Only a few years ago, making money online still seemed shady to lots of people. Today, it’s the reality for millions of people across the globe. With opportunities multiplying daily, building an online business is now easier than ever before.
Recent happenings have taught us that there’s no safe employment anyway. According to Forbes, in the U.S. alone, more than 30 million people lost their jobs due to the Coronavirus. This results in an unemployment rate of more than 20 percent of the workforce in the United States. And unfortunately, the employment situation around the world isn’t any better. Due to these recent developments, building various income streams is certainly a better idea than relying on one single job. An online business is one of the quickest and most reliable ways to turn your existing skills and talents into a paycheck.
Success in business and life is no coincidence. It’s the result of repeating routines that are proven to work. It’s not just athletes and artists who rely on rituals to perform at their best – entrepreneurs can also benefit from powerful habits in business.
Digital entrepreneurs, in particular, need routines to save time, be up to date in their industry, and adapt quickly to changes.
While there’s no magic formula for making quick and easy money online, there are certain similarities in people who successfully built digital businesses during the past decades.
1. They Ask for Help
Successful digital entrepreneurs know that they don’t know everything. Most digital business models are complex and it’s impossible to be an expert in everything.
Building a successful and scalable digital business requires more than one or two competencies. Those who start an online business are often equipped with one or two of these skills, but not with all of them.
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That’s why great digital entrepreneurs surround themselves with great minds who add to their skillset.
Particularly if you’re a solopreneur and running your business all alone, your network plays a massive role in your entrepreneurial success. By getting into touch with the right people and reaching out whenever you feel stuck, you won’t only make quick progress but also avoid significant mistakes and losses.
Successful digital entrepreneurs know that there’s no point in fighting the battle on their own. They build valuable networks and ask for support without hesitation.
2. They Prioritize Their Health
Effective digital entrepreneurs know that a healthy body leads to a sharp mind and high-quality outcomes. That’s why they take well care of their bodies.
Most digital entrepreneurs have monotonous daily routines. They spend hours upon hours sitting and looking at a screen. While this might initially not sound like a health-damaging job, it actually is. Spending too much time in front of screens, lacking physical activity, and failing to nourish your body properly will backfire rather sooner than later.
Particularly new entrepreneurs often sacrifice their health and bodies to work longer hours. While this kind of #hustle mentality might seem promising at first sight, it can’t be effective in the long run. Sooner or later, your body and mind will strike, and you won’t be able to keep up with the quantity and quality of your work.
That’s why effective digital entrepreneurs care for their bodies before it’s too late.
Meditation, journaling, and self-care, in general, are fantastic ways to take care of your well-being and stay calm, even when things get tough.
However, your physical health is also crucial. Moving your body doesn’t only help to stay energized but also to be more focused when working on challenging tasks.
Successful digital entrepreneurs take time to care for their bodies and minds. Even if you can’t find time to hit the gym every day, you can at least go for a 10-minute run or a 30-minute walk, dance to your favorite songs, or do some stretching exercises to get rid of the muscle tension and stiffness caused by the inactive work pattern you might follow.
Additionally, you can try various tools such as a standing desk or seat pads to further assist your body in staying strong and healthy.
3. They Build Systems
A successful business is no coincidence. It’s the sum of small steps and systems that are proven to work.
As a digital entrepreneur, your schedule and work patterns might look different every single day. Instead of following the same patterns daily, internet entrepreneurs can choose when, where, and how to work.
Yet, to be effective, you still need systems that will work in your favor. Otherwise, you might lose track of your progress and projects. This, in return, often results in a lack of motivation and productivity.
To avoid this scenario, it’s crucial to have tools and structures that help you stay organized, up to date, and effective.
Tons of project management tools such as Trello, Notion, or Asana can help you to organize to-do’s, collaborate with teams, and have a nice overview of ongoing projects. These tools often even provide free plans for small businesses, so you don’t have much to lose but lots to gain by giving them a try.
It’s crucial to set up systems that work in your favor and make sure you don’t forget anything important. Most project management tools can be synchronized across various devices. This makes it even easier to stay up to date and be effective.
While having physical notebooks is nice and might lead to more creative output, digital tools and structured systems are a must-have to be effective in the long run.
4. They Identify What Works and Do More of It
Successful digital entrepreneurship is about figuring out what works and repeating it until you find something that works even better.
As a digital entrepreneur, you’ll likely have lots of freedom. You might be able to choose where, when, and with whom you work. And while this sounds appealing to many people, most beginners end up being ineffective because they lack routines. That’s why successful digital entrepreneurs observe their work patterns and do more of what works.
If you, for instance, know that mornings are your most productive time of the day, you better use that time to get essential tasks done. You’ll achieve the best results if you stick with patterns that are proven to work.
It’s the same with projects and platforms: Once an effective digital entrepreneur finds a promising new opportunity, she’ll dive into it and give her best to make the most out of it.
