4 Online Business Truths That You’ll Learn The Hard Way
What I wish I knew when I started
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In our current era, everyone wants to start an online business.
Thanks to endless opportunities, the Great Resignation, and a general sense of “changing times,” more people than ever want to enter the fabled online business ecosystem.
When I started my first blog in 2016, most people didn’t even know that you could make money as a content creator. My friends didn’t know what Youtube monetization was, and my family had no idea why I labeled various blog posts as “sponsored.”
Times have changed.
In 2021, it feels like every second person I meet tells me about their idea to transition from a 9–5 into online entrepreneurship.
I have this great idea for an online art shop. I might quit my job for that next month. I want to do my current profession as a freelancer. I want to travel. How do you make money blogging again? And so it goes all day long.
Don’t get me wrong. I am sure that some of these people will succeed and turn their vague ideas into profitable online business ventures.
Most, however, are not ready for the rollercoaster ride that is online entrepreneurship.
I started writing online in 2016 and made my first dollar in 2017. Yes, I was terrible.
In 2018, I tasted success as a freelance writer and started to diversify. I tried out a million new things before I became a full-time freelancer in 2019.
It took me another year until I finally made enough money to finance my digital nomad lifestyle. That’s four years of hard lessons, but I don’t regret any of it.
On this basis, here are four online business truths that you’ll learn the hard way.
1. You need more than a few hundred dollars and a time investment
Many people believe that the entry barriers for starting an online business are super low.
And yes, they are lower than for opening a restaurant, for example. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean that no upfront investment is required.
