Archive for the ‘Fundamentals’ Category
The Big Picture: 10 Questions for Creating Your Wealth Online
Written by Brandon on December 10, 2007 – 1:47 am -
Creating your wealth online is a difficult journey that should not be attempted alone. My goal with YourWealth.org is to supply that help you need to stay focused and excited, give you fresh ideas, and let you know of the latest trends in online business models. But first, I think it’s important that I start with the big picture and work into the details of creating wealth online as time progresses.
And to gain a big picture of your wealth strategy, you should answer several difficult questions that will affect your life before choosing a direction for building online wealth. Here are what I consider to be the top ten most important big picture questions:
- What are you really interested in? This can be a very difficult question, but I suggest that you focus on an interest that you have and look for an extremely novel approach to whatever you like. Let’s say you like bicycles, for instance. After a bit of quick research, I discovered that there are very few resources on bicycle maintenance and repair and no online resources that give you step by step instructions on repair. If you love bicycles, then this may be an approach to take. And if you are unsure what a novel angle might be on your topic, then brainstorm with friends and family or write a comment to me and I’ll help you out.
- What is your tolerance for risk? This is possibly the most important question simply because a lot of people start an online business thinking that they can start with very little or no capital when, in fact, sometimes a lot of capital is needed and you may want to quit your job, thus cutting your money supply. My suggestion to you is know your risk tolerance way ahead of time. If you hate risk, have to support a family, or just like a challenge, you may start a modest how-to business, affiliate business, or niche blog that only takes some of your free time. If you are unafraid of risk, then you may feel compelled to spend every bit of time and money on an e-commerce business or online application. I warn you, if your start down a risky road you do not want to turn back or cut your risks because your product will likely suffer or die. In the future, I hope to teach you how to start with low risk and steadily increase your risk as you reinvest your income into the business.
- Would you like to supplement your income or create all of your wealth online? This question is tied to the risk question. If you want to make what I call “hobby money”, then it will cost very little and take little free time, but you won’t see any real financial returns for years. If you want big returns then you will need complete focus and commitment.
- What is your personality like? Are you a people person or are you a quiet worker who does not socialize. Determining your personality early on is extremely important because there are certain personalities that make a business successful and if you don’t fit in that mold then you will need to hire someone who does. It’s a hard fact to face that you can’t always do everything, but it’s true.
- How long can you wait to create your wealth? Do you want to create wealth slowly or quickly? If you can wait then the risk is lower and the topics you can choose are broad. If you want to get rich quick you need an extremely novel idea and the funds to build and promote it. Quick wealth is a pipe dream, but it is attainable.
- How good are your computer skills? Your computer skills do not necessarily need to be good, but you do need to understand what the latest technologies are and how to use them to create your wealth online. Try to assess your skills from one to ten. One being you know nothing about computers ten means you can program in PHP and Javascript efficiently. 5 means you know what these things are, and you know how programs work, but you don’t necessarily know how to use PHP. If you are a five, then you are good to go. If you are lower than a five, then I suggest reading blogs such as DoshDosh and Problogger.net to become familiar with the layman’s technical jargon. You will need this skill to some extent even if someone else is creating the infrastructure for you.
- How good are your writing skills? Writing skills are key to success when developing an online wealth vehicle. I will certainly talk about this more in multiple posts, but a quick introduction to skills you will need is the ability to write clearly and concisely, the ability to back up your thesis with simple to understand examples, and the ability to influence with either your humor, strength of tone, or wealth of knowledge. If you don’t have this strength, consider hiring people who do.
- Will your family and friends help you to create your wealth? This is important to know quickly for a number of reasons. If you are depending on your circle of associates to help you out then test them quickly on their devotion to the project. I have wrongly discovered that some of my previous attempts at wealth building would be made easier by employing my friends and family to help me out. The truth is they are not as passionate as you are about your topic. Go out and seek a community of like-minded zealots and recruit them all.
- Who do you look up to? This is not a question I think most people ask themselves, but an important one. Why is it important? Because this will give you a tangible model to follow or look up to. For instance, I work in architecture and I look up to my boss. He’s successful and charismatic, and he is a great designer. Now that I’ve identified my boss as someone I look up to, I can ask him questions about his success and observe how he has become successful. Having this tangible model allows you to see what works for you and what doesn’t.
- Where do you want to be in ten years? This is a loaded question. You probably want to be successfu, but when you ask this question you can sort of plan where you want to be and then work backwards. Working backwards from the future is a great way to be able to map out the plan, year by year, that will help you achieve your success in incremental, real, tangible steps.
These are a few basic and extremely broad questions, but you will need to answer these questions to start a broad plan to create your wealth. From here, you can start to hone in on the specifics which I hope to address, piece by piece, on this blog over the next few years.
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