There’s a famous saying, “Failure to plan, is planning to fail”. It’s a near certainty that if you don’t have clearly defined goals for your business, and a clear plan to achieve them that you won’t succeed. However, many people start an online business without clearly defined goals, and then wonder why they never see the success they desire.

I’m lucky that I was introduced to the concept of goal setting from my time in Network Marketing. I was encouraged to set big goals by my mentor and at the end of my first year in that business I decided to set a goal of £100,000 (approx $200,000 USD) in sales in my second year. Even though I was only running that business on a part time basis, I achieved that goal and more, and I’m positive that without a clearly defined goal, and a well thought out plan to keep me on track, I wouldn’t have come close. I now use the same principles to set goals, and plan for everything I do.

People start online businesses for many reasons. They may already have a business and want to expand into the online realm, it may be a way of earning some extra money in the evenings and weekends around a job, it could be a hobby or past-time which slowly develops into a business, or in some cases, people start a business with the intention of building a long-term residual income.

The problem however, is that more often than not, online businesses are started without a long term goal in mind. And without something solid to focus on, it’s all too easy to lose focus and interest, especially in the early phases of an online business when the income may not be enough to keep motivation up by itself.

Attitude + Skills + Effort = Success

This is true, except that it leaves out one vital component - vision. A person with a great attitude, lots of skills, and who puts in lots of effort can still be knocked off track, lose focus and fail if they don’t have the vision to see a project through to fruition. On the other hand, someone with a massive goal, clearly defined, and the belief that they can accomplish it, will find a way even if they are lacking in skills!

Start with a goal

A goal is a ‘dream with a deadline’ and needs to be large enough to get you through the highs and lows of any business. At the same time, a goal needs to be achievable (remember Napoleon Hill’s words, “What man can conceive, and believe, he can achieve”).

Be specific

“A big house” or “A fast car” are not goals. If you’re a car enthusiast, and driving a big fast car is one of your primary goals then you need to be specific about it. You need to know the model, the colour, what it looks like, and feels like. Our unconscious brain works through vision and feelings, so if you want that big car goal to drive you to success you need to make it real. Many people suggest getting a picture of your goal, and hanging it on the wall where you’ll see it every day. I say that’s not enough - you need to ‘feel it’ not just look at it. Call the dealership and book a test drive, feel the steering wheel in your grip, listen to the engine, smell the leather seats - those are what make it real and will help to program your brain that you can achieve this!

Timely

If you have no deadline on a goal then you have no sense of urgency. Only a goal which has a clearly defined deadline will be of any use to you. I am getting married next year. We have planned the wedding for June, as we have a goal to mountain bike from Banff in Canada, down through the Rocky Mountains to the Mexican border and to catch the weather window we need to leave in August. That’s a pretty big goal as it means taking 3 months off work, and we have a very specific time frame. This should mean that the snows will have melted in the high passes before we reach Colorado, but if we were to leave much later we’d be likely to hit New Mexico in monsoon season. This makes it a perfect goal… We are both passionate about the trip and will do whatever is necessary to make it happen, and due to the timeframe we have a strict deadline to adhere to. Working from that goal backwards, we know how much we need to earn from our businesses before then, and that the business must be automated enough by then that we can safely take 3 months out. (Note: This is a photo of our route map, on the wall of our living room where it acts as a constant reminder of our goal every day!)

Stepping stones

A major long term goal is great, but you need smaller ’stepping stone’ goals along the way. Our trip to the Rockies next year is actually a ’stepping stone’ goal, while our major long term goal is to move to France and buy a chateâu. We also have smaller monthly goals to help keep us on track.

Stepping stone goals

Without these smaller ‘reward’ goals, it’s too easy to lose motivation. By achieving the smaller goals you get a sense of achievement which in turn helps your belief in reaching your main goals. These stepping stones should follow the same basic rules as your bigger goals, in that they need to be something you are passionate about and will drive you, they need to be clearly and specifically defined, and they need to have a clear deadline. The only difference is that they are shorter term and easier to achieve.

Take time to set goals

Spend some time to define your goals properly. Ask yourself why you are building a business online, what are you trying to achieve? What is is that you want out of life? Where do you want to live? What car do you want to drive? Do you want to travel?

The beauty of an online business is that, if planned and executed well, it can give you whatever you want and the flexibility to enjoy it. Don’t be tempted to skip this exercise, it will pay you massive dividends.

If you’re looking for more information on Goal setting then read Jim Rohn’s Seven Strategies for Wealth and Happiness.

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OK I had something else planned for today but I just watched this and had to post it. I’ve created and published a few ‘How to’ tutorials over the past few days, but I’ll let the master talk about the ‘Why’. I’ve been a massive fan of Tony Robbins for a long time and it’s great content like this which reminds me why I keep buying his books!

You can ge more videos like this at TED.com

Now, if you’re wondering why I would post this video on a blog about buildng an online business, you maybe need to go back to the drawing board and re-asses WHY you’re doing this. The technical side of this business is really quite easy to learn, the psychology of copy writing and marketing can be taught, but if you don’t have a clear goal, a ‘definite major purpose’ your chances of success are nil!

