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Below you’ll find an unedited chapter from my upcoming book 40 Rules for Internet Business Success. To receive updates about the book and get a free digital copy of my book in its current form, enter your email address in the sidebar to the right.
I’ve worked with a number of new entrepreneurs that have been building their own Internet businesses during that last several years. It’s always easy to tell which entrepreneurs are going to make it and have a successful business and which entrepreneurs are never going to get their business off the ground. Entrepreneurs that are successful will set specific and measurable goals for each time I meet with them. They will get those goals done regardless of what else is going on in their life. The entrepreneurs that I’ve met with that run into trouble also set goals for themselves, but they frequently miss the deadlines they set for themselves and don’t accomplish their goals. When I ask them why they didn’t accomplish the set of tasks they’ve told me they want to accomplish between our meetings, they make excuses about how busy they are. They say things like, “I didn’t get a chance to work on my business because I was out of town” and “I didn’t get my list done because I was busy doing family stuff.” It’s certainly excusable if this only happens once, but there are entrepreneurs that I’ve met with that have missed their goals week-after-week. They always had a great excuse why they missed the deadline they set for themselves, but they never really get that much accomplished.
As an entrepreneur, you simply don’t have the luxury of making excuses. You have to do the work or your business will never get off the ground. You don’t get to blow off working on your business because you think you’re too busy doing other things. When you choose not to work on your business for a few days or a week, it’s at a standstill. It doesn’t really matter what reason you’re telling yourself that it’s okay to take a break from working on your business. Regardless of what your excuses are, nothing will happen with your business until you put in the hard work to make something happen. Since you and your family are the only ones that stand to gain financially from your Internet business, you’re only hurting yourself when you don’t get your work done and make excuses about it.
If you want to succeed in your Internet business, never make an excuse to yourself. Set challenging but achievable weekly goals of what you want to accomplish in your business. Regardless of what else is going on your life, find the time to do the work to achieve the goals that you set. It doesn’t matter if you have company in town or if you’re really busy at your day job, find the time to work on your business. Turn off the TV. Quit playing video games. Skip the outing with your friends. Get your work done.
You will have to make sacrifices with your time while building your business. If creating an Internet business was really easy, everyone would be doing it. While you’re building your business, be prepared to put in a lot of extra work. When your business is successful and after you’ve quit your day job, you’ll have more free time than just about anyone. Until then, put your head down. Don’t make excuses. Do whatever you need to do get your business of the ground.