on the road to your online home business success you will improve your odds of reaching your goals immensely and you’ll finally be able to live the life of freedom you now only dream about.

Bob Withers

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If you’re new to Internet marketing and home business ownership online there are many obstacles and hurdles you must face and deal with on a daily basis. How you deal with these roadblocks and setbacks will help determine your ultimate success or failure as an entrepreneur on the World Wide Web.

What I’ve often used as a guiding principle when making important decisions about what to invest in and how much to spend isn’t very scientific or very convoluted but is something that works for me and is correct nine times out of ten and that all knowing presence is my gut feeling.

If your instinct says it’s the right thing to do and it’s the right time to do it than just do it. On the other hand, another good rule of thumb to follow is the old adage, which often rings true, which states: “If it sounds too good to be true than it probably is too good to be true.”

So as you can see there’s nothing very scientific about my approach to Internet marketing except to say that if you do your research while learning as much as you can every day while seeking the advice of experts who have achieved some modicum of success online and who are people you can trust than you too will achieve your goals and attain all you want or need online.

Bearing all of this in mind here are what I believe to be the 5 biggest blunders made by new home based business owners and or Internet marketers on the web today. I’ll approach this the same way David Letterman delivers his top ten list every night except mine will be the top 5 gaffes made by newbie’s on the Internet and it won’t be nearly as funny.

5. One of the biggest faux pauxs new marketers make is failing to realize that Internet marketing is a continual learning experience and in order to succeed online you must keep up with the current trends and all the new sales and advertising techniques that are being developed on a daily basis. You should establish a goal and make it an integral part of your business plan to learn something new each and every day which will help improve your business and help you achieve your goals.

4. Another mistake which often frustrates newbie’s and sometimes discourages them to the point of giving up on their dream is believing everything they hear from other marketers who are trying to sell them their products. One thing you’ll quickly discover as a new business person on the web is that there will be no shortage of other entrepreneurs, who’s target market is people like you, who will tell you anything and everything they think you may want to hear in order to get you to buy their products.

You’ll hear promises of overnight success, stories of how to make $100,000.00 a week in two months or less and tales of people who have achieved mansions, sports cars and untold riches with little or no marketing experience in a very short period of time. Remember what we spoke about earlier, if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is too good to be true, well this is where you apply this rule of thumb every time someone approaches your with these types of offers.

3. Many newbie’s believe they can create an online home business and achieve success while operating in a vacuum; this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Networking is just as important when running an online enterprise as it is operating an offline venture.

The importance of creating relationships on the web is demonstrated by the tremendous marketing opportunities presented by the popularity of the social media network as well as by the many joint venture opportunities with other businesses which are available online and the prospects for finding mentors to help you succeed with your business. So as you can see isolation is not an option for you and your online venture if you want to achieve your goals.

2. Untold numbers of other budding success stories on the web enter the Internet marketing fray under the false impression that it’s easy to succeed online. They’ve fallen into the trap laid by some unscrupulous marketers that you can become rich by working a couple of hours a day or by slaving away just 10 hours per week. They seem to think there’s some magic bullet out there waiting for them or there’s some code they can crack which will give them access to this Internet ATM which spews out money whenever they need it.

If I hear another Internet marketer describe in their sales copy how you can push a button and this avalanche of cash will be unleashed or how you can set up your own automatic money machine by just clicking your mouse three or four times I’ll explode. Like any opportunity in life there are no free rides and anything worth accomplishing requires hard work and dedication and Internet marketing is no exception.

1. And what I believe to be the number one mistake made by new Internet marketers and home business owners online today is failing to focus on one opportunity and dedicate all their time and effort toward making it work instead of jumping from one of the next big money makers to the next flavor of the month. You must find a proven opportunity which will work for you if you exert the time and effort required and avoid falling for false promises or quick fixes which never pan out.

Of course I could go on forever outlining just the mistakes I’ve made and continue to make marketing my home business online but I believe if you concentrate on avoiding the 5 I’ve outlined here you will have a head start on your competition down the road to Internet success.

Also because I mentioned David Letterman and his top 10 lists earlier I would like to finish off with one from one of his “Late Night” shows. So here goes, I hope you enjoy it.

