Is It Possible To Build A Successful Online Home Business?

I'm guessing that at one time or another everyone who starts an online home business has asked themselves,  "Is this really worth all the effort, time and money?" or "Can I really make money online?" or something very similar.

When I first started my online home business I spent hundreds of dollars and countless hours for many months before I ever earned a single cent. I worked very hard for many hours per week placing ads, participating in discussions, asking questions, building my website, doing link exchanges, submitting to directories, reading ebooks, etc... All for nothing in return. But, even though it seemed like nothing was happening that whole time, I was actually building my business.

Now I have had my online home business for over four years. I make anywhere from $7000 to $10,000 in any given month and work entirely from the comfort of my home computer. Was all the hard work in the beginning with no return worth it? You bet your butt it was!

In this article I will give you some advice on how to start and succeed in your online home business by avoiding common mistakes...

First of all, I want to tell you what an online home business really is. Most of what you will do is marketing and selling. It doesn't matter if you are involved in a business opportunity, an affiliate marketer, offering a service, network marketing, create your own product, or just about any of the other ways to run an online home business. The fact is you need to find buying customers and to do that you will need to market and sell. I'm not going to lie to you; it's not as easy as it sounds. However, it can be done and you can do it!

Here are some tips for how to be successful in finding potential customers and building a successful online home business:

1. Get Organized.

Running an online home business requires a large amount of discipline. You probably didn't want to hear that but it's true and the sooner you accept it, the better off you will be. Discipline means having your online business schedule and sticking to it. A great way to stay organized is to have a "to do" list each day and plan the next day before you go to bed. Most importantly, get your list done.

2. Find Out Who Your Market Is.

Why is it so important to know who your customers are? Because only then can you figure out where to find them and how to sell to them. Close your eyes and imagine who would be interested in your business. Is it mostly men or women? What age group? What kind of income do they have? What types of activities are they interested in? Write down the general profile of your target customer and do some online research to find what web sites these types of people visit, what newsgroups they participate in, what ezines they are reading, what they are buying, etc... So you'll know where to place your ads in order to get the highest response of targeted, interested customers.

3. Work, Work, Work

If you think having your own online home business means you won't have to work, think again! Most likely you will have to work harder, especially for the first couple years. It is not possible to earn a full time income online unless you work your butt off. Home businesses require a lot of self-motivation, self-discipline, and hard work. Your success depends very highly on your willingness to put in lots of time and effort. You have no boss or co-workers to make sure you are getting work done. You have to rely on yourself for motivation to get your work done, and that includes the things you don't really enjoy doing.

4. Keep Learning

Things change fast online so if you want to be successful you need to continue to learn and keep up with the times. You should always seek more knowledge in every part of your life and that is especially true in the online business world. There are tons of great resources on many websites to help you keep learning. With a little research each week, you can get a lot of useful information to keep current on the internet marketing trends. The more online home business knowledge you have, the more likely you are to succeed.

So now you know it is possible to build a successful online home business and you have a few tips to help ensure you succeed. Now go get started on your business!