7 BIG reasons you should start an online business

Throughout the course of history there has never been an easier or better time to start your own business then there is today.

With the development and growth of easy to use website creation tools and social media everyone is connected together regardless of their income status or geography.

Weather you’re rich or poor you now have the ability to share your skills and connect with people all over the world for free.

And for those looking to build an online business it can be extremely inexpensive and very easy to get started.

In fact many people have started their own online business for less than $200 (the cost purchasing a domain name, hosting service and professional theme).

If you can connect with others and fill a need you can start a business.

In fact there are many wonderful benefits to starting your own online business from earning additional income and gaining more freedom to helping others achieve their own personal goals; however in order to keep things simple and to the point I will only go over 7 of the many wonderful benefits you can experience by starting and owning your own online business.

Note: For those eager to get started NOW here’s an excellent visual guide on How to Start Your First Website in 15 minutes or less!.

1) Starting an online business can be extremely inexpensive

As I stated earlier many small online businesses have started building their empire with nothing more than a computer, a domain name and a web hosting service to house their website on and get their information out to the millions of people online.

Altogether you can expect to spend as little as $100 – $200 (for the year) getting started and over time you can generate enough income to begin building a lifestyle that allows you to focus on the things you love.

Once you’ve built a blog, business website or online store and you’ve spent some time gaining traffic and building an audience you can create products and/or services to sell to your targeted audience.

Digital information products, software and services are extremely popular among many small online businesses and bloggers because you can create them for little to no cost and they are available for download 24/7.

Depending on your level of experience you’ll be able to either create your own products or higher someone else for more complex projects in order to help you create a product that is valuable to your consumers.

For those who would prefer to focus their time and effort on providing entertainment, information and/or education rather than creating products, such as those who work as bloggers (in a specific niche) you have the ability to promote products from other businesses and earn a commission for each sale.

What’s great about promoting other companies products as an affiliate is that you don’t have to spend all of your time and/or money creating your own products or services.

You can simply recommend the best products/services to other individuals and earn money for helping educate them on why a particular product and/or service is a great option for them.

One of the best part of owning an online business is the fact that you don’t have to ship any products and you have virtually an unlimited supply since everything is digital.

On the flip side you can choose to create an online business that sells physicals products and use the online portion of your business as a way to market and sell your product to the millions of people who go online every day.

This allows you to reach a much larger audience than if you ran a traditional brick and mortar store, and as I mentioned before online websites are always open for business and don’t require you to be there in order for a transaction to occur.

One more important thing to consider is the fact that you can start an online business all by yourself with a little more than some time and sweat equity. You don’t have to pay employees, rent or cover other expenses that a typical business has to worry about.

This makes the bar to entry extremely low and allows you to use your knowledge, experience and expertise to create something you can sell or trade.

In fact for many small businesses and content blogs an online website is one of the least expensive businesses for an individual entrepreneur to start up quickly.

2) You have flexibility of your time

Depending on the type of online business you choose to set up you can end up having much more flexibility in creating a work schedule that works for you.

You can choose what time of the day you want to work, how many hours you want to work and what days of the week you want to work as long as you set your business up in an efficient way.

This doesn’t mean that you can simply relax all of the time, but you have more choices in choosing when to focus on being productive whether it’s Monday – Friday or just the weekends, and whether it’s early in the morning, late at night or in the middle of the day.

You aren’t limited by an hourly wage because your income is often determined by how productive you are with your time and how well your business systems are working, not the number of hours you work.

Having more flexibility in your schedule means being able to spend more of your life focusing on important activities both inside and outside of your business, and being able to make more time for the things that truly matter to you (aside from your business that is).

3) You have the freedom of choosing your location

In an online business you aren’t tied down to a desk or a single location.

As long as you have an internet connection and a laptop you can run your business from anywhere in the world.

You have the freedom to travel and choose where you want to work on any given day and that’s extremely liberating.

Whether you want to visit your family in another state or take a trip somewhere exotic your business will always be with you.

For most online business, especially blogs there’s little to no commute time necessary, which saves you a lot of wasted time, energy and fuel.

The additional time that you gain from not having to commute and the freedom you get from working where you choose means you can be much more productive and have more freedom to set up a schedule that is much more efficient and flexible.

4) Huge income and growth potential

In an online business your income isn’t simply determined by the number of hours you work but by the level of productivity you can produce during the hours you work and the systems you have in place to generate a passive income.

By spending your time on the right activities such as developing your website, marketing/SEO and income producing activities you can significantly reduce the number of hours you have to work in order to bring in a sustainable income.

Unlike most regular jobs your online business is able to keep running and connect with other people to share information and sell products, even when you sleep.

You don’t have to be present in order for a transaction to occur; you just have to be consistent with your efforts and focus on the right things to grow and sustain your business.

Over time you will be able to grow an asset that works for you and generates passive income in return allowing you to have more financial flexibility and providing a way to supplement some, or even all of your income as you continue to grow.