Hope you like the video, and see you tomorrow!

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It doesn’t matter if it’s a little $9.97 ebook you put together, a commission for an affiliate product, a booking to your first workshop, or a subscription to a membership site, the very first sale you make online is glorious!

Before you make that first sale, everything is theory. You can spend forever reading articles, trawling forums, devouring ebooks and courses, and learn a ton of great stuff, but there will be massive doubt in your mind until you start to see some money coming in.

Will anyone buy my products?

Will anyone want to buy through my affiliate link?

Would anyone pay for my membership subscription?

That first sale, for many people is a turning point. I remember my first affiliate sale and being over the moon at the measly $10 commission I had made. My fiancée was less than impressed, especially since it had taken me several weeks to get to that point, but to me it was proof that I could build a business online.

If you’ve yet to make your first sale, that should be your primary goal… to get just one sale under your belt.

Napoleon Hill said it best in his seminal Think and Grow Rich:

What man can conceive, and believe, he can achieve.

I know from bitter personal experience that it can be massively demotivating and frustrating when you’re dong everything you can, but seemingly making no progress. It felt like I was spinning my wheels, working flat out but getting nowhere.

In fact, I was making progress. While I wasn’t seeing results in terms of sales, I was laying the foundations. I was creating content, and starting to attract traffic, and that’s where it all begins!

Making money online is not rocket science, even if sometimes it feels that way. Read some Internet Marketing Guru’s material and you’d be forgiven for thinking this is black magic, but it’s really not that complicated…

1. Create content

2. Drive traffic to that content

3. Convert those visitors into customers

OK, so there’s a lot more to it but in essence that’s all you’re doing. Of course there ways to go about it. You want to capture those visitors by way of an email opt-in so you can send them more content and offers. You want to ensure that your sales copy is up to scratch. You need to make sure you’re targeting the right people, in a suitable market. But don’t over complicate things! Keep it simple, focus on your goal of getting customers, and then building a relationship with them so they become repeat customers and you can make a fortune!

Set yourself a target. Aim to get your first sale, or your next big sale, or to hit a new income best next month, or whatever will stretch you out of your comfort zone. Make it a big enough goal to stretch you, but one you believe you can reach. Remember - what you can conceive and believe you will achieve!

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While giving a talk recently on time management, I showed a slide depicting a number of very successful people and asked a simple question, “What do these people have in common?” These were men and women of varying ages, from all walks of life and living all over the world and they were all very successful in their chosen subjects. In fact they were all very different indeed, and their backgrounds ranged from business, to politics, to science and beyond. There was one thing they all had in common however, like each of us, they have the same 24 hours each day in which to ‘get things done’. Each of them, in order to achieve the successes they have enjoyed, have found a way of making the most of each 24 hour day…

One of my favorite authors and speakers, Jim Rohn, explains it well:

Suppose you had a bank account, into which $1440 was placed every night. You are free to spend that money in any way you choose, but at the stoke of midnight the balance is cleared. Any money you didn’t spend is lost forever, but a brand new $1440 is deposited before you awake next morning.

Of course the money in Jim’s example is a metaphor for the 1440 minutes of time we each have to spend every day. The difference is that we can always earn more money, but when time is spent it is gone forever!

Time management is a rather poor term for being efficient and productive; getting more done. It’s not possible to ‘manage time’, however we can manage ourselves and how we spend that time.

A major part of my talk dealt with procrastination, and how it can be such a hurdle to running an effective online business, especially when working from home. Over the past few years I’ve found a number of techniques to help avoid procrastinating and I’d like to share the three most powerful ones I use on a daily basis with you.

Plan

There’s an old saying, “failure to plan is planning to fail” and it couldn’t be more true. I always have to fight with myself over this one, I get an idea and my instinct is to dive in headfirst and take action… STOP! All that will happen is you’ll get half way though, change your mind and have wasted time and effort. I’m not suggesting that you shouldn’t take action fast, in fact “Ready, Fire, Aim!” is one of my favorite mantras at the moment, but take the time to plan it out first - whether it’s discussing your plans with a business associate or mentor, listing the steps you need to go through, or creating a mindmap so you can clearly see the route ahead, a little time planning will pay huge dividends.

Eat That Frog!

If you’ve never heard the phrase Eat that frog before then I urge you to read the eponymous book by Brian Tracy. As the name suggests, we are most productive when we do our biggest task (which is inevitably the one we are most likely to procrastinate on) first… The title apparently comes from an old Italian saying which roughly translates to, “If you start every day by eating a live frog, you know things can only get better”. I believe that can be continued with, “If you have to eat two frogs, eat the ugliest one first!”. Amphibians aside, once your biggest job is done a weight is taken off your shoulders and the rest of the day, week or project really does go more smoothly.

