5 Secret Facts About Successful Online Businesses That Nobody Gets

There are a lot of misconceptions about how it is to run a business online. As we often mention in our free webinar training, it’s hard for businesses to know future results when they try to succeed, even though it’s definitely possible. There’s especially a lot of misconceptions concerning how challenging it is to run a successful online business. Even business owners who have a lot of experience don’t often realize how much energy and skills it takes to excel and make a business work. This post will take a look at 5 “secret” facts that set businesses that succeed apart from the ones that don’t. 

1. They stay true to themselves

When you look at successful business owners you probably wonder if the business changes them. While it may seem like successful business owners go to the dark side, The Business Small Business actually makes it clear that most business owners stay true to themselves. In fact, that’s what helps them succeed. 

Your business is an extension of you, no matter how big or small it is at the present time. It will succeed or fail by how others perceive your brand, and ultimately how they feel about doing business with you. All aspects of your business (customer service, product creation, back office) should respect your values.

The old adage that people like to do business with people they “know, like, and trust” is even truer today. Even with the largest companies, people want to see the CEO come out to represent the company and speak on behalf of it.

Authenticity is the key. You’ve got to be you, whether it’s the smooth, sophisticated type or the person with rough edges and an attitude to match. Only you know what works for you and your target audience, but the one thing that can guarantee failure is not being authentic.

If you're not comfortable being the representative of your business you'll still want to create some type of persona to represent your company and brand and humanize your business as much as possible.

2. Not everyone has a business background

If not having a business background has been holding you back, don’t let it. However, Chris Ducker says you should take the time to learn a few things about business, otherwise, it could haunt you later on. If you’re not business minded, ask a friend who knows about business to educate you or guide you as you work on your business. 

All businesses whether large or small, Internet or “brick and mortar” have two things in common: they are a BUSINESS and must be operated like a business! Business people must understand accepted business practices.

There are simple and basic concepts like “acceptable over-head expenses in relation to projected income”. All entrepreneurs need to understand profit and loss and what constitutes each.

It is not a requirement to have a college degree in business to be successful but it wouldn’t hurt. On the other hand some basic business knowledge is an absolute necessity.

If it is difficult to balance your check book, then it might be a good idea to keep your day job and forget about being in business.

Yes, you can hire an accounting firm that will tell you WHEN to make tax deposits, but they will not tell you IF you need to make tax deposits.

An accountant can tell you if you made a profit but not how you make it. If you have no business background get some good business advice before you consider opening any business.

The fact is that all successful businesses follow the rules of sound business principles. A successful business is not an accident. The numbers tell the story that only 10% of all new internet businesses are successful or are even still in existence after their first 120 days.

Even the expectation of profit is not reasonable for the first few month.

Have sufficient resources available for everything from startup costs to personal needs for a period of time. It’s called “capital” and there is no alternative to plenty of it.

3. Sometimes being successful means giving up

Forbes reminds small business owners that even if they’re successful that doesn’t mean they can control every aspect of their business. In fact, they may need to take a step back from time to time. Or, if the day comes, they may need to let go of their business altogether.

I could list a bunch of “never give up” quotes here, but that would just contradict my point. Successful online business owners know that sometimes you absolutely MUST cut your losses and generally there will be something or someone you have to give up on. It may be a strategy, a person or even on an entire business venture.

A good rule of thumb: if trusted advisors or colleagues are telling you it's time to give up on something, do yourself a favor — listen and consider what is being said. You can't keep track of everything.

4. They work hard to understand their audience 

You might think that a successful business owner knows their audience right of the gates. Well, if you believe that The Balance Small Business says you couldn’t be more wrong. It takes time for anyone to understand their audience, and even when they think they do their audience is still going to continue to change. 

Thanks in large part to social media, the world is transitioning from a corporate-dominated, sales-based economy to a trust-based economy. In the past, dominant companies could count on “blind” brand loyalty from customers to guarantee steady profits, even if their products and post-sales service were severely lacking.

Not anymore. Today, there is truly global competition across many industries, and the smallest glitch or weakness shown by corporations are quickly exposed, spread virally by consumers through the Internet, and exploited by ruthless competitors. The auto industry is a great example. No matter how big the company (e.g. GM, Toyota) individuals have the power to make them fall to their knees if they fail to deliver. Social media generally isn't friendly to the airline industry as well, but the dangers are worse for smaller businesses who don't have the time or money to invest in online reputation management.

On the plus side, when used properly, social media marketing and Facebook provides a huge opportunity for entrepreneurs and small business owners as it's a great way for your most loyal and enthusiastic customers to share their love and excitement for your company and brand.

Miles Beckler explains how deciding on a medium that’s most effective to communicate with your audience is essential. It may take some time to figure out what that medium is, but once you do you should stay consistent and regularly engage with them on that platform. 

Deciding which medium you will use to communicate with your audience is the second step to build a successful online business.

There are three primary methods used to communicate with your audience online: videos, the written word, and podcasting.

Do you communicate most freely in a conversation? Do you thrive on a stage or in front of an audience? Or do you spill out content fluidly in a journal?

Do you communicate most freely in a conversation? Do you thrive on a stage or in front of an audience? Or do you spill out content fluidly in a journal?

You don’t have to know precisely which medium you excel in from the get-go. Trial and error will reveal to you reasonably quickly which method is right for you.

Test what works for you and what does not. Think back to high school or middle school. How did you naturally communicate with others before you grew up and peers and adulthood stifled your natural self?

Think about which way comes naturally to you, determine if this is still effective for you now, and then stay in that zone until you’ve mastered it.

After you decide on the best method of communication, you need to figure out which platform your target audience is on that your communication method naturally fits into.

There are platforms such as YouTube, Udemy, Facebook, Skillshare, Vimeo, and others for videos.

WordPress, Medium, Reddit, and a ton of other platforms support the written word.

Spotify, iTunes, SoundCloud and other platforms for podcasting are available.

And then you have the whole social media world available to you as well. The demographics listed in this link will help you decide the best venue to use to reach your particular audience.

Choosing the right platform starts with an understanding of who your audience is (from step one) and how you’re going to communicate with that audience.

Keep your particular audience in mind, and then pick ONE platform to crush first.

After trying and failing at my blog for six years, I found that videos on YouTube were where I needed to be. Then about ten months after that, I branched out and added my blog back into my strategy along with my YouTube postings.

Now 16 months later, I am podcasting, Facebooking, and getting Instagram rolling as well.

But I would have crashed hard again in a different way if I had tried to be on all of those platforms from day one.

Find YOUR voice; start on ONE platform.

5. They know that passive income is not always passive 

Forbes clears up the misconception that not every entrepreneur gets to sit back and enjoy their time at the beach. In fact, they have to work hard at running their business and if and when their business is successful, they still may need to manage larger-scale tasks. 

Many people have this idea that running an online business allows you to work minimal hours while sipping a margarita on the beach. And while it does give you far more flexibility than a traditional job, “passive income” is a bit of a misnomer. Even if your business is highly automated and can run largely without your hands-on involvement, most online businesses will still require you to oversee and manage the big picture tasks (which, admittedly, you can often do while laying on the beach).

Join us during our next free webinar training where you can learn more “secret” facts about online business owners and how they work hard to create a successful business. 

Sources: Forbes, The Balance Small Business, Chris Ducker, Miles Beckler