The 5 Things Website Owners Need To Make A Living

photo credit: monojussi

In the early days of the World Wide Web, it seemed all you had to do to make a million dollars overnight online, was launch a site, sit back and watch the cash roll in. Everywhere you turned in the business world, there was another savvy entrepreneur who had managed to tap in to a unique idea and make a fortune.

These days, we’ve come to appreciate that this is extremely unlikely to happen, if not impossible. With the best will in the world, the most innovative idea and the best business brain, it’s still tough to make a living online, let alone generate a fortune.

That said, it’s very possible to make a good living.

For every two or three businesses that fall by the wayside online for various reasons, there will be one which manages to flourish, going from strength to strength and beating off the opposition to become a steady, viable proposition in to the future.

So what does it take to make it, in today’s world of stiff competition?

What qualities do we need to make sure our businesses thrive online and bring us enough revenue to live comfortably and well?

Here are the top five traits every website owner needs to make a healthy living from their online venture…

Tenacity

It stands to reason that, in such a challenging industry, it’s going to take some serious tenacity to make a go of your business online. This means having the willpower and determination to persist even when things aren’t looking so positive, having an unswerving belief that you are on the right path and will succeed eventually. When you take the jump to online entrepreneurialism, you’re sometimes going to come across resistance, perhaps from competitors, from family members who doubt your wisdom, or even from yourself. Tenacity is crucial to see you through these issues and support you to come through them, with your business thriving and your will to succeed even stronger than it was before.

Innovation

When we select the Web as our platform for business, we’re automatically entering one of the most fast-paced and changeable industries out there. With software and technology changing and evolving on a near-daily basis, it takes serious innovation to stay ahead of competitors and make your mark online. Only by being creative, staying one step in front of customer demand, and having a sound understanding of your chosen platform can you thrive online and keep your business focused, your products competitive and your service offering original and fresh.

Determination

Sometimes, no matter how much we want to succeed, we can find ourselves flagging as our enthusiasm takes a dip and we begin to question why we set out to work for ourselves, and what possessed us to decide to conduct business online. When we are tired, jaded and fed up, determination dissolves and leaves us with a sense of inertia. When this happens, it’s important to pick yourself up and give yourself a mental shake, remind yourself of what your goals are, and rekindle your determination to succeed. Get out there, update your site, deal with your customers and have the staying power to know you are doing the right thing for yourself and your business.

Vision

Vision isn’t just about having a sound strategy for the future; it’s about staying focused, knowing where you want to be, and having the knowledge and understanding of your business to plot a specific path to get to your chosen destination. It’s about looking ahead and seeing future trends and possibilities, keeping your eyes firmly on your goal and not letting yourself get distracted by things which ultimately won’t benefit your business. A healthy positive vision for your goals online will keep you on track and support you to achieve what you have set out to do.

Humor

There’s no way around it – sometimes, if you didn’t manage to laugh at some of the things that happen when you run an online business, you’d probably break down and cry! From the flood of bizarre spam messages that we have to wade through, to the sometimes vicious and unnecessary trolling that goes on in social media sites, it’s important to be able to laugh when things don’t always go right, or you come across resistance online. Remind yourself that this is just business, people don’t always mean what they say, and laugh at criticism instead of taking it to heart. The more successful you get, the more some unscrupulous people may try to bring you down. If you have the ability to laugh when it happens, you’ll be stronger, happier and more able to deal with what gets thrown at you!

No-one ever said it would be easy making a living online, but by staying true to your values, keeping a clear head and being focused on the end game, you’ll have what tools you need to thrive while those around you fall by the wayside.

What traits would you add? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.