Online Business Advantages

byLDSewell

3.1K followers

Updated 3 years ago

Owning your own business is a way to make more money and build yourself a better life over time.

But for many people, the idea of starting a business is a daunting thing.

That is perfectly understandable because people are not taught and conditioned to be business owners - but rather to be workers and "CONSUMERS".

That means the first requirement of success for owning a profitable business is an adjustment of your own mindset - in other words - how you see the world and yourself in the world. That will predetermine to a large part how you will react to both opportunities and threats as they occur.

Once you do that then it is time to really look at your business options.

There are tens of thousands of different businesses that you could potentially get into - and each one has its own specific challenges and benefits too.

Startup Costs

The biggest hurdle for most people - and the single thing that stops most from actually pulling the trigger and attempting to do it is the amount of money it takes to get the business off the ground.

Take trucking for example - something that I am passionate about. Just to get the license to be able to become a truck driver in the US is going to set you back on average about $4500 or so, depending on which training program you choose. That is before you get a shot at making your first dollar.

It will also take you about a month of training.

If you want to go all the way in and start your own trucking company then you are looking at far more than that too;

Authority - $300

Other Fees and Taxes - $4500-$7000 or so

Buying a Truck - $20,000 to $60,000 plus for a decent used truck

Trailer - $4500 - $12,000 or more used

Insurance - (mandatory liability) about $1000 PER MONTH!

Load Board - $30 + per board per month

While there are all kinds of variables - in general, you are looking at needing about $30,000 to $40,000 or more - just to get in the game. In reality, you had better have far more than that because stuff happens.

That means you need emergency reserve funds too.

That makes it difficult for most people to even try - so they don't - and others who do try venture out on a wing and a prayer, and most fail. The majority will fail and go under in a year or less.

Real Estate is another thing near and dear to me.

I bought my first investment property while I was in my early twenties and paid $47,500 for it (as best as I can remember). When I sold it a few months later I made about $7000 profit - and I thought that was great.

Then I made other investments.

I made some money - and lost some too.

The gurus don't usually like to mention that part - but the hard cold truth is that anything and everything that has the word "INVESTMENT" typically means that you can both potentially make money and you can also potentially lose money!

Regardless - in most cases, to play in the real estate game you are going have to put thousands of dollars on the line, and maybe even tens of thousands depending on what you are doing. That means either your own money or borrowed money (OPM - Other Peoples Money).

That makes it neither as simple nor as easy as so many want you to think it is.

Specialized Information and Knowledge

Make a simple mistake setting up a trucking business and it can cost you dearly. For example, forget to wait until your pre-employment drug test comes back and is on file before you pull the first load under your own authority - and the potential fines start in the multiple thousands of dollars - and can be per trip!

With real estate, there are all kinds of things you can step in easily too. Lead paint, asbestos, HOA problems, septic tank, and well issues - not to mention wetland acts and other rules along the way.

Beyond that - do you know what it costs to install a new water heater, upgrade the electrical panel to 200 amp service, replace all the plumbing and upgrade the HVAC?

How about wood-destroying insects?

Foundation problems?

Contract errors and omissions?

The point is that neither of these businesses is something you are going to be able to learn in a two-hour or a two-day seminar well enough to do successfully without losing far more than you are likely to ever earn.

Both Trucking and Real Estate are great businesses and great opportunities - for some people - but they have serious challenges in terms of money and knowledge needed to get into either and there is real risk in both.

So you need to really learn what you are doing BEFORE you go sink thousands of dollars and months of your life into it.

Online Business Advantages

That brings us to the main point of this article.

You can start an online business immediately with almost no significant monetary investment and with very little specialized knowledge.

You just need enough information to know what to do next and then to be able to just do it.

As money begins to come in, keep learning - and keep reinvesting that money back into your own business.

Then repeat.

Follow that simple strategy - and get help from a community - such as Wealthy Affiliate - rinse and repeat and keep moving and you will achieve more and more success over time.

Your income and profits will grow over time if you do. You will eventually make enough money and have enough time to learn new skills so that you may decide to continue building your own business empire by starting other businesses sequentially.

How far can you take it?

That my friend remains to be determined by you!

Even so - nobody is coming to you with a silver platter...

If you want it then you have to get up and go do the work - and do it day in and day out - over time and stick with it when you feel like quitting ( and you will feel like quitting!).

Community can help you when that happens - and there is real power in belonging to a community of other like minded and driven people.

Have a great day today and make it count - and always remember;

Choose Your Own Course, Build a Better Life

Best regards,

L.D. Sewell