Building an Online Business – My Story

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I want to share my thoughts and experiences to inspire you and help you along on your own journey.

I remember when I first started thinking about the possibility of making my living online one of the biggest barriers I had to overcome was doubt – the question I asked myself was “Is it really possible for ordinary people like me with no special skills or knowledge to build a successful business online?”

A little personal background information for the benefit of new visitors to my blog;

I left school at 16 and started work for a major high street bank in my home city of Liverpool. I never had any particular ambition to work in a bank but it was the first job I applied for and when I settled down to raise my family some years later it was the fear of being unemployed and unable to support my loved ones that kept me there for the next 23 years of my life.

In 2002 I began to suffer from work related stress which resulted in an extended period of sick leave – later that year my contract was terminated by mutual consent.

I spent the next couple of years working part time financial adviser jobs and using my spare time online trying to find a business model that 1) worked and 2) suited my personality and circumstances.

I signed up to lots of mailing lists, bought lots of products and programs but they were either way too complicated, involved an unacceptable financial risk (I had 4 children by this time) or simply didn’t suit me (I don’t like tech stuff!).

During this time I discovered ebay and I enjoyed some success selling household items I no longer wanted. Having learned the basics of selling on ebay I began searching for a product that I could source repeatedly and sell at a substantial mark up and this was when the idea behind the Prints Make Profits system occurred to me.

Researching and selling vintage book plates online became a fun and lucrative part time income stream for me (it still is!)

As I spent more of my time online I became more and more fascinated by internet marketing and the life changing potential that creating and selling digital, information products represented.

I began to follow successful marketers – people like Jim Cockrum, Tony Shepherd and John Thornhill who had changed their own lives in this way and I became determined to follow in their footsteps.

In January 2008 John Thornhill launched an *internet marketing coaching program and I realized that this was my opportunity to learn all of the techniques and methods I needed to achieve my ambition.

Fast forward a decade and I am still using those techniques to build and grow my online business!

Returning to my question “Is it really possible for ordinary people like me with no special skills or knowledge to build a successful business online?”

The answer is a resounding and emphatic “YES!” and the rewards are greater than I could have imagined 10 years ago.

Today I live a life of true freedom because I control my financial destiny (not some faceless corporation).

My Gift To You – Your 5 Key Takeaways

These are the 5 key things that I believe make the difference between success and failure.

Determination – I know some people are more determined than others but the bottom line is if you are the kind of person who gives up easily then you are going to struggle to build a successful business. TIP – you can learn how to overcome all of the tech challenges you are likely to face by simply using Google and YouTube.

Persistent Action – I often receive emails from people that say “I have bought all of your courses but have never done anything with them”. Persistent action is a prerequisite for success in anything. TIP make yourself accountable to someone else – find a partner or mentor to help you stay on track.

Focus – It is vital that you give your project your undivided attention. My TIP to help you achieve this is to remove the potential distractions – I did this back in 2008 by unsubscribing from 99% of the mailing lists I was on which stopped “shiny object syndrome” (attention being constantly diverted by the next big thing being promoted).

Building Relationships – People buy from people they like and trust. Be responsive and helpful, treat people the way you like to be treated. If you focus on helping people the money will naturally follow.

Finding a mentor – My TIP here is to identify somebody you can trust who is successfully doing the business model you have chosen and work to build a relationship with them. You’ll soon get a feel for whether the person genuinely cares about your success or simply wants to sell you product after product by signing up to their list and responding to their emails/social media posts. If your chosen mentor offers coaching/training consider signing up – you are likely to get to where you want to be much quicker and with considerably less stress with a mentor holding your hand and guiding you.

As always your Questions and Comments are very welcome!

If you would like to correspond with me privately send an email to;

stuart@stuart-turnbull.com

or find me on Skype; stuart_turnbull

*  If you are interested in finding out more about John Thornhill’s current coaching program and whether it can help you please click this link> John Thornhill’s Product Creation Workshop

 

 

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