In September 2013, I launched a personal blog about my entrepreneurial experiences, and how they affected the spiritual aspects of my life. The following spring, I published an ebook about using the Law of Attraction to get ahead in business, and achieve more success as an entrepreneur.

The ebook was a mild success, but revealed a new opportunity -- a chance to explore the world of information marketing. I'd never done info-marketing before, so pursuing this idea presented a number of unique challenges for me to overcome.

Fast forward 21 months, and I'd manage to go from that simple ebook, to building a business making around $300,000 in sales. But it's not so much what I did that made all the difference, but what I DIDN'T do.

1.) I DIDN'T give up my other business. At the time, I was also running an e-commerce site selling new and used books. My store was how I made the bulk of my income, so I wanted to be absolutely sure I had a workable, profitable and sustainable business idea before shutting down the store and pursuing opportunities in marketing full-time. I know many marketers tell people to focus only on ONE thing to be successful, but sometimes, temporarily splitting your focus may be beneficial to your entrepreneurial growth.

2.) I DIDN'T hire a team. Yet another piece of "sage" marketing "wisdom" that doesn't always ring true. Nor is it always feasible. Hiring a team is beneficial, and I have one now helping me manage the day-to-day operations of some of my business ventures, but it wasn't always this way. When I first started this endeavor (and as an entrepreneur in general), it was all new to me. I knew very little about branding and even less about marketing, which meant the learning curve was extremely wide. I didn't hire a team because I needed to know I was capable of doing the work, and that I understood all aspects of my business before outsourcing. I'm not saying you should never hire a team or outsource, just be sure you have some idea of what that aspect of your business entails before you do. Because if you don't, how will you know whether or not someone is providing you with quality work, or what to look for to identify potential problems. Also, if something goes wrong, you'll have to sit on your hands waiting for someone else to fix it. Which can really impede the progress of your business. You don't have to run every thing in your business, but you should, at the very least, know how it's run.

3.) I DIDN'T do affiliate promotions. Affiliate marketing is an excellent way to make money online, however, I've always felt that it is a job unto itself. The people who make the most money with affiliate sales are those whose business models are built around it. People who post arbitrary and random affiliate links on their site earn very little, if they earn anything at all. And since this business was new, I was not interested in altering its course in favor of creating an affiliate-based platform.

4.) I DIDN'T spend much money for the first 3-4 months of business. The first thing most Internet entrepreneurs and experts tell you to do is buy a domain name, purchase hosting and setup WordPress. I don't do that UNLESS 1.-I have an idea that I know will generate revenue, 2.- the idea is something I want to pursue regardless of viability or profitability. (In other words, if it's a personal hobby). I DO NOT spend money to setup a website for a business that's unproven. For one, it's dumb. It's the equivalent of paying for a used car before test driving it. What I did instead, was set up a blog on blogger and began promoting my business from there. I wanted to test my ideas first and see if they would generate any traffic, and when they did, I moved things to my own domain and hosting. Spend when you HAVE to, not because everyone says it's what you "should" do.

5.) I DIDN'T wait for everything to be perfect. I embrace uncertainty, and welcome the unbeaten path. Once I transitioned my business from blogger to a self-hosted WordPress site, I used a free theme from the depository. Again, I didn't rush out to spend money on a "pretty" WordPress theme, because it wasn't necessary. My business was generating traffic AND revenue with a very ugly design on a free blogging platform. Spending money on a "premium" theme wasn't going to improve my earnings enough to justify the expense. On top of this, the theme colors (Red and Black) became my brand colors as well. It was ugly, but IT WORKED! And that's what I was after. Remember: Always prioritize RESULTS over perfection.

6.) I DIDN'T prioritize my branding. My first logo was bold Arial font. Yes, the logo and your branding are important, but it was more important to me to generate sales and build a viable business. And while an effective logo might help with that, it doesn't guarantee results. Think about it, when was the last time you did business with a person or company primarily because you thought the logo was well designed? I'm guessing, but I'd say probably never. I know I haven't, and neither have my clients. Branding should enhance and complement your business. It shouldn't be running it. Branding might get people in the door, but it's what you DO that's going to get them to open their wallets.

7.) I DIDN'T worry and stress myself out needlessly about opinions and "advice" from people on how my website looked, how my writing needs improvement (Syntax, grammar..etc) or what I "should" be doing to get more traffic and customers. I've been an entrepreneur and business owner for over 15 years, and one thing I do know, is that there are two short paths to guaranteed failure: 1.-marketing to every customer and 2.- applying everyone's advice. No one knows how to run your business better than you, and that's because only you know what's really going on in your business. You know what's working and what isn't (or you should), who your ideal customer is, and what your true goals are. Advice and criticism are good because it can help you attain the results and goals you desire in your business, but they should be used sparingly and cautiously.

Thanks for reading my post! If you enjoyed this content, please follow me on Nairaland or join my website wait list to receive updates on my latest website launch, Start Build Profit -- where I'll be walking you through the process, from start to finish, of how I grew from a simple ebook to a business generating over $300,000 in sales. You'll also receive a subscription to The Blueprint, my FREE newsletter offering inspiration and insight to help you get ahead in online business and life.

Also, in the coming days, I'll be publishing a follow-up to this post and sharing my "secret" to building a profitable online business.

Feel free to comment and ask questions.

Thanks again for reading!

Be blessed!

Ra

Okay, I must confess that your post BLESSED me. I wish you could just hold my hand and repeat that feat you achieved.

SimpleSmile:
Okay, I must confess that your post BLESSED me. I wish you could just hold my hand and repeat that feat you achieved.

Thanks for commenting, and you kind comments! It feels good to know my content is helping people the way I intend.

Second, you can accomplish the same, if not more. It's really just about finding and pursuing something you believe has economic potential. If you are serious about wanting to start an online business, I would really recommend that you sign up for my newsletter, here. It's free, and I offer tons of advice on starting and growing an online business. I also provide up-to-date results and test data on my progress in my existing projects and ventures as well.

Thanks again for reading, and I wish you well in your endeavors!

Be blessed!