With annual purchases on the Internet well in excess of $100 Billion, I think it’s pretty obvious that there’s a lot of money to be made online.

There are people out there right now raking in millions from Web businesses and Internet Marketing – which should be a major source of motivation for anyone who wants to be successful with an online business!

However, while it’s nice to dream, in reality, success really only comes with hard work.  And you’ll also have to address these 4 crucial success keys…

Goals: The first key for succeeding with any business – Internet or otherwise – is to set goals – both long-term and short-term goals – and then work up a plan to implement them.

Think of your long-term goals in terms of your vision as to what you want out of your business and what it will give you – lifestyle, freedom, whatever. Don’t just say ‘I want to be rich’ – who of us knows what we mean by that? Be specific: how much income a month will give you the lifestyle you want?

Your short term goals or objectives can be cumulative and should all build to you accomplishing your long term goals. If you set your goals and then make sure you work hard to reach those goals then you will be well on your way to being successful.

To make sure you achieve your goals, you need to have a Business Plan that forms an outline of what you’re going to do and how you’re going to do it.

Setting your goals should be a major part of your plan. And your plan will need adjustment from time to time – but I always find that thinking through the business in order to formulate a workable plan is some of the most productive time you can spend on your business!

Belief: Life and business for few of us is a ‘bed of roses’, and you’re going to have to weather the storms that you’ll inevitably face. So you need to ‘keep the faith’ – in yourself and in what you’re doing. You need to have an unshakable belief that you’ll make it and always believe that your plan will produce for you. If you don’t believe in yourself and what you’re doing then without a doubt you’ll fail. No one has ever been successful without believing in themselves. Your belief will help you to work hard, since you know your work will ultimately pay dividends.

Focus. As Humans, we’re pre-programmed to look for the next thing and we love to believe it’s going to be better, even though in reality it rarely is! But that’s how evolution works, after all. Every language I know has a similar phrase to ‘the grass is greener on the other side’. And I’ve seen so many people flit from one idea to another for their business, often abandoning good ideas for awful ones – and I’m the first to raise my own hand and shout ‘guilty’! We all do it, don’t we?

Look – there’s nothing new under the sun! So there’s plenty of experience out there of what works and what doesn’t. Don’t think that your bright idea is going to be any different.

Most successful businesses do the same thing that others are doing but do it better, cheaper or with a different spin on the marketing. And they only succeed by focusing on one thing at a time. Yes, Richard Branson has lots of different businesses in his Virgin empire – but he built them one by one from the ground up, by focusing on one thing at a time!

So it’s absolutely critical that you don’t allow yourself to get distracted by the latest and supposedly greatest ways to make money. Stick with what works and let it work for you. Focus, focus, focus!

And the last key to being successful with Internet Marketing is to always stay the course. Choose how you want to run your business – preferably using a proven method for how you will make your business successful. Then tweak that method as you move forward – but try to stick with the same basic philosophy.

Plan, focus on what you’re trying to achieve, stick to your plan and believe it’s going to work – and you’re 90% of the way there!

And, as Winston Churchill said, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP!

PS: If you want to see belief in action, check out Susan Boyle on Britain’s Got Talent: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

PPS: Watch out for your free Business Plan Template an upcoming post on Planning Your Way To Business Success!

Happy Planning!

John Thornely
Internet Tycoons

If there’s one killer enemy that stops people making money on the Internet… it’s…

LACK of ACTION!

But please reflect a moment…

If you never DO anything, you’ll never get any RESULTS.

Not just that, but…

Action Overcomes Fear

And some of my favourite quotes from the wise are…

“Nature gave men two ends…
…one to sit on and one to think with.
Ever since then, man’s success or failure
has been dependent on the one he used most.”
George R. Kilpatrick

“Procrastination is the grave in which opportunity is buried”
Chuck Gallozzi

“Pessimism never won any battle”
Dwight D. Eisenhower

“The path to success is to take massive, determined action.”
Anthony Robbins

I hope they help you, too!

John Thornely
© John Thornely www.johnthornely.com 2008

To learn more about how YOU can
Profit From The Internet – Fast, visit
www.Internet-Tycoons.com

Procrastination is my sin.
It brings me nought but sorrow.
I know that I should stop it –
in fact, I will – tomorrow!

Gloria Pitzer – The Recipe Detective (Retired)

Where to start? And How? Those are the two most frequently asked questions I hear from people looking to start their own web businesses – whether they already have an off-line business or want to start a new business on the Internet.