Top 10 Signs You’ve Gone To a Bad Hypnotist – July 23, 1992

10.When you come to, he’s wearing your clothes.
9. You now own 19 Juice Tigers.
8. Days after your appointment, strangers come up to you on the street saying
    how much they enjoyed you in that live-sex show.
7. Everywhere you look: giant, whistling squirrels.
6. He tells you your wallet is blocking the alpha rays – better let him
    hold it.
5. He says, “You’re getting very… uh… slippery – no, that’s not it.”
4. Anytime someone says the word “hello” you find yourself naked in Syracuse.
3. Suddenly you remember him from shop class.
2. Instead of tapping into your subconscious, he just waits for you to doze
    off and then yells stuff at you.
1. You wake up married to Doug Henning.

Bob Withers

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After deciding to enter the Internet marketing fray and create a home based business online you have many important decisions to make related to your venture and these choices could make or break your enterprise even before you begin.

Everyone makes mistakes when they’re just starting out but the trick is to minimize these blunders and make sure you get the most important decisions correct. Here are five of the biggest errors people make when beginning their online business careers which you should try to avoid at all costs.

1. Choosing the wrong niche market can doom your business from the outset. If you select a highly competitive market such as weight loss you will have very little success because it’s too broad a category. You need to focus in on one smaller segment of the weight loss market which people are searching for online.

For example, if you conduct a search for a more focused topic such as men’s belly fat you should see good results in terms of searches conducted while seeing much less competition which will make this niche much easier for you to dominate and which greatly increases your chance of success.

2. Many people spread themselves too thin in the beginning by trying to concentrate on several niches at once instead of finding one hot market segment and focusing on that area. When you discover a hot topic that’s in great demand create your website centered around this opportunity and focus on driving all the traffic you can to your product. Make all the sales you can and when you believe this opportunity has peaked and is on the decline find your next golden goose and center your attention on that merchandise.

3. New home business owners online often don’t realize the opportunities that come along with creating and owning their own products. Of course you can always become an affiliate marketer and promote other people’s merchandise for commission but the real income comes from promoting your own products on the web.

Owning your own merchandise gives you instant credibility because people see you as an expert who can develop their own goods. You also get to keep 100% of the profits from each sale and you can set up your own affiliate program  to get other people to make your sales.

4. Newbie’s also don’t realize Internet marketing is a continuing education situation and you should make it a habit to read and learn all you can about the topic. Often people enter into this field with the mindset that they’re going to be very successful in a very short period of time without having to do much work.

Of course this couldn’t be further from the truth because like any other business, whether it’s online or offline, it requires long hours of sometimes tedious work to accomplish your goals.

5. Failing to network or to get to know other Internet marketers online can be a huge mistake. By creating relationships with successful business people on the Internet you’re developing a tremendous resource for information and help for your enterprise.

People who envelop themselves in a cocoon on the web are missing out on a great opportunity to take advantage of the experience and knowledge of people who have made it online and who know how to get there. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

By avoiding these five pitfalls you will greatly increase your odds of success with your home based business opportunity online.       

Bob Withers

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If you’ve been online for any length of time with your home based business I’m sure you’ve probably heard the awful truth about doing business on the web. But for those of you who haven’t heard, the fact of the matter is that 95% of the people who start online enterprises fail. Being the mathematical genius that I am, by my calculations, this means that only 5% new ventures succeed on the Internet.

This raises the question, why is it so difficult to make a living online when there seems to be so many home based opportunities available? I believe there are various reasons why so many new entrepreneurs fail to make a go of it on the Internet and here are what I believe to be the top 10 obstacles to success encountered by these so called newbie’s:

1. People often enter the world of e-business with the mindset that there is some magic bullet or unknown code they can discover which will make them rich overnight or at least within the next few months. Unfortunately many unscrupulous Internet marketers prey upon this mindset by making outlandish promises of fortunes to be had by working only 10 hours per week and by following their simple step-by-step plan to Internet riches.

Those of us who have been online for any length of time know this is rubbish and as with any other business startup offline or online your Internet home based enterprise will require long hours of hard work in order to make it succeed. Some people lose thousands of their hard earned dollars to these individuals and of course become disillusioned and bitter and quit.

2. When these newbie’s enter the fray thinking about becoming rich with very little effort they jump from program to program looking for the one that’s going to deliver on all the false promises being made. This of course sets them up for failure because instead of finding one legitimate opportunity and concentrating on making it work their attention and time is divided between many different bogus businesses. So the lesson here is to find one honest chance at success and focus your attention on making it deliver.

