Why Are So Many Internet Start-Up’s Failing Today?

In the real world of brick and mortar business, every day millions of people are dragging themselves from their comfortable beds, performing their morning rituals of washing and breakfast to head to their jobs. In their daily grind some are thinking that there must be a better and easier way to make a living.

All these millions know someone or know of someone who has “made it” by quitting their boring existence and become their own boss using their own computers in the comfort and ease of home.

While the idea of working from home sounds like an ideal solution, most are just not preparing. Many of these unhappy people will just quit their jobs and jump right into the first internet marketing business they find with no preparation, no knowledge of what they are doing, no education, and no hope of success. Failure is their only option and they are not even aware of it.

According to many sources, more than 90% (Ninety percent) of all Internet business start-ups end in failure within the first 120 (one hundred twenty) days. And that number is all too accurate: NINETY PERCENT!

This alarming failure rate goes unheeded for a number of reasons:

1. Many don’t know the statistical probabilities they face.
2. Many don’t see themselves as being part of the failures or they wouldn’t leap.
3. Many are talked into things they are unprepared for.
4. Many don’t know the basic tenant of – “If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.”

Of course, success is still a possibility. There IS that other 10% (ten percent) that do succeed. For them, success doesn’t happen by accident. And success isn’t just a crap shoot. Success happens because of some very important factors.

Success happens because people learn about internet marketing and how it works. They do not expect to get rich quick or be able to make a killing overnight and retire to a tropical isle.

It is strange but somehow the same people, who wouldn’t dream of starting a real world business, think they can make a go of an internet business even though they have no business background.

People think that an internet business just means that they no longer have to get up and go to work. They think they can simply work when the feel like it and still make a good living. They do not understand that any business requires them to work hard and sometimes work long hours.

Some Wrong Ideas on the Internet

That 90% failure rate of new Internet businesses really is not surprising when you think about the sort of people who start an internet business.

Most people seem to think that being a successful internet marketer is as easy as getting a website built and getting their own domain name and they could not be farther from reality.

Being a successful internet marketer requires self-discipline. People read books like “4 Hour Work Week” and think that partying all night, sleeping until noon and then 3 or 4 hours with a computer will make them rich.

There is not a magic button to push to have instant massive traffic to their million-dollar-like website and fistfuls of cash in their bank. It is just not going to happen.

Internet marketing does not run on auto-pilot. And while established internet marketing types do not put in the long, boring hours they have built their businesses by doing that in the past.

It does not happen overnight for anybody. Most people are not prepared for the time requirement necessary for an internet business to achieve success.

They Do Not Have a Business Background

All businesses whether large or small, Internet or “brick and mortar” have two things in common: they are a BUSINESS and must be operated like a business! Business people must understand accepted business practices.

There are simple and basic concepts like “acceptable over-head expenses in relation to projected income”. All entrepreneurs need to understand profit and loss and what constitutes each.

It is not a requirement to have a college degree in business to be successful but it wouldn’t hurt. On the other hand some basic business knowledge is an absolute necessity.

If it is difficult to balance your check book, then it might be a good idea to keep your day job and forget about being in business.

Yes, you can hire an accounting firm that will tell you WHEN to make tax deposits, but they will not tell you IF you need to make tax deposits.

An accountant can tell you if you made a profit but not how you make it. If you have no business background get some good business advice before you consider opening any business.

The fact is that all successful businesses follow the rules of sound business principles. A successful business is not an accident. The numbers tell the story that only 10% of all new internet businesses are successful or are even still in existence after their first 120 days.

Even the expectation of profit is not reasonable for the first few month.

Have sufficient resources available for everything from startup costs to personal needs for a period of time. It’s called “capital” and there is no alternative to plenty of it.

They Do Not Have The Right Mindset!

Most of us have heard the phrase, “He has an attitude!” And it is often a derogatory remark made about a person with a negative attitude.

The word “attitude” is important when thinking about marketing start-ups. A good attitude or a good mind set will not guarantee success but a bad attitude or a bad mind set can guarantee failure.