To Do List

This has helped me more than anything, and like most gems of wisdom it’s very simple. I heard it from a very successful businessman in Scotland and it has certainly helped me, so I’ll share his three simple steps to success: Each night write a list of tasks for the following day, when you wake up start at the top of the list, don’t go to bed until you reach the end! If you want to take that a stage further then check out this great free To Do List software.

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How much time have you spent reading blog posts and articles about making money online? How many hours have you spent in forums reading, and asking questions about affiliate marketing? How many ebooks, videos and home study courses have you spent money on, hoping to learn the secrets to Internet Marketing?

Now the big question… how much of what you learned have you put into action?

If you’re anything like me, and I know from chatting to a ton of people about this that many people are, you’re an information addict. You try to soak up knowledge like a sponge, devouring every article, ebook and video you can lay your hands on.

When I was first getting started online I spent a small fortune on products. I would read a sales letter with the intention of trying to find out why it worked, what the key factors were in the hope that it would improve my copywriting - and by the time I finished I found myself clicking to buy, believeing that one more ebook, or one more ‘killer product’ would make all the difference and I’d be successful.

In fact all that happened was my office got fuller and fuller. I like to print ebooks and reports off, spiral bind them and read them away from the computer so my office was piling up with half read books and manuals dotted with highlighter pen, but I still wasn’t making any money.

Taking action - going from learning to earning

Learn as much as you like, get your attitude right and a great work ethic and none if it means a thing unless you take ACTION. Massive action is what separates the massively successful from the ‘also ran’.

Now, I’m going to tell you something your unlikely to hear from any other Internet Marketer - You don’t need to buy any more products! I bet that 99% of the visitors to this site already have enough material to build a successful online business. What you need to do is put that learning into practice… Get a website online, a blog, a review site, whatever. Start driving traffic to that site by any means - forums, articles, social media etc. Then get yourself an autoresponder and start building a list. Now, finally, start promoting affiliate products to that list and via your sites… what do you know, you’ve made a sale! Now rinse and repeat!

Once you make your first sale everything seems a little easier. You’ll build on previous successes and start to develop your business. Sure you’re going to want to develop your own products, build relationships with JV partners and explore some of the more advanced techniques of Internet Marketing but the first step has to be action to create that first sale. If you really are just starting to learn and you don’t have a ton of reference material then start with somthing simple and cost effective like Russell Brunson’s Free DVD offer. You can then reinvest some of your early profits into other products and courses to further your development.

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A few days ago, in my post about outsourcing, I mentioned a book in passing called The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss. A couple of people have asked me about the book so I thought I’d post a review of it.

As you probably already guessed, I bought the book because of the title - I mean who wouldn’t buy a book called that? It’s right up there with Think and Grow Rich and Shut Up, Stop Whining and Get a Life as one of my all time favourite titles - but you know what they say about judging a book by its cover!

The book revolves around the premise that anyone can free up their time, and live a flexible and wealthy lifestyle by changing their mindset and using some simple strategies. Ferriss is a big advocate of Pareto’s principle (the 80/20 rule) and suggests using it ruthlessly to eliminate all unproductive tasks, while making those tasks which are highly productive as efficient as possible. He has some great ideas such as planning ‘mini retirements’ rather than working your whole life for a retirement at the end.

The book is split into 4 chapters - Definition, Elimination, Automation and Liberation. Definition covers dreaming and goal setting, freeing yourself from the ‘45 year plan’ of grinding away every day in the hope of enjoying your retirement. Elimination, as the name suggests, is all about putting an end to unproductive tasks. Ferriss suggests selective ignorance and a low information diet to clear the clutter and keep focussed on what really matters to drive your business forward. Automation is where he really gets into talking about outsourcing, getting your business systemised and non-reliant on your daily input and presence. Finally, Liberation is about been free of your job, business or location and able to travel, live anywhere, work anywhere and do the things that you really want to do.

Now I know that opinions have been very mixed about this book - you either love it, or hate it. I love it! In fact, it is the first and only book I ever read twice in a row - I got the end, and went right back to page one and read it all over again!

If you are currently in a J.O.B. and wanting to run your own business, or you do run your own business but feel like a slave to it (most business owners I know work much longer hours than their employees!) then I urge you to not only read this book, but to study it and put the theory into practice. Why work hard 8 hours a day, 6 days a week with 4 weeks off every year, just so you can enjoy a retirement which, let’s face it, is far from guaranteed? Life really is short, and you can either live it, or postpone it in the hope of enjoying it later…

Since reading this book my life truly has started to change. I’m looking at my businesses, and my lifestyle in a whole new way. I’m now systemising my business in an attempt to take myself out of the loop, to be less reliant on location and time constraints. Have I achieved a 4 hour work week? No, not yet! But I do feel that my business is heading in the right direction and I have my own ‘mini retirement’ planned for next year: a three month mountain bike adventure in the Rocky Mountains with my wife… and I won’t even be working 4 hours a week on that trip!

Check out Tim’s site at www.fourhourworkweek.com

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