Theo’s Top 9 Tips for Success, Based on Over 20 Years of Running Online Businesses (in no particular order)

1-You don’t need a lot of money to get started.

It’s a common misconception that to get started with an online business, you need at least a few thousand dollars. You do not. You can start selling on Amazon with a budget of less than $500, and if blogging/affiliate marketing is your thing, you only need around $100. So don’t let budget hold you back!

2-Learn to find motivation from within yourself.

Find your own motivation rather than always looking for outside influences to motivate you. People spend thousands of dollars listening to motivational speakers or hours consuming motivational videos and books, but rarely does that type of motivation last. The only lasting type of motivation is the one you find within yourself.

3-Start!

The hardest part of any daunting task is getting started. Sometimes, the road ahead can seem so long, so energy consuming, that we put off starting. But, when you get over that natural procrastination (yes, it’s human nature to procrastinate) and get started, it becomes much easier to continue.

4-Do something every day.

Once you’ve started on a task or project, do something towards it every day, except on your designated days off. It doesn’t matter if that something is small or you can only spend a very short time on it. It doesn’t matter; do something.

5-Invest in the basics.

If you want to earn a living online, you need a laptop or desktop computer. Students will sometimes ask if they can do everything on a smartphone, and the answer is no. A few years ago, it would have been unheard of to expect to work online without a laptop, and most people had one anyway. Now, because smartphones are so advanced, many people have ditched the laptop. But, if you plan to succeed with an online venture, a laptop or desktop computer is the most basic and necessary tool of the trade.

6-Everyone fails!

Nobody gets real success without failure along the way. Well, maybe one in a thousand will get lucky, but the rest of us will have failures. In many cases, failing is a necessary part of succeeding, which means failing is good, not bad!

7-Don’t burn out.

It’s much harder to succeed if your energy levels are low. Low energy levels lead to demotivation, impaired decision-making, and poor focus and memory. For me, keeping my energy levels up means eating right, doing moderate exercise, and getting enough sleep (when possible!).

8-Don’t dilute your efforts too much.

It’s far more difficult to succeed if you split your efforts between multiple projects, especially if you are learning the ‘how to’ while going along. Students of my Amazon course will sometimes ask about starting two or more listings at once. Students of my blogging course will sometimes ask about starting two websites simultaneously. They believe they are increasing their chances of success, but they are doing the opposite in practice.

9-Don’t rest on your assets.

So you’ve got a successful listing on Amazon, and it’s making money, great! But don’t sit there enjoying the benefits, doing nothing, and then be surprised when something changes six or twelve months later, and your income suddenly drops. Instead of sitting on your assets, get a second listing up and running, and then a third, a fourth….

It’s easy to get complacent, and I think we’re all a bit guilty of that sometimes, but it’s a mistake. I’ve used Amazon as an example, but the same would apply no matter what you are doing.