Let’s examine a few attitudes that will absolutely guarantee failure:

1. I can work when I want to. This is absolutely wrong! You cannot just work when it suits you. Expect many long and sometimes boring hours of hard work for your business to succeed.
2. I can get rich quick! This is a dangerous one. While getting rich quick is possible, there are too many “get rich quick” schemes that are only ways for the unscrupulous to take advantage of the willing. Expect to be wealthy in whatever time it takes. It is possible to make a very comfortable living in internet marketing but it is not usually quick or easy.
3. I don’t need a business plan. Internet business is still a business. All business principles apply to online business as they do to brick and mortar business. It is imperative that you have a plan for your success based on sound business principles.
4. Internet business people do not have a boss. You are the boss. A good boss sees that all work is completed on time and in full, or you will fail. Set up a work schedule and goals to meet or you will find yourself working at a job under a boss who does do those things and maybe for minimum wage.

Ways to Avoid Failure

Starting a business … any business … has no guarantee of success, period!

Even large multi-national businesses can fail in a new business venture. Failure is always an option and the possibility or probability of success can be enhanced.

You can increase your possibility of success by:

1. Making a business plan BEFORE starting your online business. To remind you one of the things I said at the beginning: “If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.” A plan for success is a requirement. Have the steps listed in great detail including reasonable cost estimates for completing each step.
2. Expect to work hard to achieve your goals. Never expect things to be easy. Most of the time things are not as easy as they appear. Each successive step will require its own work, time and patience. Sometimes things don’t go right on the first try. Be willing to keep going again and again until you succeed.
3. Do not fall for a get-rich-quick schemes. The internet woods are full of those who prey upon those who are looking for quick and easy ways to become rich. Most are ways for the other person to get rich quick from your money.

Remember those statistics! Ninety percent of all new internet businesses fail in the first 120 days. You don’t have to be part of that majority. You can become a part of that 10% minority of successful internet business enterprises. Find something that others are having success with – to the level you want your own success, do what they do, and you will have your own success. Be prepared to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes.


Source: http://www.chrisducker.com/internet-business-failures/

How to Start a Business Online

7 tried and true steps for attracting visitors to your site--and getting them to buy.

There is a proven sequence of steps you can follow to guarantee your success when you're starting a small business online. I've seen thousands of people start and grow successful businesses by doing the following:

1. Find a need and fill it.
2. Write copy that sells.
3. Design and build an easy-to-use website.
4. Use search engines to drive traffic to your site.
5. Establish an expert reputation for yourself.
6. Follow up with your customers and subscribers with e-mail.
7. Increase your income through back-end sales and upselling.

Anyone, from newbie to seasoned online entrepreneur, can benefit from this process in learning how to start a business online.

Step 1: Find a need and fill it

Most people who are just starting out make the mistake of looking for a product first, and a market second.

To boost your chances of success, start with a market. The trick is to find a group of people who are searching for a solution to a problem, but not finding many results. The internet makes this kind of market research easy:

• Visit online forums to see what questions people ask and what problems they're trying to solve.
• Do keyword research to find keywords that a lot of people are searching, but for which not many sites are competing.
• Check out your potential competitors by visiting their sites and taking note of what they're doing to fill the demand. Then you can use what you've learned and create a product for a market that already exists--and do it better than the competition.

Step 2: Write copy that sells

There's a proven sales copy formula that takes visitors through the selling process from the moment they arrive to the moment they make a purchase:

1. Arouse interest with a compelling headline.
2. Describe the problem your product solves.
3. Establish your credibility as a solver of this problem.
4. Add testimonials from people who have used your product.
5. Talk about the product and how it benefits the user.
6. Make an offer.
7. Make a strong guarantee.
8. Create urgency.
9. Ask for the sale.

Throughout your copy, you need to focus on how your product or service is uniquely able solve people's problems or make their lives better. Think like a customer and ask "What's in it for me?"

Step 3: Design and build your website

Once you've got your market and product, and you've nailed down your selling process, now you're ready for your small-business web design. Remember to keep it simple. You have fewer than five seconds to grab someone's attention--otherwise they're gone, never to be seen again. Some important tips to keep in mind:

• Choose one or two plain fonts on a white background.
• Make your navigation clear and simple, and the same on every page.
• Only use graphics, audio or video if they enhance your message.
• Include an opt-in offer so you can collect e-mail addresses.
• Make it easy to buy--no more than two clicks between potential customer and checkout.
• Your website is your online storefront, so make it customer-friendly.

