Starting an online business is hard, especially if you gave up a lucrative day job. I know. I’ve been there. I left a 6-figure corporate gig. It took me 4 years to earn in my business what I was earning through my day job salary.
Yes, it was hard. But it was totally worth it.
The first few months (or years) can be frustrating, especially when you feel you are putting out-out-out and receiving little if any energy in return. Beyond getting a website site set up, and an email marketing system in place, you have to, you know, actually find people who want to read what you write and buy your offers.
So how do you really know if you are on the right track in your online business? How do you know if this online business is going to eventually feed not only your soul but also your checking account? What results can you focus on to reduce the temptation to quit your online business and go back to your day job?
Well, there are no guarantees in life or business, but there are some definite signs that indicate your business is growing, and worth your continued investment.
#1 – Your message resonates with someone. You say what you have to say, and someone, even if it’s one person, stops in their tracks and sends you a message. It might be, “Oh, my, that’s exactly what I’ve been looking for.” Or, “that’s exactly what I needed to hear today, thank you.”
(As an aside, these messages feed our creative souls. Save them. Read them again when you are feeling down and need a little new energy.)
#2 – Your stats are growing, even if it feels slow. Your email subscriber list is inching up. New people join your Facebook group. However you choose to market your services via social media, there is an uptick, even if a very slow and gradual one.
(And, if you haven’t been out marketing somewhere on social media, that could be a good reason why you aren’t experiencing growth. Picking one or two social media platforms where your most likely buyers are going to be is how you get the word out in the early days. Unfortunately, we’re not in ‘build it and they will come’ territory here.)
But back to our list of reasons to put off going back to your day job…
#3 – You are enjoying your work. One reason I’m constantly encouraging women and moms to follow their passions, is that growing a new online business takes work. The more you enjoy what you do, the easier it will be to put in the work early on. This is not your day job, and so just showing up will not bring in income. Make sure your work also feeds your soul.
#4 – You see people in your market buying something, even if it’s not your offer. The hardest markets to go after are those that don’t spend any money. If you want to teach coupon cutters to save a few more pennies, you are on an uphill battle to get them to give you their pennies. So look around to the people you are attracting with your message. Are they spending money? If so, on what?
A lot of times growth comes when you re-position your offering to be exactly what your community wants. Until that happens, it can feel like slow going. (And, yes, it can take a few product launches, tweaks, and revisions to get there.)
And rest assured, it’s not always this way. I’m in the midst of building one brand from the ground up, so I get that this is hard. I’ve made mistakes. My website gets an average of 12 hits a day, and that’s about a 400% improvement over where I was last year!
But at the same time I’m experiencing the natural momentum of an unstoppable selling machine for my first online business, which I started 7 years ago after abruptly leaving my corporate day job. I know the hard work is going to pay off because my numbers keep ticking up, I see mompreneurs investing in digital products, and I have a passion for the work. And I receive a lot of fuel by seeing my message resonate with others, especially inside the Momstyle Your Business Facebook group.
So I’m with you, living in the space of trusting that the slow growth will snowball, and using these signs to be sure I’m on the right track.