Online Business Step By Step: The Three C's

To run a successful business online you will need three essential pillows. This article explains what those are.

Conception

Starting out as a solo entrepreneur your conception, or "vision" is the first thing you must define, because later on it will work as the fuel that keeps you going. You need to be clear about your motives to self-employ. The harsh truth is, that otherwise the first upcoming obstacles will end your enterprise.

One way to concretize your vision is a "treasure map" or a "vision board", which is often times an image-based collage or a written manifesto. Some studies state that taking the effort of concretizing your vision may actually increase your chances to succeed up to 40% (source: The One Thing, Jay Papasan, Gary Keller).

You will also need a vision for your business, even though at first it may seem they are just measurable goals. You should start by defining your goals for the first year: what kind of services and products do you sell? Will you hire people or outsource and what is your role? What are the targeted customer base and turnover numbers? And so on.

Those will then determine the actions you need to take and allow you to see the potential. Then for a long term plan you can ask yourself how big the business grow and what is the time frame.

Commitment

Just like an athlete who wants to climb up to the top of the world, you need to commit to doing the work it takes to achieve your goals.

It's no accident every successful athlete has a coach. Not only do they assist with practical issues, but that kind of relationship also enables the athlete to comfortably focus on the essentials and strengthen the commitment.

The study I mentioned earlier stated that by having someone to hold you accountable you will double the chances to succeed. But of course you do not have to hire a business coach, but you can also for instance recruit a friend, a family member or a mastermind group to support you and act as your accounting partner.

Curiosity

You must always remain curious and willing to learn. That can mean many things: you need to learn something yourself, or you'll learn that your capacity is limited. You may need to learn to give up and let go, or to make fast decisions. Some need to learn to communicate, manage their tasks or say no. Or to plan, delegate or keep their promises.

A solo entrepreneur often must learn and streamline all the processes of her business herself, because only after that she can effectively outsource them. For a startup that may feel like a daunting task, and it often is if you need to gather the information from multiple sources. Another solution is to invest on a program which enables to proceed with a minimum amount of stress.

The main thing is to keep an open mind.