Two Big Reasons You May Be Failing In Your Online Business

Two Big Reasons You May Be Failing In Your Online Business

 

Hi everyone!

Well, what an interesting and busy (and sometimes stressful!) few weeks I’ve had!

My posting schedule has gone a little out of whack for a variety of reasons, so this week I’m going to try to make up for it. I hope that you’ll join me for the ride!

So, What Have I Been Up To?

 

Mona Wagner of the MonaLisa Twins
Mona Wagner of the MonaLisa Twins Performing at the Half Moon, Putney, London

On Thursday 22nd January I made an early morning journey to Liverpool to jump on board a coach bound for a pub/music venue in Putney, London called the Half Moon and it is somewhere that has played host to some of the biggest names in the music business.

Why did I embark on this long day-trip?

Well, it’s because my good friends, the MonaLisa Twins, were performing a special showcase event at the Half Moon that evening at 8:00 PM to introduce themselves to the London and, by extension, UK music press and industry in general.

I first met these girls last year through YouTube and was immediately blown away. As you may know, I’ve been a musician for many years and I pride myself on having a very good ear for music and for talent. Believe me, these girls have it in spades! So I’ve been more than happy to help out doing bits of promotion for them here and there over the last few months.

By the way, yes they are really called Mona and Lisa and yes, they are real twin sisters.

Lisa Wagner of the MonaLisa Twins
Lisa Wagner of the MonaLisa Twins Performing at the Half Moon, Putney, London

They found that in their home country of Austria the music scene is much less varied and, on a larger scale at least, there isn’t much call for the type of stuff that they’re doing. So they moved over to Liverpool last year to further their music career, taking advantage of a music scene that’s much more geared towards their style of music.

The girls have worked hard for many years and have purposefully avoided the corporate route, choosing to retain complete control over their music and remain independent.

With the showcase at the Half Moon being such an important day for them, they wanted to bring along some of their hometown and core fans and friends to the event to give them some valuable support. Well, you know me – I love music and I love to help out people when I can, so I joined the fan bus on the long journey down to the capital.

So with the event on Thursday, the bits of promotion I was doing leading up to it and the processing of the hundreds of photos I took at the gig, that whole week was pretty much taken up by what I was doing for the twins.

If you’d like to check out a few of the photos I took, click here for a photo album. 🙂

At this point you may be wondering just why on earth I’ve featured a musical duo on an Internet Marketing blog. Well aside from the fact that I simply want to fill you in about what I’ve been up to, I am going to tie in the twins with the headline of today’s post. While I’m at it, I may as well take this opportunity to draw your attention to the twins’ YouTube channel. They have done some amazing covers, as well as their own excellent material. Check it out!

Disaster Strikes!

So there I was, sitting with my laptop, trying to catch up with everything and get back into the swing of things after the busy previous week. I was in the middle of creating a tutorial video (that you’ll now see in my next post) when…

My hard drive started to make unhealthy clicking noises.

Uh-oh.

Mechanical failure.

So I’ve had to invest in a new hard drive, reinstall Windows, get my laptop setup again as I like it, install various necessary pieces of software and try to backup as much as I can from the dying hard drive. Fortunately, the hard drive hasn’t yet completely died, but with this kind of problem I know that it’s only a matter of time.

This Last Weekend

online businessOver the weekend I headed down to Nottingham to attend the iPro Traffic and Conversions workshop along with my mentor, Dean Holland, and 17 other members of the iPro Partner program.

On Saturday we focused on conversion strategies, especially incorporating the important ‘know, like and trust’ factor and on Sunday we covered 12 different traffic strategies, both paid and non-paid.

It was nice to meet up again with Dean, as well as with Craig Crawford, Simon Stanley, John Lee, Richard Burn, Richard Seaton, Ulrika Stenmark and Gerry Murphy. It was especially nice to meet Gerry again, as I didn’t have chance to chat with him beyond an initial “Hello” the last time.

In addition to all those great peeps it was awesome to meet Internet Profits’ Head Marketing Strategist, Louis Doughty, in person for the first time and all the other iPro partners with whom I’ve chatted in our private Facebook group but not met in person before.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it here again: there really is no substitute for getting together with like-minded people in a live setting. You are able to bounce ideas around, motivate one another, share tips and resources and generally help one another out in a way like no other.

