A Beginner’s Guide: How You Can Make A Full-Time Income Online

For many hopeful entrepreneurs, 2020 will be the tipping point that encourages them to finally pursue a full-time income online. As the world faces an unprecedented global event, many traditional businesses are re-evaluating their options as well.

If you’ve been considering starting an online business with hopes of replacing your income, you’re in luck. Here’s a helpful beginner’s guide to making a full-time income online.

Choose the Right Business

The first step in generating an online income is to choose the right business for you. Ideally, you’ll pick something that has the potential to be profitable but is also something you’re passionate about. In fact, your passion and dedication is the ultimate determining factor between your success and failure. When the going gets tough— and it will— that passion will carry you through to better days.

There are endless options available. You can become a virtual assistant, a content ghostwriter, a drop-shipper, a blogger— anything. The key is knowing how to monetize and scale your business for long-term success.

Create a Detailed Business Plan

Creating a detailed business plan is a foundational exercise, whether you’re creating an online business or building a brick-and-mortar store. This plan should cover everything from the finances you require to get started to what the competition is doing.

When you craft your business plan, spend lots of time drilling down to determine your niche. There are thousands of other businesses offering the same thing as you. Identifying your niche will help you create targeted offerings that improve your sales conversion and stay in alignment with your business. Success in online business doesn’t come from targeting a broad range of millions of people— it comes from creating a personal connection with a few thousand.

Set Action-Based Goals

Goals and targets are essential for replacing a full-time income with an online business. And no, “replacing my full-time income” is not a good enough goal. You need to drill down and be specific about where you want to go in the next week, month, year, and five years. Furthermore, you need to create action-based goals to get there.

So you want to generate a full-time income online. How? Action-based goals could include the tasks you need to set up your business, how often you’ll post on social media, and how many potential clients you’ll cold call each week.

Create an Online Presence

Having an online presence is paramount for generating a full-time income online. When you get to this point, don’t hesitate to look to the experts for advice. Use a resource like Today with Jay to learn more about building an online presence that’s optimized for monetization. Look at the success stories in your chosen industry and how they got where they are today.

Cover all of your bases when you create an online presence. You’ll need a website and social media to build trust and connect with your customers.

Build a Portfolio

Transferable experience only goes so far when trying to start a business online. People will want to see reviews, testimonials, and case studies to prove that you are an expert in your field. As such, you’ll need to build a portfolio of samples.

One of the most effective ways to start building a portfolio is to offer your services for free in exchange for a testimonial or review. These trial runs are a great way to build experience, troubleshoot your processes, and generate social proof. Just be honest about your goals when you reach out to potential beta testers.

Network, Pitch, and Follow Up

Communication is everything when trying to build an online business. Use your network to tell people what you do. Send out well-worded pitches that highlight how your business can solve a client’s pain points. Always follow up and be eager— your success depends on it.

Contrary to what the internet would have you believe, this isn’t an overnight windfall. It could take months to generate an income and years to create a sustainable, full-time income online. Plan well, lay a foundation, and stay the course to be successful.