Okay...So Where The #&%@ Do I Begin?

If you're one of those marketers who has been fortunate enough to find a starting point for your business (or whatever the hell it is you do online) then consider yourself blessed. There are those of us out here who essentially stare at a blank screen and wonder why.

Yes, getting started can be a real bitch.

And the worst part about getting started is that everybody has their own idea of just HOW you should get started. How do I know? Because I used to be one of those self absorbed opinionated SOBs. But seeing the light has made me change my opinion of things...drastically.

What brought about this change? I mean people just don't change for no reason at all. Usually, something happens. Well, in my case, it was 5 years of emails piling up that just broke the camels back.

What did all these emails say? Essentially the same thing.

Where do I begin...followed by a long story about their situation and what they could or couldn't do.

And that's when, after getting hit over the
head a zillion times, it dawned on me.

You can't fit a square peg into a round hole and you can't make people be what they're not or do what they won't do. The only thing you can do is point out their options...all of them.

And that's where we come to the proverbial can of worms that we're about to open.

See, there are more ways to make money online than Carter has liver pills.

Off the top of my head:

Ebook sales
Physical product sales
Copywriting services
Programming services
Membership sites
Adsense sites
CPA offers
Affiliate marketing
Ghost writing

Do I need to go on? We'll be here until next Tuesday.

And then, there are the number of ways to promote whatever business you decide to get yourself into.

And then there is the amount of money you're going to throw into your business versus the amount of time.

And then there is how much you're going to outsource or do yourself.

And then there is ad tracking and blogging and article writing and...

And enough already!

This is why people stare at a blank screen and want to cry in their beer.

And the worst part of all is that there is no one thing that you can tell a person that will get him up and running doing something that they will feel comfortable with and excel at.

For example. I do very well with my business by writing articles. So my telling somebody to write articles to promote their business is almost in injustice until I find out how skilled they are at writing. Sure, there is always the option to outsource the articles but then you have to take into consideration the person's budget. Somebody who's dirt poor can't spend hundreds of dollars a month on a ghost writer.

What about pay per click? Well, that's pretty cut and dry. You need money for that. Lots of it and lots of time to get it tweaked just right. Adwords can eat through a budget in no time if you don't know what you're doing.

But aren't we putting the cart before the horse here? We're talking about how we're going to promote our business before we've even decided what the frick we're going to sell.

So let's touch on that subject...briefly.

You hear all kinds of holier than thou advice about how to pick a business.

Some folks say to pick something you love and find a way to monetize it. Well, that's not a bad idea. Problem is, some people love things that just have no real market value. What are they supposed to do?

Then there are those who say, "Look for something that has a big market." Well, that's also a viable way to go about things. But what if the person hates the thing he's getting into so much that he can't stand doing it? For that matter, what if he has no knowledge of the niche at all? Where's he going to get it? How's he going to get it?

Does he even want to?

If you put a gun to my head and told me that I should get into debt relief because it is a huge niche, I still wouldn't do it.

Why?

Because I understand that getting out of debt is a complex process. I know nothing about how to reduce debt and have no desire to learn.

Truth be told, I think it takes a certain kind of person to do something JUST for the money and be able to do it well...no matter how little interest they have in the thing itself.

And that is the thing that leads me to the point of this whole jumbled mess. And make no mistake about it, this blog entry is the most unorganized mess I've ever put down on paper, or whatever you want to call it.

Why?

I refer you back to that poor sap staring at that blank screen.

Trying to find a starting point is like trying to figure out how to get from the US to China...on foot.

So what's the answer if there is no answer, if there is no ONE way to go about finding a path for yourself to the financial freedom or extra spending money that you're looking for?

(Yes, you can do either one)

This is where I can only speak from my own experience. This method won't work for everybody. For that matter, it may not work for anybody. But I can't deal with theory here because people don't work by theory. They work by the cold hard reality that is living.

And that reality is affected by everything they do...their jobs, their families, their health, their living conditions, everything. Trying to tell somebody to build a solid foundation business who has cerebral palsy is pretty silly, don't you think?

So here is MY answer. It may or may not work for you, but it's all I have to be able to answer what I feel is an unanswerable question.

Start with your interests. Write them all down and see if any of them can be easily monetized. This involves keyword research which I will get into in another blog entry.

If none of your interests pan out as being profitable, then look to finding out what niches ARE profitable. The keyword research in this case isn't even needed. We already know that these niches are profitable. All you have to do is determine HOW you're going to profit from them.

The next thing you need to do is decide if you want a business or just a way to make a few extra bucks. If it's the latter, a lot less work is needed. But make no mistake about it, in both cases, work WILL be required.

Once you've figured that out, the next step is to actually work on a business plan. That's a whole blog post in itself.

Once you've got the plan mapped out, start working on it...piece by piece. Decide what you're going to do yourself and what you're going to hire others to do.

After you've got all the pieces together, open up your "store" and start selling, or whatever it is you want to do.

And, after reading all the above...you STILL have no CLUE where to begin and you're still staring at that blank screen.

That's why there is a 95% failure rate.

There are some who can't even get past that blank screen.

Now, there is another method but I don't recommend it because sometimes you don't get all the pieces and you leave out some very important things.

But here's how it goes.

Go to a web site...any web site that appears to have a way to make money, whether it be through Adsense or selling products or getting members or whatever.

Emulate their business model, or as close to emulating it as you can. If they have a way to opt in to their list, do it. See how they sell to their prospects. Find out how they advertise. Find out as much as you can about this site.

There are going to be behind the scenes stuff that you won't know, such as if they have a team of programmers who put their site together. But at least this will give you a starting point.

Or, try this...talk to a friend who has a business. Find out what they're doing. If they're a real friend, maybe they'll tell you. They may not though. Competition is crazy on the Internet.

Other than all that...I'm clueless.

Ultimately, YOU have to do what you're comfortable doing. And nobody can make that decision for you but YOU.

Still don't know where to start?

Trust me...you're not alone.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim
4 Steps To Starting A Successful Business