Most of us know someone who is making serious money with their Internet business – and we’d like to do the same. But those ‘where’ and how’ questions, coupled with the wealth of information available on internet business and business start-up, can often result in information overload and an on-going quest for that next bit of information or technique to enable you to get started…

Never-Ending Quest

And it can be a never-ending quest that sees you putting off your start indefinitely! There’s always something more pressing to be done, isn’t there (and not just checking your emails, walking the dog or having a coffee!)?

Well, you’re not alone! And yes – I’ve been there too!

At least 95% of us are procrastinators at heart, according to AnnA Rushton, author of ‘Procrastination – How To Stop It Right Now!’

AnnA admits to being a procrastinator herself. She notes that this isn’t a modern phenomenon related to our high-tech and high-stress society. Apparently, historical records exist that show our ancestors were just as bad – but imagine them putting off inventing the wheel, building Stonehenge or discovering America because there were just too many other things to worry about!

Your Lost Opportunities

Now – be truthful – how many opportunities have already slipped through your fingers because you didn’t act on them? What could you have done that would have improved your life beyond all your imagining, but you didn’t quite get round to it?

Well, building your own Web business is one of the easiest ways to achieve this – and it can be so low-cost and easy that you’d kick yourself if you didn’t get going, now that you’ve come this far and are reading this!

The Key To Getting Started

The key to getting started with your web business is to jump-start your willpower, so you can move from inertia to action. Try to understand the forces at work that are holding you back – both those inside you and the social pressure of ‘negative culture’ – the people all around you who tell you “don’t be so silly, of course you can’t run a web business”.

The Latin meaning of ‘procrastinate’ is ‘to favour tomorrow’ – or perhaps the principle of ‘Mañana’ that we’ve borrowed from the Spanish! But, according to AnnA, the key to overcoming our natural tendency not to start something is to recognise that procrastination is a four-letter word!

Yes – you may have your own four-letter word for it – but you can kill procrastination very effectively if you recognise it as

F*E*A*R.

The FEAR factor is huge when it comes to procrastination – are you afraid to start, afraid to keep going or terrified of succeeding – or all three? Fear paralyses us: whether real, perceived, logical or irrational it literally stops us in our tracks like ‘a rabbit frozen in the headlights’. And, believe me, I’ve been there many a time, too!

So, when you find yourself not taking the actions you know you need to take, look at fear in another way:

First * Examine * All * Resistance

The most effective tool in combating the first signs of procrastination is a pen and paper (but don’t spend hours agonising over the colour of ink or type of paper – just grab any old pen and paper!). Make it look like this:

Do this list for your Internet business – why you want to start and why you’re holding back… just keep going until you run out of things to put down.

One Small Action

Then write down one small action you could take to get started. For instance, you could put “Check the bookstores and online to see how many people are interested in my topic”.

Doing this will help you focus on what your real concerns are – do you feel afraid to take just the first step, or do you worry more about your ability to take the actions or project your fear forward into the consequences of those actions? And then to act!

To Do – Or Not To Do?

Then make yourself a list of ‘must do’ things in priorities A (important/urgent), B & C (least important). Each morning, write on a sticky note 3 things that MUST be done that day and put it where you can’t miss it – in the middle of your computer screen.

Notice that you are choosing to do those 3 things because you know that, once they are out of the way, you can do the more fun stuff! And make yourself a mental ‘Treat Jar’ – things you give yourself as a reward for doing the jobs on your To-Do list.

But don’t stop there – make yourself a ‘Not To Do’ list as well – all the things you should NOT do (but regularly do) until you have achieved the 3 things on your To Do list – checking the emails, walking the dog, having a coffee, etc.

In her book, AnnA also very effectively examines all the reasons why we hold back, and how we can overcome these, listed against the letters of the word ‘Procrastination’.

So, if you’re having trouble getting started with your internet business – or other opportunities are passing you by, have a look at AnnA’s book ‘Procrastination – How To Stop It Right Now!’

© John Thornely www.johnthornely.com 2008, 2009

Action Overcomes Fear

“Procrastination is the grave in which
opportunity is buried”
Chuck Gallozzi
Personal Development Writer/Speaker

John Thornely
© John Thornely www.johnthornely.com 2008

To learn more about how YOU can
Profit From The Internet – Fast, visit
www.Internet-Tycoons.com