Once our workshop got underway it soon became apparent that I was actually already implementing much of what was being taught. Does this mean that I didn’t learn anything? Not at all! Having that focused, detailed, broken-down training helped me to reassess much of what I’m doing and come up with ways to refine, tweak and build out my existing successful strategies so that they go on to be even more successful!

Additionally, I was able to come up with ways that I could plug in further strategies and I felt motivated to get things moving and take action like never before. This has led me to make some decisions that have resulted in me already setting some things in motion. One of which I’ll mention in a moment, the other will be announced soon… 😉

The Two Big Reasons Why You May Be Failing in Your Online Business

So this brings us nicely onto the headline for today’s blog post and it’s here where I’ll tie in both what the MonaLisa Twins are doing in their musical career and what I picked up from our iPro workshop.

Of course there can be many reasons why people fail, but here are the two big reasons I want to highlight today:

  1. They don’t have a clearly defined goal.
  2. They try to do everything alone.

Let’s go back to the example of my friends, Mona and Lisa. They knew from a young age that they wanted a career in music. They also knew that they weren’t interested in going down the typical corporate approach, especially avoiding the whole X-Factor type of thing. It’s been suggested to them to go on talent shows like this, but they have absolutely no interest in doing so.

They know with crystal clarity where they want to be and they know how they want to get there.

They also recognise the value of involving other people to help them. They have fantastic support from their dad and their step-mum, both of whom are skilled professionals and are active in the girls’ career.

When they came over to the UK, they were approached by a gentleman by the name of Tim Quinn (a former artist for Marvel Comics) who asked them if they had representation here. They didn’t, recognised that they needed it, so they brought Tim on board to help them out. Tim is someone who has the same ethos as the girls, so it was a perfect fit.

Knowing my musical background and experience in audio engineering, they often ask for my feedback on the sound at their live shows at the Cavern club in Liverpool, where they have a residency spot. If they introduce a new song into their set they will also sometimes ask for my feedback as to how it came across.

For their London showcase they recognised the value of having a core element of their best fans and friends to help give them support. So they organised a coach to take us down there.

The point is, all of this they could choose to do entirely themselves but they know when to ask for help and input and they are prepared to take input and advice on board.

online business
Yours Truly Sharing My Wisdom at Our iPro Workshop on Sunday

The same points were highlighted at our iPro workshop. The first thing we received on Saturday morning was an action plan on reaching $100,000 in 12 months. Now, this may sound like a lot, but the plan broke the end goal down into smaller stages so that we could see how it could be achievable by focusing on the smaller goals.

Do YOU want access to the same system that’s helping so many to put a six-figure action plan in place?

Click here to get it!

It was also obvious just how much of an impact was made on many of the Partners in attendance. We’re all at different stages and all have different skills, strengths and weaknesses. Some have struggled to formulate a real plan of attack, but being at the workshop, being able to absorb the focused training from Dean and being able to talk things over with others helped them to see what they need to do in order to push forwards.

It could be so easy for someone who’s struggling or even just a bit unsure about something to drift away, give up and move onto something else. Believe me, I’ve seen this happen.

Why does this happen?

Usually because they hit some kind of brick wall and don’t ask for help! Or, if they do ask for it, then they don’t take it on board, don’t apply completely what they’ve been advised to do and so end up still struggling or getting frustrated.

Guys, let me emphasise this once again:

You need to know where you’re headed. Okay, if you’re on my blog and reading this then it’s highly likely that you want to make money online or you are already doing so in some shape or form.

Why do you want to do it?

How are you going to get there?

If you have no clue about how to get there, or if you’ve hit a roadblock, have you asked for help? Or have you just felt frustrated, let things slide and moved onto something else in the hope that you’ll get some magic answer elsewhere?

Going onto places like the Warrior Forum and buying WSOs is NOT a suitable substitute to asking for help. Look, I’m going to be frank here – if you have the habit of just jumping ship when the going gets tough rather than asking for support, then you’re likely to find the same kind of problems no matter how many shiny objects you buy.

