I have always been a hustler, a mover and shaker and someone who goes out there and makes things happen, at least in the offline world.
I have had my share of disappointments like everyone but I have managed to build several very successful businesses on my journey and I ma not particularly special (at least in my opinion).
No, I put it down purely and simply to the fact that I would NEVER give up until I got what I wanted, in short, I hustled my way to success.
I connected with people and communicated my enthusiasm and excitement about my business and what I could do for them.
And I kept connecting until I met with enough people that I got the required number of leads and sales required to hit my financial goals for the business.
Then, I would bring others into the business and teach them the same.
And… It worked like gangbusters, over and over!
Sounds simple really, and it is. A simple recipe for predictable results in any offline business you could mention… Right?
No…WRONG!!!
It’s a simple recipe for turnkey predictable results in any business (offline and online) and it took me an age to realise this.
I have no idea why, but when I started to migrate my business interests from offline to online there was a shift in perspective for me and not a helpful one.
You see, for the first time in my life I didn’t feel totally in control, I knew very little about building a successful business online at that point and to be honest, it just didn’t feel like a real business to me.
As a result, I stopped doing all of things that I had done up to that point which had brought me so much success, started getting more and more involved in studying online marketing, watching videos and doing little or nothing of constructive value to move my business forward.
Slowly and surely I withdrew from the personal connections I had made in the past and stopped making the effort to connect with new folks too.
It didn’t feel like a real business and I wasn’t acting like I was in business.
For a while there I lost my MOJO and I stopped hustling and it cost me BIG TIME!
It took me so long to reframe my feelings about my online business and to accept that it was and is a real business that will respond in the same way as any offline business depending on the actions you do or don’t take.
You see, I’d forgotten that behind every computer screen is a person, with dreams, hopes, ambitions and feelings and I’d stopped reaching out and it seemed at that particular time that I’d lost my ability to put myself in the shoes of my audience, feel their pain, understand their challenges, what makes them happy, all of it!
In fact my focus was only on me and what I wanted, my pain, my challenges and my happiness.
Strange really because I don’t regard myself as self centred. Certainly none of my family members have ever accused me of that. If anything, I’m the entire opposite to that.
I can only put it down to the fact that I had become so insulated from the world as I made my shift from offline to online. I became so paranoid that I didn’t know enough about this ‘new online world’ of business and doubted my ability to succeed.
And so I buried myself in more study, watched more videos and continued to withdraw from human interaction and proactive work in my business in order to become the person I felt I had to be and to finally get a handle on this ‘fucking internet marketing thing’!
And the lesson learned was?…
- That I had to reconnect with people and I had to rediscover my ability to understand, to empathise and just plain reach out.
- I realised that you don’t have to know everything about marketing online to be hugely successful but you do have to have a message that resonates with your audience and connects you with people.
- You don’t have to spend endless hours surfing the internet for more ‘one click’ magic software that (supposedly) brings you a rush of leads and customers in an instant, you just have to offer genuine value that resonates with your audience and connects you with people naturally, as a result of that value and goodwill.
- You have to be real and not some parody of another internet marketer who’s doing well. Just be you, make a difference and connect with people.
And finally, I learned that you have to stop the self sabotage and actually do something every day to offer value to your audience, connect you with more people and build your business…. In other words…. HUSTLE!
Since, I got my head back on straight and adopted this approach myself I have enjoyed more success (online this time) and I have more time freedom to actually enjoy it.
If you find yourself in the same situation as I was then let me pass on this piece of advice…
Before you go to work on the task of building your online online business, go to work on yourself, because having the correct mindset is essential if you want to avoid the type of crap I put myself through in the early years.
You can be wildly successful online and you will be, if you follow these three suggestions.
- Offer genuine value to your marketplace
- Stay front of mind and connected with people… And….
- HUSTLE, HUSTLE and HUSTLE!!
I wish you well…
Robert