Creating an online business appears to be a simple feat. Please refer to the following article: Creating Your Own Online Business: 5 Brutal Truths and you will discover that this is simply not true. In that article, it was recommended that before creating your own online business it is wise to seek the counsel of others who have been through the same process and learn from their mistakes. Here are 6 useful tips to consider before creating your own online business.

Have a Clear Plan

“The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.” (King Solomon)

Before rushing ahead with your business, it is of utmost importance that you have a clear plan. Here are examples of questions you can ask yourself when formulating your plan:

• What is my product?
• Does my product meet a need?
• Who is my target audience?
• Does my product add value to my customer’s life?
• Can my product be monetised?
• Can I sell my idea to my husband or wife?
• Will this fit into my lifestyle?
• How passionate and motivated am I?

Assess Your Purpose

What is your purpose for creating this product? If it is to be rich, then I would advise you rethink your purpose. Your product needs to be founded on the correct purpose. Your product must add value to your customer. Transforming your customer’s life in some way should be the core part of your purpose. 

Educate Yourself

I was a speech therapist before I created my online product. I had become an expert in teaching children to read and write. It did not cross my mind to educate myself first before beginning my online business. I stumbled blindly into it. If I had to do it again I would study and seek wise counsel on the following: 

• Learning Management System (LMS): this will form the platform of your business. What is an LMS? Which ones are suited to my product? Am I able to load my own content onto the LMS or do I have to employ someone to do this? To find out more refer to the following article, ‘Why do I need to use a Learning Management System (LMS). 
• Content Creation: if you want people to know you, you need to churn out content. How do you do this? To find out more on this topic click on the following article, ‘Why is Content Creation so Important for my Online Business.’
• Online Employment: you will need to do a lot of things yourself, but some things you will need to outsource. I have used a puppeteer for 3 years now. I found him on Fiverr.com. I have never spoken to him in person. We have a purely online relationship and he has produced phenomenal work for me. What are some other employment sites I can use? To find out more about this read the following article, ‘Five Areas to Consider When Creating an Online Team.’ 
• How do I market my product using social media platforms. 

Be Bold and Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

You must embrace the idea that you need to carry out tasks that are out of your comfort zone. This is simply because to outsource every task is extremely expensive. Some examples of such tasks are as follows:

• Article writing
• Video creation
• Cold calling
• Social Media Marketing

Please refer to this article ‘5 Key Areas that may Push You out of Your Comfort Zone Before Creating an Online Business’ to discover more on this topic. 

Software Tools

My husband has collected a library of tools over the years. I never understood why until he introduced me to these tools when I started my online adventure. These tools are the best investment you will ever make! They save you time, money and frustration. Some examples of tools are as follows: 

• Invideo: this is an amazing software that makes video creation easy and seamless. Any dummy can use it! Click on this link to find out more. 
• Textmetrics: this is an article writing tool. I am using it as I type! You are reading this article because of textmetrics. Click on this link to find out more. 
• Visme’: this is a great design software. It enables one to design presentations, infographics and any other visual communications for their business. Click on this link to find out more. 

Please refer to the following article ‘7 Software Tools to Consider Before Creating your Online Business’ to find out more about these tools. 

Surround Yourself with the Right People

Creating an online business is exhilarating and exciting but at the same time, it requires persistence and perseverance. If I did not have my husband alongside me, encouraging me to persevere and get up after the numerous failures, I would have given up a long time ago. I would recommend having at least one person who knows what you are doing and can walk alongside you.