Step 4: Use search engines to drive targeted buyers to your site

Pay-per-click advertising is the easiest way to get traffic to a brand-new site. It has two advantages over waiting for the traffic to come to you organically. First, PPC ads show up on the search pages immediately, and second, PPC ads allow you to test different keywords, as well as headlines, prices and selling approaches. Not only do you get immediate traffic, but you can also use PPC ads to discover your best, highest-converting keywords. Then you can distribute the keywords throughout your site in your copy and code, which will help your rankings in the organic search results.

Step 5: Establish an expert reputation for yourself

People use the internet to find information. Provide that information for free to other sites, and you'll see more traffic and better search engine rankings. The secret is to always include a link to your site with each tidbit of information. 

• Give away free, expert content. Create articles, videos or any other content that people will find useful. Distribute that content through online article directories or social media sites.
• Include "send to a friend" links on valuable content on your website.
• Become an active expert in industry forums and social networking sites where your target market hangs out.

You'll reach new readers. But even better, every site that posts your content will link back to yours. Search engines love links from relevant sites and will reward you in the rankings.

Step 6: Use the power of e-mail marketing to turn visitors into buyers.

When you build an opt-in list, you're creating one of the most valuable assets of your online business. Your customers and subscribers have given you permission to send them e-mail. That means:

• You're giving them something they've asked for.
• You're developing lifetime relationships with them.
• The response is 100 percent measurable.
• E-mail marketing is cheaper and more effective than print, TV or radio because it's highly targeted.

Anyone who visits your site and opts in to your list is a very hot lead. And there's no better tool than e-mail for following up with those leads.

Step 7: Increase your income through back-end sales and upselling 

One of the most important internet marketing strategies is to develop every customer's lifetime value. At least 36 percent of people who have purchased from you once will buy from you again if you follow up with them. Closing that first sale is by far the most difficult part--not to mention the most expensive. So use back-end selling and upselling to get them to buy again:

• Offer products that complement their original purchase.
• Send out electronic loyalty coupons they can redeem on their next visit.
• Offer related products on your "Thank You" page after they purchase.

Reward your customers for their loyalty and they'll become even more loyal.

The internet changes so fast that one year online equals about five years in the real world. But the principles of how to start and grow a successful online business haven't changed at all. If you're just starting a small business online, stick to this sequence. If you've been online awhile, do a quick review and see if there's a step you're neglecting, or never got around to doing in the first place. You can't go wrong with the basics.

Source: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/175242

7 Money Making Ideas That Really Work with Robert Shemin

How do you feel about just doing what rich people do?

Social Media Monetization in a 'Mobile First' World

As much as Silicon Valley's ethos is the constant pursuit of creating value, eventually the byproduct of this process (and the stakeholders involved) will also require the creation of revenue.

In the past year, we have seen these dynamics play out in the social networking sector across a variety of companies at different stages of growth, maturity, and monetization.

While the early phases of social media success tend to focus on metrics around user growth and engagement, every social media company must eventually figure out some sort of revenue stream (unless they prefer to go the acquisition route).

Most social networking companies eventually monetize through advertising, and more specifically through "native advertising" – or non-standard ad units that are specific to the platform and are organically integrated into the content experience.

Facebook and Twitter, both mature, publicly traded companies with well-established revenue streams, have been the pace-setters in social by effectively monetizing their respective native ad units, Sponsored Stories for Facebook and Promoted Tweets for Twitter.

Linkedin also introduced their Sponsored Content ads, and while its advertising business has not yet monetized to the same degree as Facebook and Twitter, it also has a strong value proposition to advertisers given the quality of its business-oriented audience.

Other established players like Tumblr and Pinterest are in the earlier days of monetizing through advertising, but they too have native ad units that integrate into their content experience.

Social Evolving in the Direction of 'Mobile-First' Experiences

But all of these networks are children of the desktop web. True, they are all in various phases of transition towards mobile as the dominant medium for consumption, but their networks were all built around a fixed Internet experience.

