In earlier articles and blog postings here on First Time Pregnancy I wrote about work at home and other business opportunities you might be interested in. It was amazing to see and read the feedback that was coming in via email about these type of topics. Today I want to take the opportunity to write a little more about this and to start a free guide on how to start your own online business. This type of business model often gives you the chance to keep your existing job while you work on your own business.
My own home-based business actually is setup to make money online. My main reason to setup my own business this way was about the freedom it would give me. I can decide when and where I work and of course how much I work. Don’t get me wrong, there is work involved for sure and if you work less, your income will most-likely go down, too. So, my days are still long, but I have enough freedom to do other things in between – be it going out for lunch to meet friends or bring my son to school in the mornings. I can run errands during the day and then get my laptop in the evening hours and do some work for another hour or two. It works out great for me and so I am a big fan of work at home opportunities. However, my business model is not something you can buy somewhere.
I started out with a single website related to a hobby of mine. The website turned into an online discussion forum and grew over time to about 5,000 visitors per day. 8 years after I had started this website I was approached by a company with an offer to buy the website from me. Over the years my interests had shifted a little bit, especially now with having a family and so I decided to let go of my website a for mid $xx,xxx dollar amount.
However, this was not my only website that I had built up over the years. I had started quite a few websites and many of these I still own today. Some of them are kind of dead, while others are thriving quite well. As a result I am concentrating on those websites that make me money and the other ones slowly slip into the background – maybe I get back to them later.
If you are interested in doing something similar I’ll be happy to share some of my knowledge with you. The one thing I need to point out is that this is NOT a get rich quick thing. There is actual work involved and the more work you are able to put in, the more success you will see. Don’t believe what you see one some websites or certain newsletters – if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is and you should stay away.
Of course this email is going to be not long enough that I can lay it all out in just one email. So, you will see a series of emails or articles on my website about this. But let’s get started here a bit in preparation of what is going to come.
The most important part of this whole thing is to be passionate about what you are doing. If you are not passionate about your business you will not succeed. If you want to follow through following my example you will eventually start a website (or more than one) and it is easier to provide content for your website if you are passionate about it. It will keep you much more motivated about your new venture if you are passionate about the topic. So, start thinking about what your hobbies are or other topics you are passionate about. Or maybe you learned something that you feel is worthy of sharing. Don’t start just another Mommy blog writing about the crazy life of being a parent – there are plenty of those out there already. You need something to separate yourself from others to be able to draw attention and to reduce the competition you are going to face.
Once you have identified a topic you would like to get into you can decide if you want to just blog about it or if it is maybe worth to sell your knowledge and passion in form of a book or eBook. There are many ways to make money off your knowledge. However, depending on which way you want to go it is important to note that you might want to hold off on monetizing your idea for a little bit – especially if you want to start a website. Often new bloggers or webmasters put up ads all over the brand-new website and any visitor who comes to the website feels like you are in it just for the money. Don’t – be in it because you are passionate about it. The money will follow down the road. And, keep in mind that this new venture will your way to quit your day job and to work from home for the rest of your life. Being your own boss is one of the best moments you can achieve.
Ready to start an online business? Click here and learn how I built my online business and how you can do it, too.