3. When people discover how much work is involved in so many different areas of their business they become nervous and begin to believe they just aren’t technical enough to get their business up and running and throw in the towel even before they begin.

4. Information overload is a common complaint from many new online home business owners. People begin investigating all the Internet marketing opportunities available on the web and subscribe to every email list that offers a free bonus and spend most of their time reading these email messages. They start looking into all of these ventures and become inundated with information and confused about which direction to take which can become frustrating to the point that they begin to think about quitting even before they begin.

5. Procrastination becomes an issue for many newbie’s and before they know it they’re so far behind in their marketing efforts or even in building their website that they believe they will never catch up and get to where they think they should be. This can snowball until eventually they can see no way out except to give up.

6. If people are having trouble driving traffic to their home business website and their number of daily visitors is low, no matter what they try, and they can’t make that first sale then this can become very discouraging and self doubt can become a major issue. When this situation continues for an extended period of time it can lead to the decision to quit.

7. When people realize how much time, dedication and discipline it can take before you even begin to realize a profit they may decide this business just isn’t for them. This can be an epiphany for those who entered the online business world expecting to do little in the way of work for a huge monetary return, which of course isn’t the reality of the situation.

8. Ongoing education is a fact of life for home business owners on the web and when some people realize this fact they begin to think this isn’t going to be as much fun as they thought. Internet marketers should set aside a certain amount of time each day to read a report, listen to a podcast or view a video related to Internet marketing and this may not be very appealing to some newbie’s.

9. The ongoing cost of operating a home based business on the web may be a little more than some people budgeted for as their start-up costs. If they get involved with a pay per click campaign or purchase advertising and traffic without researching these tactics before hand they are setting themselves up for a big financial loss and a short business career on the web.

10. People who fail to set daily, weekly and monthly goals for their new enterprise will find it very difficult to stay focused and complete all the tasks necessary to compete on the Internet. Short term and long term goal setting is a must before you open your virtual doors and begin promoting your new enterprise. This must be an ongoing process through out the life of your business to ensure its continued success online.

The main point to take away from this article is before you decide to start a home based business online do your research and find one legitimate opportunity and focus on Internet marketing to drive traffic to your website and make sales. Everyone must realize this is a business like any other business and requires hard work, discipline and dedication in order to make it succeed.                  

Bob Withers

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Did you know that only one out of twenty home based businesses online succeed? This means that 95% of aspiring Internet entrepreneurs hoping to fire their boss and work from the comfort of their own home fail. Why are these statistics so one sided and why do people find it so difficult to make money online? I guess if I had the answers to these questions I would be classified as one of the most successful business people on the web much sooner than later.

Of course there’s no easy explanation or magic bullet as to why people find it so difficult to succeed on the Internet. To my way of thinking there are several factors at work which cause people either to throw in the towel or not even start at all.

I believe the two key ingredients you need even before you begin are passion and a strong motivating factor or reason why. Of course we’ve all heard in order to be successful at no matter what we do we have to be passionate about what we’re doing. And I believe the reason we’ve heard it so often is because it’s true. First of all what is passion?

Most of us including the major dictionaries online equate passion with sexual desire and love. However the one definition I found at dictionary on the web, which is more closely related to our topic, defined passion as: “a strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything: a passion for music.”

People often say you need to like what you’re doing in order to succeed, but I disagree, you need to be passionate about it. Liking it just doesn’t cut it as far as I’m concerned. You must approach your work with enthusiasm and with a burning desire to do whatever it is to the best of your ability. Once you’ve found your passion in life you must then have a strong motivational element or reason why you want to be the best and make all the money you’ll ever need and more.

Having the burning desire to do something doesn’t always translate into success unless you have this reason why or strong motive as to why you want what you want. Sometimes you’ll have to search for this explanation while with others it’s right in front of them from the beginning.

It has been my experience that your reason why shouldn’t be related to just wanting or needing more money. This is the reason why sometimes we have to look deeper within ourselves to find the true motivation we need which will sustain us throughout the entire process even when things look their bleakest.

In my opinion, once you’ve fulfilled these two requirements you’re headed in the right direction but you’re not quite there yet. Having the confidence you need to reach your goals, a detailed plan for reaching them and a strong belief you will get there are also important contributing factors.

If you can combine your passion and motivation with a laser like focus on your objectives along with a consistency of effort on a daily basis and you possess the will power necessary to let nothing deter you from reaching your end result then your chances of home business success online will have increased dramatically.

Bob Withers 

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