“With OBE it’s not just about starting a new online business, we believe you are starting a new way of life”

There are many great reasons why should look to start your own business online. When I think back to when I started my first internet marketing business project the motivation for me was improving my lifestyle. For me being in control of my lifestyle is working when I want, where I want and with whom I want! I did not want someone like an employer telling me what time to start and when to finish or telling how much or little I could earn. Now I am certainly not going to run down the importance of having a job, because believe me it provided a stable income while I went about building my online business fortune part-time.

So let’s look at the reasons why you should look to developing a source of residual income and why global economic conditions suggest that the timing could not be better for you to start your own business online.

The Global Financial Crisis (GFC) has been the cause of great concern for many people across various national economies, and also impacting upon nearly every major industry throughout the world. There has been great apprehension about the lack of job security; and the ongoing viability of small businesses and even larger corporations. Understandably the distress of losing your income or watching your investment portfolio being decimated has caused many to reassess their plans for wealth generation and retirement. Many employees have worked above and beyond their employers’ expectations only to find that loyalty is a one-way street; resulting in them now looking to re-evaluate their priorities and wanting a better work-life balance.

The other aspect about being employed by someone else in a job is that you are often told what to do and how to do it; removing the entrepreneurial freedom that a lot of us want. It maybe this unfulfilled ambition that inspires you to want to start your own business online or maybe it is something else that motivates you; either way the timing has never been better to look to generate wealth and time freedom through an internet marketing or online home business.

“Today the greatest single source of wealth is between your ears.” - Brian Tracy

If you have given serious thought to starting your own internet-based business but are yet to make that final commitment, OBE have provided you with a list of seven reasons to prompt you to want to take the action to start your own business online now:

1. Make yourself wealthy not your employer

Why would someone want give up the safety of a regular wage or salary-based income and work for commission as an individual contractor or online business owner. When you think about it, where is the logic in working harder to make someone else rich, more so than working on building our own wealth? Our willingness to work above and beyond the call of duty for our employer is only matched by our unwillingness to apply the same dedication and work ethic to making themselves wealthy.

“The cover-your-butt mentality of the workplace will get you only so far. The follow-your-gut mentality of the entrepreneur has the potential to take you anywhere you want to go or run you right out of business–but it’s a whole lot more fun, don’t you think?” – Bill Rancic (Donald Trump’s Apprentice Winner)

I am not suggesting that you should quit your job and effectively place yourself under financial pressure. However, there is great merit in putting into place an alternative residual income strategy to will help generate longer term wealth. The best part about starting NOW part-time is that you still have the safety net of your income from a job, while your online business earnings start grow, this gives you the option of going full-time later on. When I started my online business career seven years ago, it took me two years of consistent and disciplined part-time effort to get to the point before I was able to throw away the crutches of working for someone else and truly gain control my financial independence and time freedom.

‘Today I choose go to work on building my fortune, rather than building someone else’s!’ – Damon Tindall (CEO – Online Business Entrepreneurs).

2. Take an economic downturn out of the equation

Is it possible to ‘recession-proof’ your income in a job? There are some occupations that remain largely unaffected by a downturn in the economy, some service-based industries such as education, medical and nursing and emergency services; however the majority of industries are tied to the global economic cycle and as such experienced severe downturns which have resulted in mass lay-offs. Alternatively, businesses tied to the emergence of the internet and online retail have fared reasonably well on the whole during the global downturn and have managed to retain relatively strong rates of growth over the past three years despite broader global economic decline.

When we explore the reasons for this continued growth has defied the worldwide undercurrent of uncertainty and panic much can be explained by identifying the fastest growing socio-economic and cultural trends. Internet penetration globally has increased by almost 400% from 2000-2009 (Source: http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm). The rapid diffusion of the worldwide web to change the lives of so many people across different cultural and socioeconomic divides has been the catalyst for rapid growth in online business and internet marketing start-ups. It is this growth in the internet that is at the forefront of driving present and future start-up businesses.

“The Internet will help achieve “friction free capitalism” by putting buyer and seller in direct contact and providing more information to both about each other.” - Bill Gates

The strong growth in online retail has seen many large retail merchants reinforce their commitment to ecommerce. Online retail in Australia is forecast to grow 40 per cent by 2012, PayPal Australia says.  However, PayPal Australia managing director Frerk-Malte Feller said while the industry was growing, it still lagged behind the rest of the world. Australia’s domestic retail spend online is half of what it is in countries such as the UK and US, he says (Source: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/news/online-retail-to-grow-40pc-says-paypal/story-e6frg90f-1225889020780). Likewise as the online retail industry has grown there has been the emergence of a new form of educational and relationship marketing helping to build brand and expand the customer base for various products and services.

