As 2011 draws to a close I am in an exotic, undisclosed location with my family and a few very close friends. The sun is high in the sky, the ocean is blue, and I am reflecting on my life as on online author, speaker, and trainer. This is the first year I have been able to find that work/life balance that many of us crave so badly. It took me almost five years to get to this point, and I’d like to share with you what can be done to arrive here much more quickly.
Treat your life like a business – This will be the topic of my next book, and I believe this to be the very best way to approach everything you are doing. My first year online, 2006, was spent with me trying to learn everything at once and dabbling in at least ten different niches. I thought that if I had my finger in lots of pies it would pay off in one way or another. It did not. In 2007 I began to approach what I was doing like a business would; I researched several niches to see what was happening with them online, took an honest look at my passions, experience and training, and where the market was, and then chose the niche of helping people to write and market eBooks on the Internet. I did this for about two years before making the jump into Internet marketing.
Allow for time off to do other things – You may have heard of people who retire from their job after forty years and then die soon after because they just didn’t have anything to do and no people to spend time with regularly. We are much more than our work. Instead of letting work define you, branch out and get involved with people and activities you love. There is a whole world out there waiting for you to jump in and make a difference.
Don’t try to do it all yourself – I spent way too much time during my first year in business trying to wear every hat. Once I began to relinquish control over much of what I was doing, leaving myself room to write and create and train, my business really took off. If you feel like you don’t have the money to do that right now, think about bartering with others so that it’s a win-win.
Connect with other like-minded individuals – This group will change for you over time as your business grows, you begin to earn more money, and your creative ideas begin to take shape. I spend very little time with people whose lives have become stagnant because that isn’t good for my inner growth. Branch out and meet new people who will understand where you are in your success journey.
I hope these tips will make a difference for you as they have for me. I look forward to sharing even more with you during 2012. Stay tuned for lots of new trainings and surprises that will help you to build your own online empire.
Hi Connie,
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Congratulations on all you’ve achieved this year and the years leading up to it. I share your real-world philosophy behind how to build and grow a successful business.
There is building involved. It does take time. And it shouldn’t be the only thing in our lives.
Here’s to a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year for us all,
With abundance,
Sandy 🙂
PS: Thanks again for contributing to the Countdown to 2012 12 Days of Celebration event!
Thank you, Sandy, for including me in your great celebration!
Connie
Hi Connie – the fact that it took you five years to develop a financially sustainable business that you market solely online isn’t such a bad thing for the rest of us. In fact, it’s part of what makes your entrepreneurial message believable.
Newcomers to the internet (and I still count myself as one) have a primary responsibility to do what I call “join the conversation” as one of their first steps to researching all of the different ways to make money online. These are conversations that have been going on for years among seasoned veterans of internet marketing. By “joining the conversation” I mean listening and not talking. At least in the beginning.
Some of us will take a longer time to listen before we can begin to sort out what we want our business to be.
What you offer are ways to shorten that listening part of the conversation for newbies. That and the speed with which technology changes may prove to be a very powerful equation for some of us to get to that “sweet spot” of financial success online in less than five years.
That said, and with all that life throws as us, five years isn’t such a long time if what we’re aiming for is long term sustainability.
Thanks for opening that door.
Kathy
Kathy recently posted..Happy New Year And Welcome, 2012.
Kathy,
Thanks for your comment. I just need to clear up what you said. I reached six figures a year after being online for 18 months. With a huge house payment (I live in southern California) and other financial obligations, I would not have been able to go five years without increasing my income substantially.
Thanks.
Connie
Hey, Connie – THAT was the missing piece of critical info from your post. (And, it’s possible that I knew that piece but forgot it. Must be the result of my short-term focus on your blog post. lol)
Kathy recently posted..Not A Crafter Or A Cook. A Different Kind of Creativity.