Whatever the issue is that’s hindering you is likely to follow you around until you find a way to clear it away.

You’re not going to find a magic solution at the bottom of a WSO.

A Proposal

online business

Noooooo…. wrong kind of proposal!

Okay guys, here’s your chance to see me squirm!

When we were at our workshop I made some decisions, as I mentioned above. One of which was to offer a live webinar or, most likely, a Google Hangout to my subscribers so that they can jump on the call with me and ask me anything they like.

I’d like to extend this offer to you.

If there’s something that you’d like help or advice with, if you’d like to ask me about some of my strategies that are working for me, if you’d like to know more about iPro, or whatever else you’d like to ask, drop me a line and say that yes, you’d like to join me on a live call.

It will be an informal thing and there will be nothing for sale. Also, if you drop me a line to say that yes, you’d like to jump on a call, please rest assured that your e-mail will NOT be shared and it won’t even be added to my mailing list. The only way that you will get on my list is if you choose to opt in.

 

Look, I’m really stepping out of my comfort zone to offer this! If I give myself the chance, I could come up with a whole load of reasons to not do it, but I’ve already e-mailed my list and now I’ve publicly announced it here, so there’s no backing out!

So if you’d like to join me then send me an e-mail and let me know. At this stage I want to gauge how much interest (if any!) there is and work out the best day, time, etc.

If I can answer your questions, I will do. If can help and advise you, I will do. If I don’t know the answer to something then I’ll tell you! In that instance I will also try to find the answer for you.

Whichever way, I’m hoping that it will be a helpful experience, not only for anyone who would like to join me on the call, but also for me. I’ve never done anything like this before so now seems as good a time as any to start!

And even if just ONE person gets back to me in response, well that’s absolutely fine. It’ll just mean that I can give that person my undivided attention. 🙂

That’s it for now, my friends. I’m actually aiming to get another blog post out TOMORROW! This is because I’ve created a tutorial video that I think will benefit a lot of you and I want to make sure you get it ASAP. The video’s already a couple of weeks late so I really don’t want to keep it from you any longer.

So look out from a post from me tomorrow.

See you then!

About Glenn

Glenn is a Certified iPro Partner

P. S. Don’t forget – drop me a line by clicking here if you’d like to jump on that live call with me! 🙂

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20 thoughts on “Two Big Reasons You May Be Failing In Your Online Business”

  1. Hi Glenn.

    Awesome review and the way put everything together is really commendable. This is the first time I’ve come up to your blog and I’m finding it really interesting.

    The way you are setting your foot out of your comfort zone is really inspiring. Another point I find extremely valuable.To succeed in business one must know when to get help. This is one vital point for success.

    Thanks a lot for sharing your insight. Have a good day!
    Nisha Pandey recently posted…WordPress.org VS WordPress.com: Comparative GuideMy Profile

    1. Hi Nisha,

      Thanks for visiting my blog, I extend a warm welcome to you. 🙂

      I sincerely hope I can continue to inspire people such as yourselves. I’ve many things up my sleeve that I’ve been sitting on for far too long, so people can expect to see much more stepping out of my comfort zone from now on! 😉

      »Glenn«
      Glenn Shepherd recently posted…Churn and Burn Blogging – Should You Do It?My Profile

    1. Hi Chetan,

      Thanks so much, I’m glad that you’ve been enjoying my posts. 🙂

      Writing is something that I have been good at since a very young age, so this helps a lot when trying to convey something simply and clearly.

      Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting. Have a great week ahead and please feel free to drop by any time. 🙂

      »Glenn«
      Glenn Shepherd recently posted…The Top 6 Reasons Why I May Not Be Commenting On Your BlogMy Profile

  2. Hey Glenn

    You are definitely right about this!

    People fail because they either don’t have clearly defined goals or they want to do everything alone.

    And I see the only goal that they have is to make money. But what they don’t see is that there are tools to help you get there, and when you run into obstacles you have to put on that entrepreneurial hat to get through them.

    Either you ask for help or do some research to figure out how to overcome the problems you face. Like you said, a lot of people do not want to take these problems on. They figure they’ll just go away and they won’t appear on the next opportunity which we all know that it’s far from the truth!

