So you’re a mum and since your little ones have arrived your whole world has changed. There is something about a baby entering earth side that flips our entire life and for a while we are completely consumed with this little being.
As the baby haze starts to wear off a lot of us start thinking forward again. Going back to a job that takes us away from our little ones that isn’t even fulfilling becomes a harder pill to swallow.
Getting up to the daily grind, breakfast, getting dressed, making lunches, getting out the door starts to become overwhelming. Time whirls past in the thick of peak hour traffic, daycare fees and mumhood and all of a sudden we start to wonder if this is it?
We find ourselves simply living, not thriving and starting to look at ways to throw the job in and work from home.
STEP #1 – AVOID THE LOW LEVEL OPTIONS
Queue Facebook listening to our conversations and on comes the flood of Facebook Ads promising freedom based businesses. MLM businesses, affiliate businesses. Susan and her posts saying how amazing working from home is, how its great to be her own boss. How she works around the kids.
Susan says you can too if:
– You just watch her limited time webinar, or
– If you check out her never seen before video, or
– You give her your email and first born quick smart
– PM her for more info
Just for it to be a boring as lettuce pitch feast where at the end, you’re still wondering WTF and just a tad pissy you’ve wasted your precious time when you could have been doing other stuff.
Here is what they all don’t want you to know:
When starting an online business there is no magic secret.
You don’t have to sell your lung to the black market to be successful.
The ‘secret formula’ isn’t really so secret.
It’s just some commitment, motivation and going through the learning process.
You know, like how we learned to become mums?
We had no idea, but hey, the kids managed to get clothed and fed – we worked it out
And, as time went, we got better at not losing our shiz at them and peacing out with wine ✌️
#selfgrowth
That’s like business too.
We don’t really know what we are doing at the start, but we figure it out as we go.
Don’t get me wrong, there are certainly ways we can work smarter, not harder and one of them is finding the info you need straight up without wasting your time jumping through hoops and selling your husband to get it.
So, if you are thinking of starting an online business, here are a few tips on how to sort the Susan’s from the legit:
The business you are engaging with should have a website, check it out. How long has it been established for?
Suss out their social media, do you get a sense they know what they are talking about?
Do they share their expertise openly and honestly? Or is it behind a ‘PM me babe’ comment?
Do they demonstrate past success? You want to be learning from someone who has done it all before.
Do they have an engaged community? Join it and get to know them.
Do they offer any money back promises?
Have they been in any creditable third party publications?
And remember, there is no easy, fast way to generate an income straight away and no one should promise you that.
Then ask yourself – is this someone I want to learn from?
This should help you weed out all the ‘get rich quick’ schemes out there and be left with more creditable advice so you can start thinking about learning how to start an online business and looking for ideas.
Sometimes we have too many ideas, get analysis paralysis and go around and around in circles trying to work out which one to go with and others, simply can’t think of an idea to get started with.
So if you want to start an online business because you are looking for more freedom, fulfilment and profit within your life here are some ideas to get you started:
STEP #2 – BECOME FAMILIAR WITH DIFFERENT IDEAS & CONCEPTS
Marketplace / Dropshipping
This type of business model is perfect for anyone who doesn’t have a skill set or expertise to leverage off but has a love of a particular product, it is the same as selling a physical product but without a lot of the upfront costs and time.
With this type of setup we can actually bypass having to deal with stock, logistics and manufacturing by setting up a website that you can add a collection of products to but when someone buys you make the sale, keep the commission and have the website automatically send the rest of the payment and the order to the supplier, and the supplier dispatches for them. It’s sort of like dropshipping but better. We call it a marketplace set up.
Centre it around a certain niche or pain point that you’re solving a problem for and that is also something you feel emotionally invested in. Sure, you can do research to try and spot up and coming trends but here is the kicker… If your heart isn’t in it, and you are only selling the products because you think it is going to make money then it won’t have long term sustainability.
You need to be able to connect with your audience and product/s. To know they are actually helping people. To understand the thoughts, fears and objections of your potential customers because all of this feeds into your online marketing strategy, and without an online marketing strategy you can’t sell anything.
My advice is to always choose something that is in your everyday life that you’ve found valuable. For example, I have a soft spot for pyjama’s, I love them for myself, but I also love buying them for my kids, this is something I could passionately sell and that would transpire though out my business and create a genuine authenticity.
In saying that, starting something, is better than starting nothing because even if you aren’t passionate about it, it will lead you to what you are passionate about.
For a full run down on this income stream click here.
So, look at your categories you can choose from:
Womens Fashion
Mens Fashion
Kids Fashion
Accessories
Shoes
Beauty
Toys
Homewares
Electronics & Gadgets
Hair
Outdoor furniture
Coffee and Tea
Pets
Baby Products and Accessories
Health and Wellness
Books / Planners / Journals
Travel
Then niche it down.
Say for example you choose kids fashion, what type of fashion? What price range? What style? What age range?
My hack – Narrow it down based on you, and what appeals to you so you can use yourself as your ideal customer.
Because here is the thing, if you’re looking for it online, so will others and using yourself as your ideal customer will benefit you in the long term with your marketing strategy.
