3 Key Steps to Online Business: What I've Learned as a First-Timer
- Matt Medl
- Sep 15, 2023
- 6 min read
After I decided to start a business and made almost $2,000 my first month, I had to make sure people could find me online. So I joined social media and made a website, which you’re now reading—kudos to both of us.
Here I am now, officially an online business owner.
Behind our current interaction was a lot of hard work and education. Hundreds of YouTube videos, dozens of college courses, and an undetermined amount of hours moving little images on a screen.
Now, I’m here to share what I’ve learned in the process, so once you establish your online business, you'll now have some idea of what you're getting into.
You, Business, and How Its Changed
It’s almost impossible to grow your business these days without the use of the worldwide web. This is even more true for non-traditional or creative professions like mine, where online portfolios are often more important than resumes. People need access to previous work if they’re going to request your services, and, more than that, they need to be able to find you. But how do people do that? Your new business is almost like a secret, one you share with only close friends and family. We want to get that secret out, don’t we?
Twenty years ago, you would knock on doors. Put out flyers. Shout on the street corner.
Nowadays, you wave on digital profiles, post online graphics, and film yourself shouting.
So marketing has not changed much, as far as the fundamentals are concerned—but the landscape has changed. Now you have to run your business on two fronts, since you interact with both physical clients and digital ones. You must be here and there and everywhere. You're a hybrid worker.
Step One: Education
Because of this hybridization, there is much more to learn, and the tremendous amount of information required to run your modern-day business should not be understated. The question of bringing in traffic to your website, for one, is an overarching one. It requires you to answer a whole subset of other questions. How do you buy a domain? What CMS should I use? What is SEO, and how do I use it? Should I meet clients digitally or in-person? What in the flying flapdoodle is a DNS record?
These rabbit hole questions lead new business owners to throw in the towel on their idea, before they even reach the first step.
But, like most things in life, the only way to overcome these difficulties is to learn.
Step One of your online business, then: Learn, learn, learn.
Just as I did, scour YouTube and Google. There is information on every niche of web design, social media, or any possible hurdle that you run into.
Educate yourself with online marketing books like Digital Marketing For Dummies.
Find the top people in your niche and investigate them, sensing out your competition while building inspiration for your own business. Learning from experts is the easiest way to become one.
I call this Step One, but it should be called Step Infinite. The reality is that you’ll never stop having questions your first time around, and you’ll always look to the experts for inspiration. Remind yourself that this is natural because you’ve never done any of this!
Don’t pressure yourself, mogul, and you’ll be on your way to the next step.
Step Two: Branding
Now that you’ve gotten to know the basics, you want to get to know your business. Step Two is to build a brand.
In creating an online presence, you not only establish who you are for potential clients, but you also discover what your business even is. Looking at others in your field is productive, yes. But until you build your own brand, you won’t know what it is you’re offering or how you’re going to offer it. You need to present your business to an audience, so set the stage. Make yourself and your brand emotionally accessible and, therefore, trustworthy.
This is the bottom line: If potential clients don’t know who you are, they won’t trust you. And when people won’t trust you, they won’t want to work with you.
Building a business, then, is much like writing. As a beginner, you read and read, until you discover your favorite authors. Once you’ve done that, you start writing. This early stage writing is usually a regurgitation of those favorite authors, one of their voices or a collective, muddled chorus. Eventually the new writer becomes more seasoned, and they develop their own voice, singular in style.
As an online business owner, you need to develop your own voice. You need to be singular in style. How does your style differ from your competitors? Looking at your website or social media, why would potential clients pick you over them?
Once you've established that style, people will flock to your online business—it's like nothing they've ever seen.
The Wrong Step Two
The worst way to bring in traffic is cold pitch emails before you establish a brand. Many writers are tempted to do this. I want to start a business; therefore, I should tell everyone. These potential clients will never connect because they don’t know where to connect, or the connective tissue doesn’t exist yet. If you have no website, no blog, no socials—your cold pitches will freeze to death.
Step Three: Warm Pitch
Now that you've built a brand and have a digital presence, you're ready for the final step: the warm pitch. This is where the magic happens. You're no longer a stranger in the digital wilderness; you're a known entity. People know your name, they've seen your work, and they're interested in what you have to offer. It’s up to you to see that interest and convert them into a client.
The Art of the Warm Pitch
A warm pitch is not a cold call to a stranger; it's an invitation to a conversation. You're not selling a product or a service; you're offering a solution to a problem. And because you've built your brand, people already know that you're the one who can solve it.
• Personalize Your Pitch: Use the information you've gathered from your interactions on social media or blog comments. Address the potential client by name, mention a problem they've talked about, and offer your solution.
• Use Social Proof: Share testimonials or case studies from satisfied clients. This not only builds credibility but also shows that you can deliver results. Moreover, you should provide a link to your portfolio and website. Even if you don't have any clients yet, this can still provide some examples of your work—imaginary yet professional projects that you've created.
• Follow Up: Don't be discouraged if you don't get a response immediately. People are busy. A polite follow-up email can often turn a 'maybe' into a 'yes.'
The Endgame: Building Long-Term Relationships
Contrary to popular belief, the goal of the warm pitch is not to land a client. It is to build a long-term relationship. You're not a one-off solution; you're a long-term partner who can help them grow their business. And because you've built your brand, educated yourself, and made the right connections, you're not just another name in the inbox—you're the name they've been waiting to hear from.
Takeaways
Educate, brand, pitch. The three steps to establishing an online business, as learned by a first-timer. It sounds so simple in three words, but trust me, the work is a lot more complicated than that. Your journey will be filled with many questions, but it'll get easier. You've already started to find the answers by reading this article, and you'll probably keep reading articles until your vision blurs. That's good.
Keep learning, keep building, and most importantly, keep trying.
FAQ's
The "best" online business depends on a variety of factors including your skills, interests, and the market demand. For some, affiliate marketing might be the way to go, while others may find success in digital products or consulting services. The key is to find a niche that you're passionate about and that has a demand.
Starting an online business doesn't have to break the bank. With $500, you could consider dropshipping, affiliate marketing, or even content creation. These models have low overhead costs and can be scaled over time. Most people on social media will sell these methods as get-rich-quick schemes, but don't believe them. They require big followings and, therefore, lots of work. Remember, the most important investment you can make is your time and effort.
If by "easy" you mean low-entry barriers, then consider businesses that leverage skills you already possess. Freelance writing, social media management, and virtual assistance are all areas that require little to no initial investment. However, don't mistake "easy to start" with "easy to succeed in." Every business requires hard work and dedication.
Highly profitable online businesses often involve selling digital or high-margin physical products, or offering specialized consulting services. However, profitability can vary widely depending on your skills, the market demand, and your business strategy. Always remember, high rewards often come with high risks.
Matt Medl
Content Writer + Memoir Ghostwriter
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