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Many of today’s successful Internet Marketers started
out by putting their hobby on the World Wide Web. It
was fun, and there was no real desire to turn a
profit.
Passion drove their long hours behind a keyboard,
staring at a monitor. Along the way, something
clicked, and these hobbyists became convinced that
money could be made from their efforts.
Most did not survive the transition. Their Web
presence remains, but the income goals they set were
abandoned.
It’s tough to make a buck online without a plan.
Business planning itself is a separate subject, but
before you can even begin to create a plan, you need
to answer an important question:
Why?
Why would you want to take what you love and turn it
into an enterprise, devoted to earning a profit FIRST?
That’s the reality of business.
Businesses are created to earn a profit. No other
reason comes first.
There is a steep “learning curve” when it comes to
Internet Marketing. There are areas of knowledge you
must have that have no equivalent in offline
businesses.
Becoming skilled in this method of doing business
means committing yourself to constant learning and
adjustment. “Information overload” will become a part
of you life, every day.
You will be learning how to make a profit online.
Remember, what you will be learning will, most likely,
have little or nothing to do with your passion.
There are also practical considerations to making your
passion your business. Hobbyists cannot deduct
business losses from their income taxes in the USA and
many other countries. Business owners can.
Do not make the mistake of thinking that your hobby
can help you at tax time, when the tax laws say
otherwise. If you’re looking for a tax break and are
willing to invest the time and energy into your online
hobby as a business, you could reap benefits that mere
hobbyists cannot.
Get professional guidance and counsel before you make
the switch. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of
tax audits!
Having a grand passion can also be a plus when
building a business online. There will be
disappointments, challenges, obstacles and temporary
failures along the way.
If you’ve picked a business to do online that doesn’t
really grab you, you might very well quit when the
going gets tough. Having the motivation and long term
view of a worthwhile dream or vision can carry you
over the bumps along the road to profitability and
personal satisfaction.
For many people, a modified or “hybrid” approach is
best. You keep your main passion private, but use the
Internet to build a related business that reaches
like-minded people with money to spend.
You may love ice fishing in a certain spot in Alaska,
but your fishing site will offer information on “hot”
fishing spots around the world (icy or not), along
with specialized gear and information products aimed
at this specialized market.
Another marketer may be a real estate investor, but
offer online clients specialized Web site designs for
buying and selling their properties, along with Web
hosting and other services.
Whichever path you choose, know why you are choosing
it. If all you want to do is make money with your
passion, get a job in a related business.
It takes a special commitment and temperament to be an
online entrepreneur. Only you can decide if you have
what it takes.
If you have the patience, will power and persistence
to follow such a path and not quit, you may be cut out
for making your passion your business.
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