In the past, being an entrepreneur required a great deal of capital. It was common place to take out loans if you didn’t have the money to put into growing a business.
This process made it very difficult for new companies to get off the ground. Nowadays, the process has been simplified.
In the 21st century, however, setting up and running a business has potential to cost less per year than you probably spend at the corner convenience store for coffee. Thanks to the innovations spawned by the advancement of the Internet, just about anyone can get a business started today.
A lot of people dream about being their own boss. In fact, approximately one in 18 people worldwide own their own business.
What makes today the best time to get started as an entrepreneur?
1. Doesn’t Cost a Lot of Money to Start
Approximately 69% of business owners in the United States build the company from within the home. This is because it saves an incredible amount of money both in overhead and equipment use.
For instance, many freelance ghostwriters and graphic designers use their own computers and other tools to help clients.
If you wanted to go a more expanded route, it costs less than $150 to start a C-corporation depending on your state. This gives you the sales tax identification and more to open even greater opportunities.
For example, many suppliers of goods require a FEIN number before they can offer you products to sell on an eCommerce site.
This is important because it reduces your inventory costs.
Some methods of being an entrepreneur are even cheaper than starting a corporation. You could start with a website reseller account today and start offering websites you design for your clients or through online auction houses.
It’s even possible to start with no money at all by selling shirts through various online venues.
The point I am trying to make is that financing shouldn’t be a reason to stop you from reaching goals.
2. Greater Opportunity for Growth
Digital space is like having a virtually unlimited amount of cyber real estate. A person has potential to start an online business as big or as small as they want.
For the most part, all it really takes is a drive to expand and grow the business down a logical path.
Growth can also come in the form of making connections with other professionals. These connections often have the capacity to take your small business to even greater levels.
Whether it’s help in marketing or expanding a client base, interpersonal networking is far easier today than it was in the 1900s.
An example of this can be seen in the progression of sites like LinkedIn. As many as 41% of millionaires use the social hub. That means you have potential for direct contact with some very influential people around the world.
3. An Abundance of Resources Available
Some of the biggest factors that determine success are the tools you use. If the Internet has anything that is beneficial, it’s the abundance of resources that are immediately available. As many of these items are digital, you can start using them right away.
For the most part, these resources are relatively inexpensive when compared to the return you may receive. An example of this is how Adobe switched from an overly expensive piece of software to a nominal monthly fee for Photoshop.
Graphic designers now have access to some of the best tools around without needing hundreds of dollars for the single program.
This method of selling software is so popular that a lot of high-end tools are becoming available for a small monthly subscription.
From web hosting to customer relations management software, you have a wider access to resources now which you may not have had in the past.
Thanks to online progression, there are so many things that are literally a click of the mouse away. The best part is that the list of resources available is constantly growing and evolving.
4. Information Galore
One of the greatest perks about the Internet is that it’s full of useful information. You can learn everything from how to become an entrepreneur online to setting up tax codes in eCommerce.
As more people take to creating websites, the amount of information can seem overwhelming.
There are more than 3.6 billion users on the Internet. Because of this, many educational programs have been developed to reach that audience. You can learn just about any topic you wish from a credible source.
Whether it’s a college degree or you have a few bucks to spend to receive a certificate for a business course, it’s all online.
Unfortunately, there is a downside to finding information on the Internet outside of a classroom environment. Not all data is accurate or trustworthy. You’ll have to spend a bit of time researching a topic to make sure you’re getting valid information.
5. Residual Income Is Easier and Cheaper
A brick-and-mortar store often has set hours of operation. However, that same store on the Internet is open 24 hours a day. This helps provide a more residual income and is not restricted by operating hours. In reality, a lot of online stores often acquire more sales during traditional “closed” hours.
Making eCommerce sales isn’t the only way an entrepreneur can accumulate residual income, either. Using ad revenue on popular blogs and websites has potential to create a seemingly endless stream of income. While this is usually dependent on the traffic of any particular website, the potential is still there.
With the right platform, you can literally make money while you sleep. The hardest part is finding an opportunity that is legitimate.
I’ve seen a ton of ads on the Internet that guarantee thousands of dollars per day. However, this is often hardly the case. The upside is that there are good and solid ways to start an online business that provide a residual income.
6. Technology Reduces Overhead Expenses
One of the biggest expenses to any business is overhead. These are the costs that you must pay just to keep the company’s doors open. This includes:
- Space rental
- Electricity and water
- Employee hiring and training
- Providing wages and insurance
- Advertising and marketing costs
- Employee benefits packages, such as personal paid time off and sick leave
- Paying distributors
Most of these expenses are easy to address thanks to technology. For one thing, it’s easy to hire freelance workers under contract labor laws which greatly reduces the amount you’ll spend per each person.
