In today’s uncertain economic times, there are more and more of us looking for something more, something with stability, a solid business model, growth potential, and more importantly something that actually belongs to us.
Building a business, online or otherwise is never an easy feat. It takes a lot of hard work, dedication, and love for what you do, and there’s likely going to be more than a few long days or nights but you’ll find that life is now filled with the progress and accomplishment of smaller goals that take place almost daily!
Reason number one – Satisfaction
There is a certain sense of satisfaction that comes with owning a business of your own, nobody knows better than you or your peers what went into building that high-traffic, popular, and more importantly profitable blog. Whenever I stumble on a new and obviously successful blog, I don’t think “man I wish I had that” instead I look at the various components that I can relate to and think “wow! Nice job there.”
There is a sense of camaraderie online, and it’s quite common for us to share in each other’s successes and even failures! I think it’s because when we see the successes we realize how possible it is and that we’re on our way. When we see the failures we realize that they could also be ours, and could show up in our own blogging future and that we’d better have a plan to get around them. (This is likely why the person who failed shared it with us in the first place, to help others!)
Reason number two – you own it
I spent five years working for Canada’s oldest company (even after it was sold twice) and while I enjoyed it, thoroughly enjoyed my job, and was able to meet so many wonderful people, at the end of the five years I had nothing more than the shirts and ties I had been required to wear on a daily basis.
Building your own business is no more difficult than working for someone else, in fact, if you love what you’re doing, and you’re not in love with the job you work at, it can be much easier. It’s important to love what you do.
“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” ~ Confucius
Reason number three –You get to work from home (Yay!)
Now this one can be a double-edged sword for some, working from home gives you so much freedom that you might not otherwise have. Wake up when you want, take the kids to school, no need to pack a lunch, no commute, and let’s not forget the dress code. (I just looked down, and I’m wearing shorts and a tee)
On the other hand, there is no one responsible for your actions other than you, nobody to hold you accountable, and your workspace is filled with distractions. You can get past these, I’m sure you’ll find there are a lot more benefits than setbacks.
Reason number four – The community (Yours and ours)
The blogosphere is filled with such a wide and diverse culture of people who will challenge the way you think, and even what is possible. The majority of bloggers are always willing to help others to succeed along the way. It’s important that you keep this tradition alive as well.
There is also the community that you’ll be building around your blog, the people who visit, take the time to comment, and even subscribe to your list so that you can keep in further contact with them, whether it be to provide them with more valuable information let them know about deals that are taking place online, that they may have missed, or yes, even to tell them about your new product or service that you’re about to launch.
Reason number five – The money $
Bloggers are some of the most overworked and underpaid individuals on the planet, but (yes there is a but) there are also plenty of bloggers absolutely killing it online. Individuals like John Chow, Pat Flynn, and Darren Rowes, to name a few. These guys have built something amazing that will continue to provide a very real and very solid income for them and their families for many years to come.
Now I know you hear the message “never blog for money alone” because, without a passion for your subject matter, it’s unlikely that you’ll succeed. I would have to agree, but at the end of the day, you should still be treating your blog like a business.
