Did you ever want to be an entrepreneur when you were younger?
I never considered entrepreneurship as a career path, but I decided to become one later in my life out of necessity. My son was born 12 weeks early, and I knew I would need a lot of time to take care of him during the first year of his life. My boss at the time, however, wasn’t going to be accommodating to me taking time off every week for doctor’s appointments. So, I decided to take my skills, knowledge and expertise and created a website for moms. The website became so popular — over 100,000 moms were visiting it every month — that I was able to sell it to a big media company. That experience was my first taste of entrepreneurship, and I haven’t turned back since.
My path was different than being a traditional entrepreneur because I did everything online. At the time, I couldn’t afford to open a brick-and-mortar business — it would’ve been way too risky and expensive. My husband and I were building a home at the time, meaning we didn’t have extra money to launch a business. I needed to create something online that had no overhead costs and minimal risk. After I launched the business, scaled it up and sold it, I realized I would never create a brick-and-mortar business. Why would I take on so much debt and risk when all I really needed was a laptop my blood, sweat and tears?
Entrepreneurs often come to me with the hope of starting a physical business, like a cool office space or retail space to sell their product. Usually, I advise them against it or at least open their eyes to the idea of starting an online business. Why sell your product in a store where only people in a 10 to 20-mile radius will shop there when you can create an online business and sell your product to people worldwide? When your business is online, you can work whenever you want and even sell products while you sleep and are on vacation. That freedom is what being an online entrepreneur is all about.
Here are 10 reasons why you should become an online entrepreneur:
It’s very low-risk.
Startup costs are very low, and your opportunity to scale quickly is right in front of you. Would you rather pay thousands of dollars each month for office space or $100 a year for a website domain? It’s much less stressful to start a business without going into debt first. Once you start to make money, you can scale your business up and start hiring people.
You can live and work anywhere in the world.
This means you can get clients — and hire employees — from all over the world. Gone are the days of looking for a great web developer in your city, for example. They can live anywhere and do an amazing job for you. When everything you do is online, the pool of employees you can choose from gets much bigger.
You’ll have so much more freedom with your time.
Think of how much time you waste getting ready for work, driving to work, driving to lunch, driving to meetings and driving home. What if everything you did was online and you only had to work when you wanted to? Whether you’re an early bird or a night owl, you can work whenever it’s most convenient for you. I remember clocking in and out at the ad agency I worked for right out of college. Many days, I’d be finished with my tasks for the day but I had to sit there until the clock hit 5 pm so I could leave — what a waste of time! If you work online, you can finish your tasks and then go outside, work out, meet a friend, etc. You’ll make way better use of your time.
You’ll have much more financial freedom.
When you have little to no overhead, the money you make goes in your pocket. When you have a brick-and-mortar operation, you first have to pay all of your bills, your employees and your rent before you take home anything. Low overhead costs mean more money in your pocket.
There’s never a boring moment.
You’re wearing every hat in the business when you start out, which can be hard, but it’s so rewarding knowing that you did that job and succeeded — plus, now you can teach someone else to do the job when you hire more people. If you work for a big corporation, you’re usually only working in one area and you do the same tasks over and over every day. Entrepreneurship brings a new challenge every day.
You can create a business that reflects your true purpose in life.
When you’re truly passionate about the product or service you provide, you’re living out your dream, not someone else’s. When you create your own business, it’s your purpose and your calling.
It will build your online network.
You’ll no longer see the same people every day at work because your network is online, connecting you to people worldwide. We have a client in Fiji and Italy — it’s so much fun to work with clients in places you like to travel! You can book business meetings that you write off while you enjoy some personal time as well.
You can create passive income.
When your business is online, people can buy from you 24/7 — you can literally make money while you sleep!
It makes you happy.
There’s something about working for yourself, doing business on your terms and controlling your own destiny that make you feel happy and content at the end of the day. Most of the entrepreneurs I coach are happy, even the ones who haven’t made any money yet. Being your own boss is an amazing feeling!
You can leave a legacy and make a difference even after you’re gone.
Look at Steve Jobs — his legacy is still going strong and will continue for many years to come.
Becoming an entrepreneur is very rewarding, but becoming an online entrepreneur will give you even more opportunities, which will allow you to build the life of your dreams.