Large corporations are now realizing this educational and relationship marketing role is far more effective when outsourced to business opportunity seekers who can promote to their large social networks online and offline. This is quite often a far more cost effective marketing strategy than using traditional advertising or promotion. Many smaller niche products and services, alongside some rapidly emerging new players are providing a wealth of opportunity for those looking to start an internet marketing home business. The converging trends of the growth on the internet, the power of social media and the acceptance of ecommerce have delivered what could be termed the ‘perfect wave of opportunity’ for online business entrepreneurs.

3. Add a stream of Passive or Residual Income

When we discuss the importance of creating an additional income stream we are not necessarily talking about starting a business where you are self-employed because at the end of the day you are still trading your time to earn money. This income stream is referred to as passive or residual income because it continues to pay you while you are sleeping. It is a matter of having put in the initial hard work to establish that income stream and then that business or wealth creation vehicle continues to pay you over and over again with or without your continued efforts.

“Seek wealth, it’s good”. – Ivan Boesky

4. Take control of your time and get more flexibility for your family life

We are on the brink of major paradigm and power shift away from the organization back to the individual; this is set to rock the foundation of many major corporations. Leading companies such as Google and Apple are seen as best practice when it comes to empowering employees by providing a more enjoyable and creative work space, as well as providing more flexible employment arrangements.

An online home business has the power provide you with greater time flexibility to work around your lifestyle and family life with mobile internet technology you can be working in front of the television or while on vacation.

5. Great Lifestyle and Tax benefits

The Lifestyle factor was what motivated me beyond everything else to build a successful online home business. I love to relax and being stressed in a job might be enjoyable for some, but for me I love being able to choose when I want to go to the beach, play golf or go for a coffee with friends without being tied to a job. Please don’t think that I am averse to working hard, but I prefer to work on my terms.

On the tax front, I am certainly not against paying taxes; in fact I will be very happy to be paying a million dollars a year in tax. Why? Because a million dollar tax bill means that I have generated a very healthy business income. Conversely, the ability to be able to claim substantial tax write-offs in a online or home business means that you keep a greater percentage of your earnings than you would in a job. Therefore as you build a national or global business many of your travel expenses, lifestyle expenses and business expenses now become legitimate tax deductions.

“When people tell me I am crazy for starting my own business, I reply well where is the logic in working 40 hours a week, for 40 plus weeks in a year just to give to 40% to the government who tax your employment income, to me that is the definition of crazy!” – Damon Tindall

6. The commute is more enjoyable

There is not a lot to add here, but to say you have two options:

• Spend a lot of time commuting in traffic or by rail to and from work; OR
• Walk from the bedroom, via the kitchen to get your morning coffee and then into your home office.

7. Great Sense of personal achievement

I am not going to say that building a business online is easy, because the truth is it does require consistent effort and application. Building an online home business often requires working outside your comfort zone and learning new skills. However, there are great financial and lifestyle rewards, as well as an immense sense of achievement when you have built this business on the back of your enterprise.

“When you reach an obstacle, turn it into an opportunity. You have the choice. You can overcome and be a winner, or you can allow it to overcome you and be a loser. The choice is yours and yours alone. Refuse to throw in the towel. Go that extra mile that failures refuse to travel. It is far better to be exhausted from success than to be rested from failure.” - Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics

Many people often those that we are closest to may knock your decision in the early stages for ‘stepping outside the square’, but they will acknowledge your accomplishments as you start building a track record of success.

“Don’t let the opinions of the average man sway you. Dream and he thinks you’re crazy. Succeed, and he thinks you’re lucky. Acquire wealth, and he thinks you’re greedy. Pay no attention. He simply doesn’t understand.” – Robert Allen

So with the seven reasons that I have just outlined, it is decision time! Will you commit to making the changes to your lifestyle that you desire and will you decide to change your current financial reality given that you know that a job will not change it no matter how much harder you work in the years to come. Do you to have the life that you truly deserve and that you can most definitely have when you decide to start your own business online?

“The important thing is not being afraid to take a chance. Remember, the greatest failure is to not try. Once you find something you love to do, be the best at doing it.” – Debbi Fields, founder of Mrs. Fields Cookies