I will be the first to say that making money online for most individuals doesn’t happen immediately and for those who have never done it before there can be a huge learning curve..

It takes time and effort to build a sustainable blog, business and/or brand, however it is achievable and the low barrier to entry means that most people can start immediately and begin their journey into creating a business they can be proud of.

Owning a successful online business isn’t just a nice way to make some extra cash. It can also be extremely fun and liberating.

It’s a learning process that can pay large dividends if you keep at it, keep educating yourself and continue applying your skills over time.

You can start for very little with very little and grow your website over time to fit your audiences needs and your schedule, so why not take a chance and try to see what you can do.

Try for the sake of fun and adventure, and the possibility of making a difference that could change your life.

Even if you aren’t interested in making a lot of money online starting a website is a great way to learn some new skills, make some new connections, build up your portfolio/resume and grow as an individual.

Depending on the market you choose to build your business in you have the potential to develop your own products and/or services or you can choose to sell products and/or services from another company for a commission.

5) The business runs 24/7

I know I’ve hammered this down several times, but it definitely should be repeated.

Unlike most traditional brick and mortar stores an online business can be run 24 hours a day 7 days a week, even when you’re not in front of the computer.

And because websites are always online it allows others to always be able to find what they are looking for quickly and easily.

This provides business owners with much more flexibility in regards to both when and how they work by allowing the information, products and services to always reach those in need.

As long as an individual has a computer, tablet  and/or smartphone they are able to visit your online business or blog and get the information they need when they need it.

Examples of this include blogs (such as this), niche websites, news sites and eCommerce retailers that are able to provide valuable information, products and/or services to readers, consumers and buyers who are interested in what they have to offer.

Nowadays many businesses earn an income by offering value to their audience, which is willing to take the time to read or watch what they have to say and/or buy the businesses products, services and/or solutions to help them solve their problem.

Whether the problem is wanting to be more entertained, informed/educated, healthy or free a good online business will offer enough value to satisfy the needs of its audience and educate them so that they can make the best informed decisions possible.

6) You can (eventually) outsource your work

As you grow your online business and begin to earn money you can begin to outsource some of your work, hire contractors or even hire employees that can help you continue to build your business further.

While many individuals may prefer to do all of the work on their own being able to use some of your capital (that you earn from your business) to outsource some of the work you either don’t want to do or in some cases can’t do you can spend much more of your time focusing on the aspects of your business that truly require your time.

Outsourcing work does often cost money so this is usually a bit further down the line, however it can help you significantly grow your business at a much faster rate once you’re able to do so.

Eventually some entrepreneurs get to the point where they are able to continually grow their business while outsourcing the vast majority of the work, which gives them a lot more time and freedom to spend their personal time on other things they enjoy.

7) You can focus on what matters the most to you

One of the best things about starting an online business is that it allows you to focus on the very things that interest you the most (if you choose) and this can make it easier to sustain your efforts and maintain motivation while you grow.

Unlike other types of work where you end up primarily focusing on tasks that don’t interest you, the work you do in your online business projects provides you with full control and creative freedom over what you choose to work on and how you plan to achieve your goals.

This also allows you to share your experiences and interests with other like minded individuals while also giving you the freedom to build a platform that you can grow over time.

In fact (outside of the traditional eCommerce website) many small online businesses, blogs and websites today earn a living by educating others and helping them achieve their own goals.

They’re vision focused and aligned with the interests of the creators and the community in ways that other types of traditional businesses may not be.

Whether you have a burning passion to help others develop their own skills or you have a product/service that can provide lot’s of benefits to other individuals and companies building your own online business can bring you much closer to achieving your goals.

The flexibility and mobility to design a business that matches your personal and professional life interests is not only enticing, it’s something you can build over time and be proud of.

So who should start an online business?

Virtually anyone who has something to offer can start an online business.

Whether you’re an entertainer, a programmer, educator, photographer, clothing maker, woodworker, hobbyist, construction worker, nurse or simply an individual with an interest in a particular field you can create a website that can help others achieve their goals.

If you’re a programmer you can sell your latest programs to your targeted audience or use your blog to help you get work as a freelancer doing programming for other people.

If you’re a graphic designer you can create graphics for other websites or clients and create a portfolio to land more jobs.

If you’re a photographer you can showcase your work online and grow a customer base or sell your own photography online.

If you’re knowledgeable about a specific topic you can create a digital information product such as an e-book, audio-book, how-to-video or start a membership site that can help educate others who are less experienced.

If you’re a consultant you can use the internet to help you market your business so you can gain recognition for possible clients and those interested in your industry.

The possibilities are endless, and you can start with very little money.

There are no overhead costs (other than your domain name and hosting service), you don’t have to pay rent or monthly expenses in the beginning (except maybe for email marketing) and you aren’t locked down to a single location, so there is very little reason for you not to try to build your very own internet business.

Whether or not you decide in the long run that it’s for you at least you can build an asset you are product of and connect with others who could benefit from what you have to offer.