    That’s great that you’re putting yourself out there! It shows how serious you are and at the same time how much you’re willing to help others. Keep up the good work Glenn! With your mindset and focus, you’ll definitely get to the top!
    Sherman Smith recently posted…Are You Being Held Back Because Of Not Being Clear About Your Goals?My Profile

    1. Hi Sherman,

      When the only goal to is to make money it’s never enough. There must be deeper reasons than simply the accumulation of money or possessions, otherwise there will be no real motivation to put on that entrepreneurial hat! But once you have that clear, set goal in mind, there are always ways to reach it. You just have to be prepared to do what it takes and not be too proud to include others, if need be.

      Thanks for your awesome comment, buddy. Have a great weekend! 🙂

      »Glenn«
      Glenn Shepherd recently posted…What a Busted Shoulder Taught Me About Reaching Your GoalsMy Profile

  3. Hi Glenn,

    This is my first time here. I found your blog from your comments on Adrienne’s blog. Nice to meet you. 🙂

    When I see your headline on CommentLuv, I was curious with 2 reasons you mean. Then, I read your article and find these 2 reasons. And I totally agree with you.

    Indeed, if we do not have a clear goal, we would have no idea where we’re going. We should have a horse’s glasses, it was like just focused on our goals and do not see the other direction. By doing so, we will be faster on our desired goals.

    Then, humans are social beings and therefore they need other people, especially in achieving their goals. Humans will always need each other, I guess. That’s human nature! 🙂

    Thanks for sharing this, Glenn.
    Great share, indeed!

    Regards,
    Nanda
    Nanda Rahmanius recently posted…4 Top WordPress Plugins to Make Your Website Mobile FriendlyMy Profile

    1. Hi Nanda,

      Welcome to my blog, thanks for coming by. 🙂

      I’m glad that my headline piqued your curiosity, it shows that it’s doing its job! I enjoy learning of what it was that got people here, it’s useful to know.

      When you say, “Horse’s glasses”, I’m assuming you mean “blinkers”. That’s a very good analogy because that’s the purpose of blinkers, to keep the horse focused on where its headed and reduce the chance of it being distracted. We definitely need to be the same way.

      Yes indeed, humans, by nature, are social beings. To reject that fact is going against the grain and isn’t beneficial, especially, if we do need help. Having others upon whom we can rely and from whom we can draw support is very important indeed, plus it shows that we’re not too proud to get help when needed.

      Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. Hope to see you again soon. 🙂

      »Glenn«
      Glenn Shepherd recently posted…3 Approaches to Online SuccessMy Profile

  4. Hey Glenn,

    I think you sharing the story of the twins and of course your love for music as well fit right in to what your post is about.

    The twins have known since they were young what they wanted to do with their lives and the direction they wanted to take. That says a lot for someone who is very passionate about what they love doing.

    The same I believe goes for anyone eager to build their own business. I can say this adamantly due to the fact that I was all over the place in my earlier years. I would do one thing and it would work and then it wouldn’t so I’d go find something else and do that for awhile but I was never really happy with what I was doing nor the direction I was headed. I think it’s very important to 1) have something you really enjoy and hopefully are passionate about and 2) you must have a plan.

    I have no doubt that the program you’re a part of is a great one and anyone eager to take their business in that direction should definitely partner up with you. I also applaud you for doing the hangout. I know that’s getting you out of your comfort zone but once you’re out there is no going back. You’ll do great, probably help a lot of people and get them interested in what you’re involved in as well.

    Bravo Glenn and I wish you all the best. Thanks so much for sharing this with us.

    ~Adrienne
    Adrienne recently posted…An Open Letter To Bloggers Who Have Lost Their WayMy Profile

    1. Hi Adrienne,

      Thanks for sharing your personal experiences. I like those two points you mentioned – they’re ones that I emphasise a lot with people too. I actually wrote a blog post a good while back that covered those. I refer to this as the online business GPS – Goal, Plan, System. If you use this GPS in your online journey it will help you get to where you’re headed.

      Thanks for your visit and insights, it’s always lovely to see you stop by. 🙂

      »Glenn«
      Glenn Shepherd recently posted…How to Setup a GravatarMy Profile

  5. Hi Glenn,

    Good for you! It’s good to stretch your comfort zone and do some things that will help propel you even more towards your goals.

