What is your “why?” for building an online business? Why do you want an affiliate/online business? Is it so you can quit a job? Have another income source? Be the boss? Is it so you can create a purpose for yourself and have some meaning? Or so that you can create more time and financial freedom? Do you want more time with friends and family? Or is there a deeper reason such as to control your life so you can avoid troublesome situations and people?
One mentor (Charlie Morgan) I found online, told his story that he created an online business because he was bullied at school. By building an online business where he was completely in charge, he could avoid any situation where a bully might surface.
The point is that your “why” has to be a strong enough “why?” to overcome the “How”.
Friedrich Nietzsche — ‘He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.’
Why Your “Why” For Building An Online Business Is So Important
Your “why” is important because anyone who achieves financial freedom/independence and is able to escape 9 to 5 and become their own boss, in every case has a very strong reason to do it.
If you don’t really care about creating the freedom/building a lifestyle business, you’re not going to put yourself through all the difficulties and hurdles (and overcome them) which are associated with building it!
Here’s a few of the main reasons people have for creating more freedom through an online business/ affiliate marketing enterprise:
- More money – this is an obvious one but more money means different things to different people. What would that mean for you?
- More control over your life – take holidays when you want, be “boss” free, control your own destiny, be in charge, not being bullied
- Having more time with friends/family – this is a big driver for many people
- Live anywhere – an online business gives you geographical freedom because you can work from anywhere from a laptop
- Create more meaning and purpose in your work and life
- Choice – in employment you can’t choose who your colleagues and bosses are or how they treat you. Success through an online business means you can choose how to run your day and who you spend time with
- Freedom – freedom to choose who to have in your life, where to live and how much you can earn
- Uncapped earnings – with a job, your income is capped by your salary. With an online business your earnings are un-capped
- Responsibility – with a business you are 100% responsible for your results and while responsibility isn’t something everyone wants, it can also give you purpose, meaning and direction in life
List Your Whys
It’s worth spending a bit of time listing your own personal “why’s” here. Take a pen and paper and list all the reasons you want to build an online business/ do affiliate marketing. When you understand your motivation clearly it can massively help you especially when things get difficult. When they do, pull out your list of “why’s” and remind yourself what the end goal is for you with your online business.
I’ve personally found this exercise really useful for motivation. Those who succeed with building a business have a strong motivation to do so, over a long period of time. By understanding your own motivation, you can use it in times of hardship as a driver to keep going!
Many people fail when attempting to build a profitable online business, even with access to the best products and support and help. In fact it’s around a 95% failure rate for new online businesses.
Intrinsic Motivation
Looking at your intrinsic motivation is a useful thing to gain insight and understand whether you’re actually on the right track or if you’re barking up the wrong tree. Intrinsic motivation is defined as the motivation to engage in a behaviour because of the inherent satisfaction of the activity, rather than the “end” goal.
Wanting the end goal of “more freedom”, “financial independence” or to be more in control of our lives is not enough. We must be motivated enough to do the work consistently and over a long period. Otherwise, we’re not going to attain it.
Online business/affiliate marketing is tough. It’s most definitely not for everyone. Unless you’re committed for the long journey, it might not be for you. If it’s not for you, it’s ok to let it go if you feel that it’s the wrong path.
Access a free video series to learn more about affiliate marketing here. I also offer coaching and mentoring for affiliates who are committed to the long term success of their online businesses.