Fast forward to today, and we've seen another evolution in the social networking space that centers around “mobile-first” networks. Social brands such as Instagram, SnapChat, and Vine are all recent examples of mobile-first success stories, which represent an evolution in social media by focusing on the single core utility of capturing and disseminating interesting content captured through mobile phone cameras.

Each of these services has built massive audiences in a very short period of time (70 million users age 18+ for Instagram, 25 million for Vine and 21 million for Snapchat), something that has clearly been enabled by being mobile-first.

With people carrying their smartphones around with them 24/7, the opportunity to capture a slice of life on camera is always within arm's reach. This has created an environment of fast and simple content creation that is fueling the experience of these networks and driving their rapid growth.

Consider that Instagram already has an audience the size of Twitter in the U.S., and both Vine and Snapchat have reached audiences about half that of Tumblr and Pinterest in little more than a year of existence.

Turning Eyeballs into Dollars... Natively

While these newer networks aren't necessarily under extreme pressure to monetize just yet, all are beginning to work with brands in experimenting around marketing. In each case, they will likely be looking to native advertising models to pave the way toward monetization.

The trick with native advertising is that the ad units, by definition, are not one-size-fits-all. Such ad models typically only work for companies who can deliver ad impressions at significant scale.

Because the popular social networks not only amass a large number of users, but those users are also highly engaged, this affords the opportunity to deliver billions of ad impressions every month. It is this sort of scale needed for advertisers and marketers to want to play ball with an individual media company.

Native ads also dovetail particularly well with the mobile environment because they are typically delivered within the content stream. Hence, the mobile-first networks have a built-in monetization advantage, providedthey can reach a level of scale to become viable peddlers of native ad inventory.

Since Instagram, Snapchat, and Vine all provide visually rich environments that reach strategic audience segments (read: young people), they offer platforms that are clearly compelling to marketers. These mobile-first networks are rapidly changing the social networking space and creating a significant amount of value very quickly for their users.

Value for users means potential value to marketers, and when marketers turn their attention to an emerging platform, it's only a matter of time before these networks can turn on the revenue faucets.

Source: http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2333082/Social-Media-Monetization-in-a-Mobile-First-World

Ten Internet Business Ideas To Help You Make Money On The Side

With rising prices and the continued squeeze on wages, many people are looking for an extra source of cash.

And the good news is that starting up a business on the side is easier than ever before. It's not always true that it takes money to make money. In today's connected world, there are dozens of possibilities for online businesses that can be set up on a shoestring and run part-time. Indeed, recent research from Direct Line for Business has found that eight million of us are already doing so.


And more such 'bedroom businesses' are appearing every day, according to jobs marketplace Freelancer.co.uk. Earlier this year, it carried out a research study which concluded that the number of new spare-time start-ups rose by a third over the previous year.

And, the study found, the average start-up cost of such a venture was just £325. Respondents gave a number of reasons for the low cost, but the main two are obvious: the lack of need for office space, or for retail space when selling online.

"Starting a microbusiness online is easier than ever, and is less risky with small start up costs," says Freelancer.co.uk European director Bill Little. "Many of the people in this study set up businesses alongside their own jobs, hiring in freelancers for short projects to help get the business off the ground, before leaving their job to run the business full time."

Some such businesses are essentially online versions of traditional companies - selling home-made goods, for example - while others are new to the digital age. We look at some of the options.


1. Sell something home-made
There's been an explosion in the quantity and quality of hand-made goods available in recent years, and all thanks to the internet. It's no longer necessary to open a shop or secure deals with retailers: just create a website and start selling. Making it even easier are sites such as Etsy or Not On The High Street, which act as a marketplace for your wares. Costs vary from site to site, but can involve a joining fee, a charge for each listing and/or a percentage of sales.

2. Online trading
You don't need to make something yourself to sell it online. So many people now make an income buying and selling on eBay that they have their own independent trade organisation, the Professional eBay Sellers Alliance (PESA), whose members are turning over more than $400 million a year. Some make their money by cutting out the middleman, buying goods from wholesalers and selling them direct to the public. Others use their expertise to source, say, vintage clothes or antiques cheaply and sell them on at a profit.

3. Become a freelancer
Many specialist jobs are now routinely put out to freelancers working from home. Particularly in demand are technical skills such as website design, programming and software development, along with graphic design and marketing. Numerous agencies exist to match freelancers with jobs, including Freelancer.co.uk, Freelancers.net and People Per Hour.

