A Lesson Learned From Building an Online Business is Don't Give Up

byDaverh

1.8K followers

3 weeks ago

If there's one thing I've learned from building an online business through Wealthy Affiliate, it's that the urge to quit shows up wayyyyyy before success does.

There were several times when I genuinely considered walking away. Not because I didn't like the work, but because I wasn't sure I had what it took to succeed.

I saw other people moving faster, seeming to do better, and having more success. I began questioning whether I was cut out for online business.

What stopped me from quitting wasn't motivation or foolish optimism. It was the time and effort already invested. I wrote quite a bit of content, learned the fundamentals of affiliate marketing, and built something from scratch. Two somethings, actually. Walking away would have meant accepting that all of that effort was worthless, just wasted time.

I wasn't ready to do that, and I couldn't accept it.

So I kept going.

For a while, nothing dramatic happened. No traffic spike. No sudden income. Just more posts published, more pages indexed, and more quiet work behind the scenes.

But over time, something subtle changed. Pages started showing up in search results. A few visitors trickled in. Then a few more. Eventually, small wins began appearing out of nowhere!

That's when a vital realization hit me. Success in online business isn't random. It's cumulative and the result of purposeful effort.

Search engines don't reward intention; they reward consistency and usefulness. When enough purposeful content exists, momentum naturally builds. You don't "get lucky", you reach a threshold. And that threshold only gets crossed by people who stay long enough.

That might be hard to understand if you are new to online business. I had heard it plenty of times -- "the tipping point of your business." And don't get me wrong. I'm not expecting an avalanche of success right away, but I do finally understand.

Ya gotta have faith that Wealthy Affiliate training works!

Another mindset shift came with traffic. Early on, it felt out of my control. Algorithms, updates, competition—it all seemed techy, unpredictable. But the longer I stayed in the game, the clearer it became that traffic is primarily influenced by effort. Not frantic effort, but focused work: answering real questions, publishing with intent, and improving what already exists.

In other words, we control traffic more than we think. Not directly, and not overnight—but through volume, clarity, and consistency.

The hard truth is this: quitting guarantees failure. There is no alternate outcome. But staying in the game—while imperfect, slow, and uncomfortable—keeps the door open for success to eventually show up. And it does show up, often quietly at first.

Most people don't fail because they lack intelligence, creativity, or tools. They fail because they stop before the compounding effect has time to work. Online business is one of the few models where effort today can pay off months or even years later—but only if you don't walk away too early.

If you're feeling stuck, discouraged, or questioning yourself, that doesn't mean you're doing it wrong. It often means you're right in the middle of the process. The uncomfortable phase isn't a signal to quit—it's usually proof that you're closer than you realize.

Never give up. Not because success is guaranteed tomorrow, but because giving up is the only way to make sure it never happens at all.

You will make it!

Dave