From Ideas to Income: Building Your Online Business Toolbox

When I began in online business, I jumped at any idea that I thought would propel me into internet riches as fast as possible.

As a result, I failed a lot. I mean, like a LOT.

It was only when I began to slow down and consider what I was doing that I started to learn a few things.

Those few things have become and remain essential equipment as I think about and choose to build my business with.

Basic Tools for the Business Builder:

1. Have a clear idea of what you want your business to be about.

This is important because you want your business to do two things: make money and be something you want to be involved with all the time.

Building and operating your own online business will take a fair bit of time to start and then to operate. That’s just facts.

When you choose an idea that sounds good or sounds fast, it may not keep your attention past that first rush of possibility. This is the point you may have made many purchases or agreed to sign on with one business opportunity or another.

You get excited and that adrenaline rush makes it very easy to say yes to whatever is in front of you.

This is the thing: you may not have thought that purchase or agreement through.

Before you commit to someone else’s offer, ask yourself:

• Is this something that you really want to be involved with?
• How many people are doing what you are doing and in the same way?
• Can you be sure people want to buy this product again and again?
• Is this what I want to be known for?

That last question is a good one because no matter what you choose to do as an entrepreneur, what you put out there says a lot about you.

Business is personal to the people who own their businesses.

So choose wisely.

How do you do that?

2. Find Out Who Needs You to Solve Their Problems for Them

Or rather, what problems do you want to solve for people?

This is where you begin to identify your niche and audience.

Most people have some sort of desire that drives them to go looking for the help they need. That desire can either be curiosity or typically, it can be to alleviate the pain or frustration of a particular problem.

?That’s where you, your experience, and your expertise come in to provide the solution for that person’s problem.

And if one person has that need, there are probably many others who have that need too.

You need to know where they hang out so your offer can get to the right people. That’s what is meant by niche. It’s a specialized segment of the market for a particular kind of product or service, per the Oxford Dictionary.

That’s why you need to understand who your audience is and where they spend their time online.

That way, you will know you are marketing your business in the right places and not on sites or platforms where your customers are less likely to be.

This will also help you craft your message in a way that you know is better for engagement on the sites you market on.

Is your product or service something that can be best promoted by images or video? If so, then Instagram or TikTok could be a good place to start.

Is your product or service best promoted by stories and testimonials? LinkedIn or X (formerly Twitter) may be a good choice for you.

What drives your choice is by interacting with people on various social media platforms. You will begin to see right away what niches favor a certain platform and that is good information to start from.

People are very open about what is frustrating them currently and that is information you can mirror in your message to attract attention so you can present your offer to them.

That’s how your business gets built, one interaction at a time.

3. Stand Out from the Crowd

What is going to help you be attractive is by promoting what you bring to your business idea.

Think about it: what makes your offer stand out? What’s going to make people choose you over anyone else in your niche?

This is what makes up your unique value proposition (UVP), which is central to your offer. This can also be known as a unique selling proposition (USP).

Are you going to offer a feature you have that no one else does?

Are you offering better prices? Better customer service? Training?

Or, by virtue of your expertise, is what you offer just simply better than any other product in your niche? This is where you can leverage your experience (“I have been doing this for 20 years!”)

This is what becomes foundational to what your business will be known for.

Take some time and study what the industry leaders in your niche are offering and how they offer it. They will have each created a UVP or USP that sets them apart from the competition.

It can be very attractive to use the same terms and phrases others in your niche are using in their marketing; you want to be able to attract people that are needing your niche to solve their problem.

But you also want to be memorable.

So don’t be afraid to toot your own horn; you earned that experience and achieved mastery in your niche. Make sure others know it.

Next time, I’ll be talking about some more tools for your toolbox that you can use to build your business messaging with.

Want to talk more about your idea? Leave me a comment on this post below!

You can follow my business journey at a-lot-of-hats.com and each week here for tips and encouragement.

Thank you for reading, Laura

#Entrepreneurship #OnlineBusiness #DigitalMarketing #Ecommerce #StartupLife #SocialMediaMarketing #SmallBusiness #BusinessStrategy #SEO (Search Engine Optimization) #ContentMarketing