There are a multitude of online business opportunities. Some are easier to start than others, and the possibilities are endless. When creating an online business, our best option is to make it something we know, are interested in, and want to keep pursuing. Our goal is to to create a business that produces income long-term and aligns with the other aspects of our wealth definition.
Looking at our passions is one of the easiest ways to find a business that aligns with our overall wealth definition, and chances are we are already creating content in these areas. This doesn’t mean our business won’t change and evolve over time, but we don’t want to start a business and build a customer base then have it shift so drastically that our customer base is entirely different.
When we’re looking to start quickly we may choose to start using social media and/or a gig economy platform (i.e., Etsy). Choosing to start that way has it’s financial benefits, but when starting this way, the one essential thing we need to establish is a way to collect email addresses from our customers. Collecting our customer’s email addresses ensures we don’t lose contact with them should the algorithms change or the social platform or gig platform go out of business. That is also why we’ll want move our business to a website we own and control as soon as possible. If all our content and products are on a social platform or our products are only on a gig platform we are in serious trouble should anything happen to those platforms. Having our own website means we have control over our content and products. We can choose to use social platforms, gig platforms, other websites or physical stores if we want to, but should anything happen to these third-party sites all is not lost.
The beauty of an online business is we get to control the business. We decide where it lives, what it looks like, and how it impacts our daily lives.
Action steps:
- Decide how much time you want to spend on the business.
- Identify the knowledge you already have and are interested in sharing.
- Identify any credentials, training, or experience you have that establishes credibility in your field/business.
- Identify the product(s) or service(s) you will offer in exchange for money.
- Identify how you plan to share your content.
- Verify the URL for your business name is available and purchase it (even when it won’t be used initially).
Check out the post Multiple income streams, Define wealth, and What you put in is what you’ll get out.