    I agree with you 100% about a lack of goals resulting in failure. I do believe there are a frew things every business ought to do before they get to the goal setting part so that they know what goals to create.

    Part of that is determining what strategies you will employ to meet your vision, mission and purpose. Once the strategies are in place, then you create the specific and measurable goals for each individual strategy so that you have a guide to go by and know when you are on track off track.

    Then you create the task that support the goals so that you know exactly step-by-step what you plan to do.

    Great post Glenn! I’m looking forward to watching you as you step out and shift your comfort zone!

    Have a great week!

    ~ Don Purdum
    Don Purdum recently posted…If You Want Blog Readers and Sales, Give Blog Readers and SalesMy Profile

    1. Hi Don,

      Yep, that’s pretty much it in a nutshell. But, of course, that involves a bit of (perish the thought!) work! This can be another big reason for failure – not wanting to actually do any work.

      I heard a phrase for the first time about two or three weeks ago and, funnily enough, I’ve heard a few people say it since: “Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t.”

      If people won’t put in the work then they won’t get the results and, ultimately, the life they want.

      Thanks for stopping by, Don. I’ll be sure to chronicle my various steps outside of my comfort zone! 😉

      »Glenn«
      Glenn Shepherd recently posted…10 Top Bloggers of 2014My Profile

  6. Hi Glenn,

    What a fascinating article…you have written this so well I savored every word. And yes, I do agree that the two reasons people fail on line is that they are don’t have a clearly defined goal and also they try to do everything alone.

    There are so many people I know that are stagnant because of these two reasons also what is worse, they may jump around from one thing to another and drop off.

    We can not do it alone! I cannot emphasize this enough. I have hired coaches..even one one one coaches to get me through every step of my goal. And just when I thought I had it all together, now that my funnel was reviewed by a “guru” in the marketing field, I was told what my husband and I built was too good and we need to do a launch.

    Back to the drawing board..lol. So right now we are building that. It is working with people that can get you successful. I hire people to take care of all the tech stuff in my blog. I cannot loose any time fiddling with that. Coaches and coaching programs have been a constant in my journey.

    Yes, my goal was clearly defined by working with others two years ago. Now I have my blinders on and work on marketing and production most of my day.

    As for you my friend, I know you will meet your goal. It is defined!

    Now I’m curious about these twins..have to watch them on Youtube lol.

    Thanks for that analogy!

    -Donna
    Donna Merrill recently posted…Email Marketing Is Not Dead, BloggersMy Profile

    1. Hi Donna,

      We should never stop learning. Even some of the top coaches and mentors themselves have coaches and mentors. Recognising that we can always learn and improve shows humility.

      I’m glad I piqued your curiosity about the twins. If you’ve already checked them out I hoped you liked what you heard/saw. I’d love to get your thoughts! I think they’re marvelous and, believe me, it takes a LOT for musicians to impress and excite me to the degree that Mona and Lisa do! I’ll probably be heading over to Liverpool tomorrow night to see them. I’ll be sure to let them know that I’ve featured them on here and am potentially introducing them to a whole new set of new fans! 😉

      Thanks for stopping by, Donna, always appreciated and always a pleasure. I hope you have a great weekend.

      »Glenn«
      Glenn Shepherd recently posted…How to Setup a GravatarMy Profile

  7. Hey Glenn, Sure was a pleasure seeing you at the ipro workshop at the weekend! A lot of the work will all discussed is quite new to me so I’m looking forward in learning a lot more! it sure was a great event to attend it just goes to show the importance of mixing with like minded people like you said, as when it come to what we can achieve I was blown away by some of the targets and goals that some of the partners had! What this tells me is no matter who you are or what you have done you can achieve anything in life…if you really want it! As long as you have the right training and a good mentor then your well on your way!

    Great to see you are already working on your plan and best of luck the live Google Hangout…I’ll see if I can jump on too…! Go for it buddy!
    Rich 🙂
    Richard Burn recently posted…Ipro Workshop Training EventMy Profile

    1. Hey Richard,

      This is your first comment to my blog?? After how long? Disgraceful! