5 Reasons an Online Business Is the Shortest Route to Financial Freedom Negligible costs to start a business and unlimited room to scale make the Internet the ultimate gold rush.
By Peter Voogd Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The 1 percent didn't become wealthy trading time for money, and neither will you. It's tolerable for a start, but at some point, you have to intensely focus on scaling and leverage. Enter the Internet. The Internet has created a new economy that is accessible to everybody. Its explosive growth and sheer size has already changed our perception of the traditional way of doing business. Amazon, PayPal, Netflix, eBay, and numerous other tech giants have virtually cornered their respective markets and created domination in areas where just a few years ago traditional brick-and-mortar businesses reigned supreme.
The advent of the Internet has in many ways leveled the playing field for small businesses to compete with major corporations. Online businesses have the unique ability to grow exponentially because they present endless possibilities and upside. Creating the next revolutionary online business is not easy, and it takes risk, but you must see past the risk and keep your eyes fixed on the endless rewards. You must focus on leveraging and scaling your business by harnessing the power of the Internet.
Here are the top five reasons why taking your business online will help you immeasurably leverage your business and regain your long lost freedom.
1. Scalability and exponential growth.
Regardless of what type of business or industry you are in, scalability is an essential for taking your business to the next level. Establishing a business online is the quickest and easiest way to realize truly exponential growth. The most successful businesses today are rooted in highly scalable online business models - Uber, Google, Netflix, Amazon, all the social media platforms - the list goes on.
An online business provides all of the essential ingredients to create the perfect scalability formula. Some of the main ingredients the Internet provides, among countless others, include:
- Instant access to more than 3.2 billion potential customers (roughly 40 percent of world population).
- Dirt-cheap costs to build a world-class website.
- Robust integration capabilities with social media and free access to the most sophisticated and user-friendly marketing platforms.
- Overnight proof of concept with real time customer-feedback.
- Drastic reduction in costs for all aspects of running your business.
Success and scalability are intertwined. Taking your business online lets you achieve the scalability necessary for your business to thrive by maximizing output while minimizing costs and time.
Related: How to Start a Business Online
2. Time over money.
The Internet is not some parallel universe exempt from the laws of reality. This was quickly discovered by all during the dot.com bubble. Your business valuation will not simply 10x or 50x by adding a ".com" to your name. However, the Internet does provide certain shortcuts to those who leverage its benefits. By understanding and mastering these benefits, you will be able to drastically increase your business' growth while scaling back the amount of time you spend in your business.
Once you design and launch your ecommerce site, little additional time is required to run it because of the Internet's efficiencies and automation. Virtual assistants have reduced your time commitments even further and for next-to-nothing prices. This gives you more time to focus on big-picture projects that take your business to the next level. It also allows you to live life on your terms, and focus on the things that keep you motivated and engaged.
3. Create raving fans and loyal advocates.
The goal of business is to create raving fans and loyal advocates. they go out of their way to promote your product to anyone and everyone, not because you asked them but because they want to. This is the Holy Grail of marketing that you cannot put a price on. Creating an online platform to attract these zealous supporters is paramount, and the quickest, surefire way to achieve exponential growth.
A website gives you the best opportunity to prove your credibility and authenticity. By showing your customers that you can consistently provide them value and deliver on your business's promises, you can earn their support. Having an online presence allows you to shift your customer's perspective from a one-time buyer to a lifelong raving fan and loyal advocate.
Related: 4 Essentials for Achieving the Entrepreneurial Dream
4. Maximize, not minimize, your time.
It's not about working hard, or working smarter, it's about working right. The Internet has paved the way for this principle that has taken the entrepreneurial world by storm. In less than 24 hours you, as an entrepreneur, can think of an idea, create a minimum viable product or service, list the product or service for sale online with a global customer base, receive instantaneous user-feedback, then modify and adjust your product based on that feedback! Efficiency at its finest.
Validating that your idea works by people actualing pay for it is priority number one. Remember, your customers are marketing geniuses. They know exactly what they want and it is your job to find that out. Too many entrepreneurs begin with an idea for a product that they think people want. They spend months, sometimes years, making sure the product and business are perfected without ever testing or even showing it to potential customers! The Internet has given you the perfect platform to do just that.
5. Now is the perfect time.
What are you waiting for? There will never be a perfect time to take action and start an online business. If you're waiting for the right time, regret is guaranteed. Forget the naysayers and be decisive. I am telling you from experience that now is always the perfect time to chase your biggest ambitions. Twelve dollars - that is it! Twelve dollars is all it costs to buy a domain name and host it for a year with GoDaddy. For that same twelve dollars, you can design, build, and maintain your very own online business in less than a day!
How many business websites do you need to visit before you create your own? Stop being an online consumer, and switch teams to reorient as a producer first, and a consumer second. Those focused on building something bigger than themselves stay consistently on purpose. They are always producing results, not consuming.
Related: 4 Reasons Why an Online Business is the Best Investment You Will Ever Make
