I talk tactics, methods and mindset for making money online with coaching clients.
And I believe almost anyone–including you–can use one of dozens of methods out there to make money online. One that fits you, assuming you have some motivation.
But the real difficulty isn’t everything you don’t yet know–because that can be fixed, with education.
The real battles are won or lost between your ears.
With the right mindset, together with specific instruction on how to choose a way to earn online that fits your abilities, experience and interests, in 2022 many doors are open to you.
‘Mindset’ is a notoriously vague term, so let’s break it down and ask: what mental qualities do you need to consistently make money online?
Here are 12 aspects of entrepreneurial mindset I’ve seen at work in successful online entrepreneurs I know.
And I’ll freely admit–a few of these still give me trouble after all these years.
1) Self-reliance — As an employee, the measure of success is making your boss happy and doing what falls within your job description. Everything is defined. Earning online means you’ll have to determine yourself what activities have the highest value. As your own boss you need to be able to respond optimally to tasks at hand, often with little outside help. Psychologically this can be very difficult. Entrepreneurs are true self-starters, and this applies no less to those working online.
2) A will to learn — There are so many moving parts to most online businesses that you’ll find yourself performing tasks in completely different disciplines in the the course of a day. But you have endless help online, starting with Google and YouTube. And especially when you’re starting out, you really should know the different parts of your business. You’ll be in a better position to train virtual assistants to whom you offload more menial tasks, or to hire contractors and employees. Because to be clear, removing yourself from tasks you can offload to free your own time up for whatever tasks are most important for the success of the business.
Also, if your current enterprise doesn’t work out, the lessons you pick up as you go will give you more options and ideas when you pursue you next opportunity.
3) No fear of tech — Notice I didn’t say a “love of technology”. Still, since online business is facilitated by the Internet, the more knowledge you have on topics like Google, WordPress, paid advertising, email funnels, social media, etc., the better. Also, cultivate a willingness to at least try 1001 tools that will help make your business more efficient, save you time and increase the chances for success for many online entrepreneurs. You don’t have to be a ‘geek’. Because it’s really about being able to sell value of one sort or another to people who want it. The tech only serves your enterprise.
4) No fear of selling — Some people feel selling their own services or products online would mean they’re greedy. Chances are you’ve worked for companies that don’t question such things. If it’s good enough for them (and by extension you, since they’re paying you) why is it a problem to offer the very best of your own efforts to people or companies it would help?
5) Faith in yourself — Things big and small will go wrong too frequently in online businesses. You need a reason to believe. A policy of believing that you can bounce back from setbacks that occur. Make a habit of choosing to accept failure as temporary, without having it threaten your performance, your sense of purpose, or self-image. It’s easier said than done. This is one I have trouble with myself sometimes. It’s an ongoing battle but it’s imperative we keep fighting!
6) Focus — There’s power in being able to keep goals in mind despite the demands of life. Successful internet business owners I know seem to have an inner drive that has them spending little time or mental bandwidth on activities that don’t move them toward their long- or short-term goals.
7) Coming from a bad work situation or a career that left you frustrated can be a source of motivation that helps make your online enterprise work. This is your thing, your idea, your time and your enterprise. Your future. I’ve seen this journey in so many of my online peers, and I know beyond any doubt that the years I spent frustrated in a cubicle have made me work harder than I would have to make sure I never, ever have to go back.
8) Little fear of failure — have you always been a bit of risk-taker? Do you consider your instincts to be better than average? Do you have a history of acting on your hunches? If so, you might be a natural entrepreneur. A will to take chances and a willingness to act on less hard information than most people would need to make decisions is in the DNA of many entrepreneurial people. With online business you can ‘fail fast’ as they say, and relatively inexpensively. Or, you take that chance and do not fail at all!
9) A specific interest/proficiency/experience — maybe my talk of 1001 ways to make money online is redundant for you because you know exactly what online business you’d like to attempt. Bonus points! Not having to decide on a direction greatly reduces your startup time.
10) A pattern of entrepreneurship earlier in life — did you have a lemonade stand, mow lawns or sell things to classmates? Have you been thinking up money-making ideas in the shower for as long as you can remember? 2022 has arrived, just for you. So much of the infrastructure you need to make money online is available cheaply today–certainly far less than getting a physical business off the ground! It’s also much easier to use a lot of these tools than it was 5 years ago. A 1-click WordPress installation in 2022 sure is a lot easier and faster than a WP install was in 2008. FTP anyone? You can put (some of!) your ideas into action in 2022 relatively easily, after an initial learning curve.
11) Ability and desire to block out distractions — this is a little different from the power to focus. Keeping your business as a priority doesn’t mean much if your attention is diverted frequently by social media, or endless activities that waste your time. Do you stick to a personal policy of productivity and avoid time-wasting activities every day?
12) Another Gear — this is hard to define, but it needs to be here. Can you point to times in your life when the pressure was on and you rose to the occasion? I don’t mean you rose every time maybe, and I also don’t mean that you succeeded at the challenge in front of you every time either. But have you found ‘another gear’ from time to time, a source of inner strength that enabled you to do something beyond what anyone else would have guessed you’d be capable of? I’m talking about the ability to find “a little bit of crazy” to get something done that you wanted very badly. I’m not sure it’s a requirement for success at online business, but I am sure that it helps…
How many of these qualities do you have?
Have you thought about applying them to an online business?
If it’s a goal you have, what’s the one question I can answer for you to help you get started making money online?
Really: please tell me what has you stuck. Whether you’re trying to get started, or you’ve created an online revenue stream already.
Shoot me a quick email at tom@wagefreedom.com