Looking to build an online business in 2023, but can’t find the time to do so?
Learn how successful online entrepreneurs are achieving success with 10 effective habits they practice every day.
Starting a Digital business Takes Discipline
Sometimes people who start an online business have to juggle with an endless list of things to do daily. For instance a full-time job, a family to raise, groceries to shop, meals to cook. Well, you get the idea. Plus, being an entrepreneur often means working from home… solo.
But, how is it that other people are succeeding at it? What’s their secret sauce?
Well, being an online entrepreneur myself, I wanted to discover the experts’ secret for success. So, I did a research and for the last year I’ve been reading their books, listening to their podcasts and following them on social media.
It turns out, their secret for success is in the habits they practise every single day.
After learning more about each one them, I created a list with 10 of the most effective habits for success.
10 Success Habits of Online Entrepreneurs You Need to Practise
Incorporate some of these 10 brilliant daily habits to succeed in your own online journey.
Read below the details for each habit you’d like to develop.
1. WAKE UP EARLY
Would you like to have more time to get organized, plan out your day and work on your business? Then waking up early will be key. Just imagine how much would you accomplish with an extra 15, 30, or 60 minutes a day!
Like any new habit, this one takes time to build. But the first step is to find your passion, by identifying the one thing that makes you jump out of the bed in the morning. Then, as soon as you know what this is, you’ll feel motivated to wake up early more easily.
2. CREATE BEFORE YOU CONSUME
Have you ever noticed how successful online entrepreneurs consistently publish great digital content from very early in the morning? It makes you wonder: “When do they have time to do this?”, “How did they come up with this great idea?”
Well, their secret is that they don’t go to social media as soon as they wake up (or spend much time on it). Instead, they focus on creating their own content first, scheduling it, and then later on they consume it.
So, the lesson for you and me is: create content before you consume it.
3. WRITE
Keep close to you a journal and a pencil to write down your dreams, thoughts, ideas, goals, and the things you’re grateful for. In her book “Everything is Figureoutable”, Marie Forleo says that writing helps you get focused and makes you accountable on the goals you want to achieve.
4. PLAN
If you’re dreaming of starting an online biz, it’s important to make a plan that describes how you’re going to make it happen.
For instance, let’s say that you’re dreaming of starting a blog. Then to materialize this dream, you’d have to start writing down a plan that specifies:
- What will you blog about?
- What skills you need to learn?
- Will you DIY or hire someone to create your blog?
- Who will be your ideal client?
- How much would you need to invest?
- How will you monetize it?
- How will you name your blog?
- When will you launch it?
To sum up, having a plan for your business will steer your actions towards the materialization of your dream.
Related: Take the “Is Blogging Right For You” Free 1 minute Quiz
5. SET SMART GOALS
After setting a plan, break it down into small measurable pieces by setting SMART goals. By this I mean write specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound goals.
Here’s how to set SMART goals:
- Specific. For example, you want to start a successful lifestyle blog. But what is exactly successful? Well, maybe you want yours to be the #1 Lifestyle blog in your local community. Or more specifically, you want to have the #1 Lifestyle Blog in your local community with focus on fashion? The more specific your goal is, the easier it’ll be to measure it!
- Measurable. How will you measure your growth towards your goal? In other words, how will you know you’re the #1 Lifestyle Blog in your local community? Well, maybe getting a daily traffic of 500 visits a day from your local community, will be the way to measure your growth.
- Attainable. This means your goals should be achievable. Maybe you want to talk about several topics on your blog like fashion, beauty, health and family. But the reality is that you only have time to blog about fashion. Therefore, focus on smaller, attainable goals until you can work on the bigger ones.
- Relevant. Work on goals that align with the broader vision for your business. If you’re a blog about fashion for women in their 40s, but 70% of your traffic comes from markets that don’t contribute to your business. Then, how is this helping to reach your goal?
- Time-bound. Set a reasonable timeline to achieve your goals. For instance, you want to have 10k subscribers on your blog, and you currently have 1k. Then setting a 2 year timeline for example, would be a reasonable time to achieve your goal.
6. FOCUS
Identify and remove the sources of distraction. For instance, put away your phone or silence it during work time, pause your social media apps, organize your desk, get yourself a bottle of water and put nice music on. You get the idea ;).
In other words, create an environment that stimulates your creativity and increases your focus.
To learn more read How to Create an Environment to Work at Home for Maximum Focus
7. READ
Would you like to become an expert in your topic? Then read every day. Books are a great source of knowledge that will help you solve many problems and in consequence help your audience.
By reading, listening to audio-books and podcasts, you’ll unlock many secrets successful entrepreneurs regularly share (sometimes for free!).
My personal favorite podcasts are: The Goaldigger Podcast and Problogger, they’re packed with useful tips to grow your business online.
That said practise reading even for 15 minutes a day. This will change your life forever!
8. CULTIVATE HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS
Whether you’re hanging out with people in real life or social media, cultivate meaningful relationships. Successful entrepreneurs surround themselves with supportive people, and help others grow.
Entrepreneurship is a two-way street where you grow by giving and receiving support.
9. PRACTISE SELF-CARE
Successful entrepreneurs understand that in order to give their best, they have to be in great shape mentally and physically.
Practising self care includes:
- Spending quality time with your loved ones.
- Eating healthy and exercising regularly.
- Practicing gratitude.
- Taking breaks and sleeping well.
- Asking for help.
- Having fun.
To sum up, your well being is non-negotiable. Take good care of yourself daily!
10. TAKE IMPERFECT ACTION
It’s a great thing to dream big, make plans, and set goals. But most importantly, take the first step. Don’t waste too much time planning or day dreaming.
Also, don’t expect perfection the first time you try something new. Successful people understand that failure is part of the process of learning. They learn from their mistakes and are confident they’ll get better the next time.
Practice and persevere
I hope you found this list of habits helpful. Personally, discovering what other entrepreneurs do to succeed on their biz has helped me to change my mindset and habits.
Finally, note that creating a new habit takes time. Experts suggest it takes 3 to 4 weeks of every day practise. Here are a couple of great references you might find useful:
That said, make the choice of showing up every day for the person you’d like to become.
Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this post, join my email list to get free tips to grow your business online.
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