Today I have a guest post from Luke Thomas, a friend whom I’ve known since way back in 2012 when I first got started online. I think he was one of the first people who I bounced a niche idea around with.
Luke and I hit it off quite quickly, and I have a lot of respect for him as a person. When it comes to working online, he understands what works as well, and taught me a thing or two in the beginning. He knows what it takes to succeed, and he knows how to do things the right way.
What’s interesting though is that in those 2.5 years since we first met, I’ve been on a crazy Internet Marketing journey and achieved some wonderful things, yet Luke has still not really got started.
I’m not blowing my own trumpet here, I’m setting up some context for his post. I suffer from procrastination a lot too, and I definitely don’t work as efficiently as I should do.
The difference is that I’m always doing something though. I’m a big lover of starting new websites, (probably why I made HPD). While I may procrastinate on things, I’m still always making progress, one step at a time.
Luke on the other hand has procrastinated in the worst possible way, he never even got started. OK, so he has a pretty good excuse, he traveled the world for over a year.
Still, it’s been nearly 3 years, and he’s now back in the saddle and raring to go. He’s prepared a post for you all which should hopefully give some insight into what he’s been experiencing since we first met.
The following is from Luke Thomas.
Procrastination Is The Killer Of All New Businesses Folks
All because you’ll end up getting nothing done. There’s nothing worse for a new business than the founder being distracted with SOS, Shiny Object Syndrome, or lacking focus.
And I know. I spent 4 years putting off getting started online. I wish I just did something when I first found out about the online world and that I could start something that can become something extraordinary.
Let’s turn back the clocks for a moment whilst I tell you my story.
2010 – 2011 Is When I Should’ve Kicked Myself In The Ass
I first found out about “internet marketing” back in 2005 when I purchased a course by a guy named Corey Rudl. This was a massive 2 binder course that had to be shipped over the pond from the US to the UK.
Back when digital products was in it’s infancy really.
I read through the entire thing and was completely overwhelmed. I put the binders away and never looked at them again. A waste of $250.
But the idea of owning my own business had been burning in my mind since I was 16 and it didn’t flare up again until 2010–2011.
I started looking around for how to get started as the information in the binders now seemed completely outdated.
In late 2011 I found Wealthy Affiliate and this was also when I met Bryon too.
I started building a few websites but I never really got stuck into anything. Bryon and I, along with a few others, bounced ideas back and forth about what our plans were with our online businesses. But the fire in me wasn’t burning bright still.
This continued for several years.
Then I Went On An Adventure
May 2013 I left ”sunny” ol’ England and headed to Australia. I had to get out of my country and travel. Traveling was something else I had been wanting to do since I was 16 and I was finally doing it.
I ended up becoming a scuba diving instructor working and the Great Barrier Reef became my office.
This was when I met Rob. Rob ran a travel blog. After taking him out on a dive we spent 3 hours on the boat heading back to the port talking business. We talked about blogging, traveling, twitter, email marketing…
The fire began to burn again.
Something Changed Inside Me
I wanted to get back into the online business game. I kept in touch with Bryon and I told him that I had to do something about traveling for my business.
I have always been set on helping others so I thought ”Hey! Why not show others how to start their own blogs/businesses whilst traveling OR help them set up their blogs/businesses so they can travel?”
The idea stuck and That Marketing Dude was born.
I began creating a few blog posts but never really stuck to it. I got distracted with everything else going on around me. The diving and partying became a huge distraction.
I found myself wasting my free time when I could have been writing a blog post, reaching out to other websites, starting an email list! All these things would have been more productive than sleeping in late recovering from the previous nights antics.
Then I went to live in Fiji for 6 months and nothing happened to my websites.
The Burning Desire Disappeared When I Arrived In Fiji… Until It Was Time To Leave Again
The internet connection in Fiji was terrible. I was living on a tiny little island in the Yasawa group.
I say the internet connection was terrible but that’s just an excuse I made. I was still able to mess around on Facebook and YouTube.
When I eventually came back to England I wanted to leave again. I had to make this online business stuff work… No more excuses.
I met so many people whilst I was traveling who wanted to travel a lot longer but they had no way of funding their trip without having to head home.
Ding! I could help! I could show them how to start a blog which they could eventually earn some money from to fund their trips. Living in a place like Thailand wouldn’t require a lot of money so people wouldn’t have to create businesses that brought in 6 figure incomes for them to travel.
I found my audience, I found a group of people I care about, I have been in their shoes… I found my passion again.
Now it’s time to get myself off my ass.
Learn From My Mistakes People!
It’s now 2015. I first found out about this online business world in 2005.
Imagine where i’d be now if i got off my ass 10 years ago.
Forget 2005. Imagine if I stuck to this when I build my first website back in 2011–2012. In the space of 3 years I could have build myself a massive blog with a dedicated following… I could be making a difference in people’s lives already.
But it’s best not to dwell on the past.
If you haven’t started building your own blog yet then I beg you to start today. Even if you don’t have everything figured out now you can figure it out along the way.
”I don’t know what to write” and ”I’m not a very good writer” should not stop you. Just write about your topic. You’re not going to write you best posts right from the start.
You’ll want to put your message out into the world and build an audience of people who’re interested in what you have to say.
Your writing will improve over time.
What To Focus On
I wish I took the advice I’m about to give you back in 2012. Heck I wish I took it this advice back in 2005! Anyway, here a are 5 things you should do:
- Create your blog now. Don’t leave it any longer and focus on writing content about the topic you’ve chosen. If you have no idea where to get started with building then Bryon builds custom sites for any niche you want. You can then focus on creating the content to build your ideal audience.
- Don’t focus on perfection. If you focus on trying to get your website, blog posts, images perfect you’re not going to get anywhere. I spent 2 weeks wasting time getting 3 images in my sidebar looking perfect when I could have written several blog posts which would have been more helpful to my readers.
- Don’t focus on the money, focus on your audience. If you’re only focused on making money it will come across to your readers. You should focus on helping your audience and building rapport because once you have it they’ll be more likely to purchase your products or the products you recommend.
- Enjoy the process. The likelihood of you making great riches early on are slim. If you enjoy writing about your topic and care about helping your audience the money will eventually come.
- Remember this: There is such a thing as ”get rich quick” but there isn’t such a thing as ”get rich easy”. So don’t try and make a quick buck. Focus on the long-term success of your business.
Talk To Me
I want to hear from you guys. I spent 10 years wasting time not started on my business or being distracted with other things. I’ve wasted time finding the “perfect plugin” or the “perfect theme” that I never wrote any content. Content is the most important part of any blog so this should be your number 1 focus.
How long have you been wanting to start an online business but never got started? Or have you started a blog but never stuck with it?
I’d love to hear from you guys down in the comments below. Maybe we can motivate each other to keep going. We can all do with a kick up the ass. And if you wanted to know a little more about me or what I do then you can come check me out over at my site.
