Know Your Big Why in Building an Online Business

It takes work to build an online business. Anyone who tells you otherwise either hasn’t done so or they are blowing smoke up your backside.

There will be times when you’ll wonder whether what you are doing is actually working. Sometimes you’ll get immediate results, but that’s often not the case. It’s important to be consistent in getting your message and your name out to your market. Often what you did months or even years ago pays off.

To stay motivated it is imperative to know “your big why.” A few years ago, I had a very difficult period and often it was hard for me to stay motivated. I was one of my mother’s primary caretakers prior to her passing away.

During the time I was my mother’s caretaker, having the time to be with her was my big why. Today my big why is helping as many boomer entrepreneurs as I can set up their businesses in a way that gives them the freedom to live the lifestyle they either need or choose.

Another why in my business is that the more financial abundance I have, the more I can bless others. If I hadn’t been clear on my “why” the “how” would have been near impossible during the toughest times.

Whether it be buying grocery gift cards for family members in need, happily paying our handyman and being able to hire him for whatever our next project is, gladly paying our gardener, taking great care of our slew of rescue animals, or donating to nonprofit organizations I believe in, a successful business allows me to do this.

What is it that drives you in business? What is the message you want to share? Keep your big why in the forefront of all you do. Write it out and keep it visible. Regardless of what your message is, be proactive in getting the word out, and build trust with your market.

As you get your message out, stay focused on driving traffic to your blog, website, and landing pages in order to build your opt-in subscriber list. Often what you do to market is the very same thing you do to build your subscriber list. And be thinking about how to apply your list-building strategy to marketing other aspects of your business.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Although gaining visibility is a plus, there is a price to pay as you are known by more people. I would be doing you a disservice if I didn’t share the downside of visibility. Granted, for most of us there is more of an upside, but you need to weigh the pros and cons as you move forward.

The best way to deal with the downside of visibility is to keep your focus on your big why. Wayne Dyer put it best when he said, “If there are 500 people in my audience, there are 500 opinions of who I am and the job I did.” I’ve paraphrased a bit, but you get the idea. No matter what you do, you’re not going to please everyone. This is especially true in the world of online marketing. If your goal is to make everyone happy you ought to quit right now. I’m serious. No matter what you do you are NOT going to please everyone.

The sooner you recognize this, the sooner you will be able to enjoy the growth of a successful business.