4. Teaching
The advent of video calling services such as Skype has made it far more practical for teachers to offer lessons online. There's a rapidly-growing market for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers, who can sit at home and tutor children halfway round the world - it's particularly popular in China, Korea and Japan. Some of the bigger players are Englishtown, Telelangue and GlobalEnglish. Teachers can set their own hours, and many go on to set up their own small online schools.

5. Become a virtual PA
These days, there's really no need for a PA to be in the same town as his or her boss, let alone in the same room. There's also an increasing demand for part-time secretarial or admin support. As with teaching, there are several agencies that offer such virtual PA services, but many people simply start up by themselves with one or two small clients. Unlike teaching, though, it can be hard to find work that fits round an existing job.

6. App development
Had a brilliant idea for an app, but lack the technical skills? If your idea's good enough, you won't need them. It's now possible to hire top-notch Indian programmers to design an app for you at a fraction of the cost in the UK.

7. Write an e-book
With the advent of ebooks, writers stopped needing to win agents and editors over - and self-publishing stopped meaning vanity publishing. Many people have a rejected novel under the bed, or a store of specialist knowledge just waiting to be written down. Publishing options include Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, Smashwords and iBooks.

8. Start a blog
This isn't one for a quick return - very few blogs ever make any serious money, and those that do generally take years. But if you have something you're passionate about, it can be worth a try. Drive traffic to your blog using social media, search engine optimisation and internet marketing and eventually - with a bit of luck - it becomes possible to make money from advertising and affiliate links.

9. Start a membership site
If you're an expert in your field, you can charge a monthly fee for access to an information-based website. Successful sites offer articles, seminars and member forums and can become highly profitable.

10. Data entry
Not one for the faint-hearted, as the work can be repetitive and low-paid. It's important, too, to do your research before taking on work, as it's an area associated with a number of scams. But start-up costs are low, timing is completely flexible, and the only skill required is fast and accurate typing.

Source of Article

New Do you want to work at home to make money online?

Great At-Home Jobs

Technology makes it super easy to earn money without leaving the house

Some examples from the US

The phrase "work at home" used to make me think "scam." I'd see signs saying, "Make $1,000 a day stuffing envelopes" and knew this was too good to be true.

Times have changed: No longer are these sorts of scams a perennial on the Federal Trade Commission's list of Top 10 Consumer Complaints. In fact, finding legitimate work you can do in your pajamas is more possible than ever before. Check out these promising new options.

1. Let your fingers do the working

If you are a wiz with a word processor, consider work with a transcription service, such as Rev.com. To apply, you need to take a test by transcribing an audio file. If you're accepted (only about half of applicants are), you can decide what and how much work to take on. You get paid based on the length of the audio files (in minutes), so the faster you type, the more money you can make. A good typist can earn as much as $100 a day.

2. Tap your expertise

Experts in a particular field — computer technicians or lawyers, for example — may want to try Pearl.com, where you can answer questions from consumers or businesses. Customers pay an average of $30 to have their question answered. About half the fee goes to the expert, half to the site. Applicants must take a subject matter test and submit to a background check. Only 5 percent of those who apply are accepted.

3. Teach, virtually

Some 6.7 million students take at least one college course a semester — and the market has barely been tapped. That's translated to an uptick in opportunities for online teaching at places like Johns Hopkins and the University of Phoenix, says Sara Sutton Fell, CEO of FlexJobs, a job-search site. You can also find nonuniversity-based teaching jobs at education and technology companies. Be sure to brush up your LinkedIn profile, she says. You can also apply directly to an online school by going to its website.

  

4. Use your social skills

If you like to talk, look into call-center positions. FlexJobs' Sutton Fell notes that such work is often needed round-the-clock — good news for early risers and insomniacs. Don't limit your search to your own state; a lot of call centers are located in Utah and Georgia. The travel and hospitality fields tend to have more open positions. When searching, use terms like "call center," "customer service" and "customer support." You'll need a dedicated phone line and Internet access.

Source: http://www.aarp.org/work/working-after-retirement/info-10-2013/great-athome-jobs.html