For example, I have a ten year old daughter who complains that she has no comfortable clothes to play sport in, so for me, I would look first into an online shop for tween girls who want nice activewear to wear to their sports sessions, pain point is mums who can’t find any nice active wear for their tweens to wear at affordable prices and that are ‘cool enough’ for a tween to like it and wear it. #theyaresofussy
Still stuck for ideas? Check out some of the ones we’ve come up with:
Kids Bedroom Decor and Interiors (click here for more info)
If you love shopping for trendy & unique products for your kids bedrooms and know where to find the gorgeous pieces that all the mums want to know about, this could be the perfect opportunity for you. Start an online business and work from home selling a beautifully curated collection of kids bedroom furniture, wall art, decor and more that will give your child’s room that wow factor. Whether you have a love for interior design or just have a keen interest in making your children’s bedrooms look amazing, this exciting new business is for you.
New Business For Sale: Pregnancy Life (click here for more info)
As Mums, having experienced the joys of pregnancy, we know that the right products and services can make the world of difference to how we cope with how our bodies transform, to how we mindset through it, to preparing for our baby and before you think it, yep there are people out there already doing similar businesses but our business philosophy, expertise and strategy is going to set you a part and show you how to cut through the noise so you really can create an online platform around this idea if it is something you feel connected to it!
New Business For Sale – Kids Birthday Parties (SOLD)
We can help you create an online business centred around your love of kids birthdays and show you how to monetise it. Help time poor and busy mums find the perfect gifts for their own kids or for their kids friends by curating a beautiful website full of gift and party suggestions for children.
Service Based Business
A service based business is awesome for anyone that has skills, knowledge or expertise they would like to convert into an online business.
Don’t get hung up thinking you need to go and study and get formal qualifications because chances are you don’t, if you’ve got life experience and feel that you can help someone start with just helping one person and seeing how you go.
Maybe you’ve gained experience from employment and are ready to use and convert that into an online format, with the right strategy and intel you can literally create an online business from any skill.
Serviced based business models can generate an income faster, I out-earned my old full-time salary in about one year when doing my web and graphic design freelancing *but* I gave myself PND from trying to keep up with my workload and deal with a baby that hated sleeping with a passion. I had no freedom or flexibility and my husband hated me as well because I worked so much.
But, with some insider knowledge, tweaks and leveraging off automation and outsourcing a service based business can be an incredible option. And now, for me personally Business Jump is the hybrid of an online service based business and affords me so much flexibility.
For a full run down on this income stream click here.
If you have any skills or knowledge you can create an online business around one of the following:
Virtual assistant
Social media management
Marketing
Accountant
Florist
Freelance writer
Event Planning
Photography
Tutoring
Resume Services
Gardener
Web Design
Graphic Design
House Cleaning
Dog Walking
Music Instruction
Clothing Alteration
Life Coaching
Business Consulting
Copywriting
Interior Designer
Professional Organising
Branding Strategists
Photographer
Still stuck for ideas? Check out some of the ones we’ve come up with:
Online VA and admin business (click here for more info)
If you’ve got some type of skills and experience within the admin and VA sector we can show you how to refine, niche and monetise it into an online business and attract your first clients.
You could create a business around one or more of the following services:
Data entry
Social media content creation and posting
Email maintenance
Customer communications
Travel and event arrangements
Event planning and management
Website maintenance and management
Blog and content writing
Community management
Project management
Client database management
New Business For Sale – Dog Lovers (click here for more info)
We can help you create an online business centred around your love of dogs and show you how to monetise it. Whether you’re a vet, dog walker, dog groomer, worked in a pet shop or just have a love for the connection behind dog and owner there are loads of different ways we can turn your passion or skill-set into an online business. You could create a business around either an online platform offering advice, solutions and education around owning a dog or something more service based like a dog walking service.
Digital Products / Membership / e-Course
These are my all time fav income streams because they are in a sell one to many format, not a sell one to one format. For a full run down on these income streams click here.
STEP #3 – GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD
I’m going to share a secret with you, it is not how good the idea is, it is how good you are. I know that will sound scary to a lot of you but business is a skill, that we can learn. With the right education, the right mindset and the right strategy I believe anyone can create a successful online business.
The first thing to do is work out whether you have any fear or limiting beliefs holding you back. They show up as thoughts like this;
I don’t have any experience.
That’s totally fine, business is just a skill that we need to learn. Just like going to TAFE or doing home study, or like becoming a mum. We work it out as we go.
I don’t have any formal qualifications.
Depending on what your business is, most of the time, you don’t need any and life experience counts just as much. For example would you rather learn from someone who has studied it, or who has real life’ed it?
I don’t have the time.
If it is important enough to you, you’ll find how to make the time, even if it is 10 minutes a day. It is better than 0 minutes a day because here is the thing. Once you actually get started and find the joy and fulfilment in it and experience everything a business can afford you it will become addictive and won’t feel like work, it will feel like something you just love and enjoy doing.
I don’t have the money.
There are loads of free resources on the internet if you’ve got the time, patience and are pro-active you can DIY or maybe team up with a friend and go 50 / 50?
The market is so saturated already.
The market will always be busy, no matter what idea you come up with so instead of avoiding it learn how to master your online marketing strategy and cut through the noise by finding that something special within your business or within your personality that you can infuse into your business.
Why would anyone pay me?
This is more about self confidence then anything else, ask yourself if you’d pay for your service, product or offering? If the answer is yes, then there will be other people who also would pay as well. Surely you wouldn’t be the only person in the world to pay for it? Then start by offering one person your service or offering for free and build up your confidence in small amounts.
The honest truth is, there are solutions and work arounds for all of those limiting beliefs and if they’ve been holding you back for over 6 months then it is time to find someone who can help you move past those blocks and help you get started.
