My husband, Glenn,  wrote this article in a hope of sharing it with you all, especially to those wanting to set up an online business or make passive income. He shares with you his experiences and hopes it will provide much food for thought…

“What is the biggest hurdle to success online,  whether its as an affiliate marketer, running a successful online business, or even being a successful self-published author?

You may not agree, but I do think the biggest hurdle to overcome is yourself. Your own limited thinking. Like so many people in this post-coronavirus era, I am realising that jobs are no longer safe. The economy is volatile and its true that no normal job is for life. I guess that is why so many people are trying out their luck online, whether its creating a product or rendering a service people need. The money and opportunities are now online,  and truly this is the digital era and revolution we are in.

I have tried making money online before and in my earlier experiences I realised just how hard it was. I hold my hands out and admit that I have failed many times to generate an income and began wondering why.

Was it the online software I was buying, the powerful funnel builders, the video creation tools, the software that creates content for me?

I invested a lot of money in these online tools, ebook creation software, software and apps that create websites,  funnels, videos and music, all with sophisticated drag n drop simplicity.  Heck, I even got an app that creates podcasts for free. I had access to all these tools. I created videos to post on YouTube, made and published low content, no content books on Amazon, even wrote novels and non fiction books. I made music and published albums on some of the biggest platforms like ITunes. I created blogs, filled them with content using software that writes, spins articles for me. Yet, despite all my efforts, I still failed.  What gives then?

Here I was, with all the resources at my disposal,  and I wasn’t making any money or progress. Yes, I know,  there’s probably thousands out there with access to the same software and resources and competition is fierce. You have to create content that is truly unique to be able to stand out from the rest and you have to outwork your competition. But I was failing. My content, according to many, sucked, big time.

But with the drag n drop simplicity of the online software on offer these days, surely creating quality content is not hard?

I mean, any Tom, Dick and Harry and Sally, can do it. Just scroll through your Facebook News Feed or Twitter or Instagram and you will see the quality of content created that is on offer to digest, content created by ordinary people that are no more intelligent than you or me.

I recall one day telling a friend this via email and I think his reply answered my question. Here I was, a guy who had spent thousands of pounds on online software, the so-called-shiny-objects you see gracing the likes of sites like JVZoo and Warrior, spending hundreds monthly on expensive subscriptions to apps and online tools, and yet, whenever asked how much money I have made, I would, with such great embarrassment, say nothing.  Not a single penny, cent or dime.

What was I doing wrong?

My friend Mick West said in his email…”Glenn,  a tool, no matter how well made and effective it is, is only as good AS THE PERSON USING IT!”

That really hit hard home. I admit,  I’ve always had problems in the past with my confidence. I  had always been doubtful as to whether I could make money online,  create something unique that could go viral, be successful etc. The problem with attitude is that it reflects in everything we do, even in our work.  If I didn’t believe in what I was doing, it would show. It was also my lack of passion.  I wasn’t passionate enough in what I was doing. I kept thinking only about MAKING MONEY, about showing off on social media with a flashy and fancy piece of content I made like a video, and trying to look really clever and professional. Never really about creating something that would benefit people whatever form that took, like a digital product, or service or piece of content that would ring true to whoever saw it. That ‘Whats in it for me?’ and the lack of passion showed up in my work, in my writing, in the content I made and I wondered why nobody was paying attention.

I would say a big portion of making money online is attitude. How you approach it. You can invest in all the latest cutting edge online tools,  apps on offer. All those fancy shiny object-like-software on sites like JVZoo. But if your attitude is wrong, if you lack the vision, planning, passion,  the confidence and belief,  it won’t make a difference at all. I needed to go back to the drawing board and reevaluate my goals, dreams, my values, why I am doing it in the first place.  I got into debt because I invested so much money on these tools and expensive subscriptions. I didn’t have a clear plan or vision as to where I wanted to go with this. I didn’t care enough and just wanted to make a quick pound or buck. And I wondered why, with all those shiny tools I had, why I wasn’t seeing any results.  Lack of planning, lack of passion, lack of vision, lack of confidence.  The tools were only as good as the person that was using them. They didn’t need fixing. If they were making other people wads of money, they were perfect. It was me that needed fixing.

Overcoming yourself is probably the biggest hurdle to success online. But that also applies to anything you do in life. That’s why what they say in business is true…’That attitude is a small thing that makes a big difference…’

So here are some pointers for those wanting or thinking about trying for an online income…

•  Know what it is you want to do.

Its important to know what you want to do before setting off to create an online income. If you have a vague idea or just simply want to try a bit of affiliate marketing, a bit of Kindle Publishing,  a bit of Dropshipping and see how it goes, that spells a recipe for disaster. You will practically be all over the place and likely to fail because you have no clear vision where you want to be.

•  Remember your 5 P’s.

Prior preparation prevents a poor performance. Its important to plan what you are going to do, be it creating a digital product or setting up an online store or providing a service. Remembering your 5 p’s is essential to prevent you from making really bad decisions, mistakes and wasting your time, energy and money.

1. You need to have the blueprint to outline the steps towards heading for your goal. You have to know what you need. Creating a product like an ebook will require the use of an online ebook creation software,  and promoting it will need probably some video creation software, graphic design software for fancy posts on social  media unless you are willing to splash out on outsourcing the lot.

2. This also covers the money aspects of it, determining how much you need, because you have to invest in getting the tools you need, the training, tutoring or money for advertising and promotion or outsourcing. Having a clear budget is important otherwise you will be wasting it all on the wrong stuff and getting into debt like I did.

3. Also research is important, researching the online tools you will require,  researching your area whether its dropshipping, self publishing on Amazon etc. If you are creating a blog, research on the best website creation tools, on your chosen niche is important. Its important to do your homework.

•  Believe in yourself.

How you see yourself is important. You need the focus, motivation and tenacity to stick at what you are doing, at your game plan. You might have all the money and planning,  all the fancy tools or experts helping you out. But tools and resources are only as good as the person using them. It will mean next to nothing if you don’t think you can do it. My confidence let me down when I tried it first time round and it was any wonder why I got into so much debt. If you haven’t got the vision, the belief and determination, then its time to take a step back and do some soul searching. I could write a whole article on that, but I don’t have time for it right now.

•  Don’t make it entirely about the money.

I know we all like the idea of creating streams of income online, dreaming of a laptop lifestyle where you sit by the pool making a few clicks on your mouse and watching the money come in. But it can’t entirely be about the money. Making money online or any area of life is all about creating value in other people’s lives, whether its a product or service. If you only care about the money, the ‘whats in it for me?’ you will fail inevitably. It will reflect in all you do. Knowing you are doing something that will benefit others and being passionate about it will ensure success,  and surely enough, the money will follow.

Your attitude to how you approach this whole making money online thing is important. It is perhaps the biggest thing you need to have before you even take the plunge into the online world of setting up business. No doubt you will still make mistakes, but hopefully not the big ones that I made.”

Glenn Riley