
After running a successful online business for a number of years, I can tell you that online business problems are just part of the process.
In my experience, the way you handle those problems can make or break your online business.
This is especially important for new online entrepreneurs.
Why’s that?
Because the majority of new online business owners fail within the first 6 months.
And we don’t want that to happen to you.
That being said, today we will share the experiences of how other online entrepreneurs (including myself) have solved various online business related challenges.
Who knows, you may find the solution to what ails your online business.
We asked each one of our entrepreneurs the following question…
What’s one of the most challenging online business problems you have faced and how did you solve it?
Let’s begin..
Online Business Problems: Don’t Be Your Worst Enemy!
I think this applies to most anything in life. Many times we rush into a project without a game plan. Other times we want to do things on our own instead of seeking advise.
The reality is that when you start any new career or business, it’s extremely efficient to follow a proven path to success.
Trial and error can work for some, but for most, time and money is on-the-line.
We asked our friend Neil from ZeroToAffiliateHero.com what was one his most difficult online business problems and here’s Neil’s answer:
One of the biggest challenges I’ve had to overcome are the technical website problems of my own doing.
Things like deleting tags for tidying up the site and deleting images within the WordPress media in an attempt to speed up my site for better rankings. These were bad decisions.
Unfortunately, those mistakes had a negative impact on rankings and traffic, despite correcting them.
My online business wouldn’t recover in Google, so the only solution was to start a website from scratch with zero mistakes.
Now I’m working my tail off at writing content instead of fiddling with nuts and bolts, and it’s paying off big time.”
If you need help with affiliate marketing, check out Neil’s post… “How to Make Money From Affiliate Marketing in 4 Steps”.
Do Your Research, Use Quality Tools!
Many new online marketers find themselves overwhelmed with information and online business training programs and/or strategies.
When I started this website, I used two inexpensive tools. I invested in my online business education and a good keyword research tool.
If you need help in this area, check out our top internet marketing training programs. These are the cream of the crop when it comes to online business training programs.
This point is so well iterated by Cathy Ling from TimeRichWorryFree.com.
Here’s Cathy’s answer to how she has handled some of here online business problems.
I run an affiliate blog and one of my biggest challenges is to publish content (that can convert) on a regular basis.
In the beginning, I didn’t have a good grasp of keyword research, hence most of the articles were based on broad keyword selection that didn’t target the consumer within the buying cycle, specifically in my niche.
I wrote short articles with general information that were quite boring to read.
These problems prompted me to brush up my skills using Jaaxy keyword tool and really dig deeper into my niche and think from the perspective of the audience.
Nowadays, I am always thinking about how my product reviews can benefit a particular individual and this leads me to more specific scenarios and keywords.
When I started applying these ideas to my writing, I have found that I have more things to say and that produces longer content and better engagement with the readers.
I also go back to the older articles to search for relevant long tail keywords to inspire new titles and to build stronger internal links for my blog.
Check out Cathy’s awesome blog right here… TimeRichWorryFree.com, she’s got a ton of great insight to help online entrepreneurs.
Stay On Task, Be Accountable:
One of the best pieces of advice I got as a new student to online business was.. Try to do something for your online business every single day.
Even if you only have 15 minutes. You can take a class, write some content, do a bit of keyword research, etc..
Whatever you do, just do something each and every day that will positively impact your online business.
Otherwise…You’ll end up doing nothing.
We asked Darla Moore from LoveDarla.com what one her biggest problems was when starting out online and here’s here thoughts on the subject.
Starting my own online business and working from home with a flexible schedule created a procrastination problem.
Everyone and everything was an interruption, and I allowed it.
Every day tasks became impossible to complete and days turned into weeks without any productivity. Without any accountability, weeks turned into months and I knew I had a serious problem.
Learning what to do for my business and learning how to do it was the easy part. Making time to get it done was the hard part.
I wrote out plans and made lists. I filled up calendars and attended webinars on time management. And finally I stopped making progress in my business and was just spinning my wheels.
Finally, I had to make the decision in my brain to just do it!
I made a commitment to work a set schedule four hours a day and utilized the Pomodoro method to get back on track and generate the projects I needed to complete.
I made up my mind once and for all that I was going to be successful and I worked a set schedule every day to do it.
Darla wrote a great post that might help others who are new to the online business. It’s called.. How to Create the Life You Want and Make Real Money Online.
Check it out!
Don’t Worry About The Money Thing:
I find that many new online business people give up because they have unrealistic expectation about online business.
Most people have been conditioned to think that making money online is easy and that we should expect fast results.
We also are a bit conditioned to expect compensation for our hard work, especially those that work 9 – 5 jobs.
And let’s face it, when you start an online business, there is a good amount of work required that doesn’t get immediate compensation.
The reality is that this is a foolish perspective, and it almost got the best of me.. Todd, LearnToGrowWealthOnline.com
This has been my biggest online business problem, and here’s how I solved this problem when I first start out and how I still handle this issue today!
I Basically Do Two Things:
I first remind myself that starting an online business is like going back to college or a trade school. When I went to college, I didn’t expect to make money, but expected to accumulate debt.
