Starting an online business can be a scary and overwhelming task. There seems to be so much to learn and so many right ways and wrong ways to do things. Sometimes information overload gets so bad, you cant start.

What would you say to your driving instructor, if after your first lesson he told you to drive on your own to a destination that you have never been to which is several hundred miles away. You cant use maps, and would have $97 billed to your credit card every time you stopped and asked for directions or short cuts.

If there are any mechanical faults, punctures or other damage you will also have to find the nearest garage and hope you don’t get ripped off due to your lack of knowledge about cars.

If you break speed limits or disobey any road rules there are severe penalties. You could be delayed, fined or even get your vehicle confiscated.

I’d bet you wouldn’t get a wink of sleep worrying and stressing about the seemingly impossible task. I’d also bet that the more you think about it the less likely you are to get in that car and start the journey.

Crazy unrealistic situation I know but I just want to compare it to the similar thoughts that run through peoples minds when they embark on an online venture. There is just so much to do and learn. So many cross roads, and pitfalls. Building and online business too can just seem like an impossible task for beginners.

Information overload and distractions is the main culprit behind failed online businesses. SEO, Link building, Article syndication, PPC (Pay Per Click), banner advertising, Hosting, Web 2.0…. It just goes on and on. Plus next month there will also be some new online magic pill to study.

You believe that you need to master all of theses areas to stand a chance. Your competition will wipe you out if you don’t quickly master each discipline. Most people don’t realize that one or two marketing tactics done correctly can give your business the momentum and leverage needed (IF you desire) to move to the next level.

Back to my mad driving lessons. Did it take you long to become careful confident driver? Does hightways and traffic scare you? Did you contemplate or have you ought a GPS device so you could drive in areas you never even visited before. On your next foreigh holiday, would you consider renting a car? If you have been driving for even short amount of time I’m sure you will impress even yourself with your answers to the above.

Learning your online skills is exactly the same. You become skilled and can maneuver through and absorb information and concepts at lightening speed. It seems like this happened over night. It does not happen over night but the simple act of implementing what you learn (like driving) magically causes our minds and body to adopt and hone those skills even more and a quicker pace.

So the next time you go to open all those emails from those gurus you so admire, stop and think to yourself. Have I at least tried implementing the last bit of information that registered with me. If not, save that email for another day and fulfill that promise you made to implement the last cool strategy you learned. How can you ever filter out the good strategies from the bad if you never implement them? How can you tell a true guru from a fake if you’ve never implemented FULLY anything yourself?

Tags: Site Promotion

This entry was posted on Monday, October 13th, 2008 at 5:02 pm and is filed under Site Promotion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.