Instead of paying rent on an office building complete with utility bills, you can become an entrepreneur from your home office. As for marketing, you may be able to reach more people on sites like Facebook than through local radio ads.
Consider that more than two billion people actively use Facebook on a monthly basis.
That’s a lot of potential for engaging possible customers.
7. Greater Potential for Diversity
Being able to diversify the business prevents it from experiencing severe income losses. Case in point, what if Blockbuster changed its platform when Netflix came out?
Since the video giant refused to diversify its holdings and meet the demands, the end result was less than stellar.
Gone are the days of seeing the VHS sticker, “Be kind, please rewind.”
When you start an online business today, you have access to a variety of ways to diversify the company.
For instance, some bloggers started with a single website and expanded into YouTube. At which point, both channels are used to engage an audience and provide income.
One of the more important tips I can give you is to keep your eye on the industry. You need to have your thumb on the pulse of trends as well as recent events. You can do this by setting up alerts in Google or routinely sifting through social media.
The last thing you want to do is offer goods or services that are considered obsolete by the standards of your target market.
8. More Efficient Methods of Marketing
Companies have spent billions upon billions using television and radio to market products to consumers. Today, the same effects can be achieved while spending far less. Thanks to things like pay-per-click, affiliate connections and social media, it’s much easier to market a brand.
In reality, you have access to a variety of marketing tools that will have an effect on how you brand the business. Email, social media engagement, live chat and more can all become part of your entrepreneurial platform. A lot of them are easily integrated with other systems to give you a strong method for engaging a target market.
Perhaps one of the most important aspects of online marketing is how little you actually need to invest.
Take pay-per-click campaigns on Facebook, for example. You technically only pay when someone clicks on the ad to visit your website. Depending on your bid and industry niche, you could amass quite the traffic boost with just $50 per month.
9. Wider Scope of Customers
One of the more obvious reasons to start your own business today is your access to a wider scope of customers. Remember, there are billions of people right now browsing the Internet, reading emails and glancing through social media.
Can you imagine if you were able to reach just 0.05% of those individuals?
Unlike a brick-and-mortar store, you have access to more consumers than just the local buyers. While you can still focus on opening a business for the local community, never underestimate the power of the Internet.
A lot of organizations make far more online than at a physical location simply because of the customer base.
Experts believe eCommerce will contribute to $4.058 trillion by 2020 worldwide. This is because so many people are taking to the Internet to buy goods and hire professional services. Not taking advantage of this greatly reduces your capacity to succeed in today’s world.
The competition will simply swallow you whole.
10. Greater Flexibility in Life
One of the biggest reasons why so many people put effort into becoming an entrepreneur is because of schedule flexibility. Instead of forcing yourself to work nine-to-five every day, you essentially work when you want.
Because so many things are now automated today, the flexibility is just getting more malleable. Take blogging. A lot of writers will create content when they want and still receive a great deal of income because Adsense doesn’t require a schedule.
On the other hand, I’d still have to advise being somewhat realistic with the time you spend actually working. If you’re marketing to other businesses, you need to make sure you’re targeting them during normal operation hours. Otherwise, it’ll be more difficult to create strong contacts.
Here’s a point you may like to consider. Because the Internet is so prevalent, you can literally take a “working” vacation to almost anywhere in the world and still reach clients and customers.
You don’t have to be tethered to a single location when you become an entrepreneur online. That is, as long as you have Internet access.
11. No Limits to Income Potential
Last, but certainly not least, becoming an entrepreneur today has great potential for limitless income thanks to the vast numbers of opportunities.
Unlike a traditional job that will keep you at a certain pay schedule for months on end, your efforts increase your cash flow.
If you put more effort into your current job, do you see any additional income from it? While some companies may offer profit-sharing, which indirectly pays you for effort, it’s just not the same as accumulating near instant revenue.
I’m not saying that you’ll get rich overnight. However, the amount of effort you put into your own business will more than likely pay off faster than doing so for a menial full-time job.
The thing you need to keep in mind is the part about “effort.” If you sit around too much, don’t expect a great deal of money coming your way. But if you push and schedule your time wisely, it’s possible to see a great deal of income in a relatively short amount of time.
Of course, this also depends on the type of business you want to operate and the niche industry you focus on.
Why Wait? Opportunity is Waiting!
You don’t have to be rich to become an entrepreneur today. All it takes is effort and persistence to build a successful business. Take advantage of technology to begin building your wealth.
With the current tools available, virtually anyone can create an online powerhouse of commerce.