So I went back into Student Mode so to speak. This allowed me to forget the money and focus on the education and focus on building the foundation to my online business – my website.
When I found myself hem hawing about not making enough money or making money fast enough, I would shut this out in my mind and focus on working on my site.
So the second thing I do is focus on working on my site as a distraction to thinking about the money aspect to online business.
I do anything else… but focus on the money: this could be working on keyword research, improving post conversions, writing content, socially sharing my site, etc..
As soon as I took the money part out of my mind and focused on my job as a student to online business, I began to see results.
Now it’s kind of a fun task for me:
If I catch myself thinking about the money too much, I immediately turn my focus to tasks that need to be completed related to my online business.
Then once I’m done, I often find that during that time of work, I’ve already received new commissions, opt-in’s, etc..
So the advice that I recommend to anyone experiencing this type of online business problem is to… remind themselves that they are humble students to online business AND focus on the tasks that will eventually generate online income and success.
Become Awesome At Online Business:
Here’s My Top Recommended Training >>
Create Balance in Your Online Business Life:
We asked John W. Newman from My Road to Financial Freedom what one of his biggest online business problems has been over the last several years and he brought up a great point.
Finding balance with your personal life and within the online business world.
Here’s John’s online business problem and how he solves it:
I’ve been building my online business since December 2013, and since that time I’ve encountered many problems and ups and downs, but without a doubt, my biggest problem has been balancing the amount of time working on my business with family and work commitments.
The more that I have immersed myself in the online world, the more I love it, and it’s very easy to neglect the important people in your life, even though they are a big reason why I started my business in the first place.
I’ve managed this problem by having a schedule where I can block out chunks of time where I can work solely on my business and also time just for family.
I also use what I call a 4 quadrant productivity hack, where I list at least one important task in the areas of mind, body and relationships, and 3 important tasks for business to do each day.
This way I only focus on what’s really important and will move me forward and maintain balance.
Stay Motivated!
We asked Peter from LetsWorkOnline.net what he felt were some of his biggest issues when starting an online business and here’s what Peter has to say:
As an affiliate marketer, one of the biggest challenges I and most affiliate marketers face is to stay motivated. Strange for a business that is often sold as an easy way to make money!
Affiliate marketing demands determination, motivation, and patience if you are going to be successful.
The thing is, before you see any signs of success you have to put in several months of hard work. During this time you wonder if there is anyone reading or even seeing your posts.
To make it worse you read about bloggers earning $1000’s per month, although this can be inspiring, sometimes it has the opposite effect and you wonder – what am I doing wrong? or how do they do it?
Motivation is essential to succeed in affiliate marketing,
Here are a few things that I do or have done to keep myself motivated and on track to achieve my goals.
Set Goals and Stick to Them:
Long-term and short-term goals can help to keep you on track.
I especially like daily goals that are not too easy but not unattainable. Achieving these small goals can help to keep you motivated and avoid the urge to wander off and waste time.
Take Some Time Off:
It’s easy to work all your spare time on your website but don’t forget your family and get some exercise. I find taking a short break, doing something different, clears your mind and you can then refocus on your goals.
Join a Community:
Joining a community of like-minded affiliate marketers can give you support when you’re having doubts. I joined a training program that includes a community who are there to help and encourage you.
If I hadn’t joined this platform I think I would have given up long ago!
A good training platform will keep you focused, reassure you and encourage you to take action.
When you realize building your business is about helping your readers and not just about making money this should give a new impetus to your business.
Know Why You Started:
Without a doubt you started blogging for a reason, I know I had my reasons and I’m still striving to achieve my goals.
Your goal or dream might be buying a house, spending your time traveling, quitting your job or staying at home with your kids.
Whatever your goals are, keep them firmly in your mind and whenever you feel down, remind yourself why you’re doing this.
Staying motivated requires goals and a purpose. If you don’t stay motivated your online business will suffer or even worse you might give up.
Keep at it and you will Reap the Benefits!
You’ll find that if you can step back and handle each problem as they come at you, you’ll do just fine.
Just remember, one day at a time, one task at a time and if you’re so frustrated that you want to bang your head on the wall, it’s time to take a break.
Need Help with Online Business?
Here’s My Top Recommended Training >>
Our Conclusion:
There will always be online business problems whether you are a new online business owner or an experienced veteran.
The difference in one’s online success is how they manage those problems as the come up.
I certainly can relate to each one of our awesome guest bloggers and their own online business problems, but more importantly, I hope you can too.
Hopefully you can come to this post when you’re feeling down on your online business and get some needed inspiration.
When working online, although it’s somewhat of a individual project at the start, you’ll find that if you reach out to other online business owners, you can find the answers and solutions to most all your online business or website related problems.
If you liked this post and found something helpful in it, please share it socially or leave a comment below about your own online business problems and how you found a great solution.
Thanks!
Awesome post Todd!
It’s great to hear about other online business owners problems and their solutions in overcoming them.
It’s so easy to give up when you get a setback, but working through and figuring things out is the secret of success!
As long as you never give up, you will find a way!
Very insightful article, thanks 🙂
~John
Thanks for your feedback and input John. Cheers, Todd