Most new entrepreneurs fail in business because they can’t resist the shiny object syndrome. They want to be up to date about everything happening in their industry and thus never settle for promising opportunities. While this might sound like fun, it won’t lead to success and satisfaction in the long run.
5. They Enjoy Taking Time Off
Successful entrepreneurs aren’t afraid to take some time off. They know that they could use that time working and scaling their business, but they also know that work is not the most important thing. When they spend time with friends and family or do the things that light up their soul, they do it with full presence.
As they set up systems that work in their favor (habit #3), they’re not afraid of taking some time off and celebrating their wins.
While new entrepreneurs often have to work many hours to see significant results, successful business people know how to let go of the tension and live life to the fullest, inside and outside the business.
Running your own business might sometimes feel like having a baby. And while it’s challenging to put that baby aside for a few days, it’s an essential step to stay happy, sane, and healthy in the long run. By taking some time off from the business, my partner and I often come up with the best ideas. Our business is all about helping people to build the life and business of their dreams and often, we need to come up with innovative ways to keep our students engaged so that they don’t give up. Yet, good ideas barely evolve when we’re too focused on the problems. That’s why taking time to wind down is a necessary part of solving challenges in business.
While working more hours and making more money might first sound like a good strategy, it’s actually self-destruction. Nobody can keep up with unhealthy schedules for too long.
Particularly when you love what you’re doing for a living, taking time off will be hard, but it’s priceless. Running a digital business and being able to work whenever, wherever you want, is a blessing and a curse at the same time. Yes, you can work every day, but this doesn’t mean you should do it.
Instead of working seven days a week for 365 days, focus on increasing your productivity during your working hours and learn how to get more done in less time.
As an entrepreneur, the amount of hours you spend working is not of value. It’s all about the quality and quantity of the work you get done. If you can finish a project in five hours, there’s no point in spending ten hours on it, right?
6. They Unplug When They’re Not Working
As a digital entrepreneur, you’re always connected to your business. You might be able to check your business and numbers anytime through your phone. And unfortunately, that’s exactly what most people do: They continuously feel the urge to check in with their company, even when they take a day off. Instead of putting their phone aside and enjoying work-free time, they check their numbers anywhere and anytime.
At first, having this kind of control over your business might sound appealing. Yet, in the long run, you need to learn how to disconnect.
Successful digital entrepreneurs take care of their mental well-being and regularly unplug from their work. No matter if it’s for a few hours or days, disconnecting from your business is priceless.
Let go of controlling your business all the time and instead use your time off the business for networking, strengthening your skills, feeding your mind with high-quality content, or simply being present during fun activities.
Whenever possible, avoid being connected to your business during no-work-times. Don’t check numbers and statistics from your phone. Also, avoid being accessible at all times. You don’t need to answer messages late at night or during your vacation. This might seem obvious, but once you run your own business, you might quickly get so attached to it that it becomes hard to let go of the need to be in control 24/7.
7. They Rely on a Few High-Quality Resources to Stay Up to Date on Industry News
It’s crucial to stay up to date on the latest news without losing too much time by scrolling through news pages and social media feeds.
That’s why most successful digital entrepreneurs rely on a few sources and regularly check these to be up to date.
Thousands of newsletters and websites provide quick, reliable information about different industries and it’s your job to pick a few that best fit your business and resonate with you.
Morning Brew, for instance, is a daily newsletter covering the most important business news of the day and a brief overview of the stock market.
On Product Hunt, you can browse through the newest products in tech.
Digital Marketer provides the latest news in marketing, funnels, and copywriting.
The Next Web is another website focusing on new technology and startups.
The range of reliable sources for staying up to date is massive. You just need to have a brief look at the different options and settle for a few that are most relevant to your industry.
Final Thoughts
Starting and running your own successful digital business is no miracle. Millions of people across the globe are fulfilling their dreams by making money online while doing something they genuinely love.
And while digital entrepreneurship is a broad term, the habits mentioned above unite successful internet entrepreneurs, no matter what precisely they do. If applied, these seven rules can also help you to build and scale the business of your dreams.
#1 Ask for help whenever you need support: Instead of fighting the battle on your own, build a network that supports you to reach your goals efficiently.
#2 Prioritize your health while you’re fit so that you never need to take an involuntary break from your business.
#3 Build systems that work in your favor so that you never need to worry about forgetting details or deadlines anymore.
#4 Don’t get trapped into the shiny object syndrome. Instead, find out what works and do more of it.
#5 Enjoy taking time off from your business and doing all the other things that light up your heart so that you find even more joy when you get back to work.
#6 Fully unplug from the business when you’re not working. Don’t check numbers and messages when you’re on vacation or enjoying time with family and friends.
#7 Choose a few high-quality resources to stay up to date on industry news so that you can be quick in adapting to new trends.
Regularly reminding yourself of these seven principles will help you to save time, energy, and even money when starting and scaling your digital business. People all over the globe are building successful online companies to live their dreams and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to do the same too.
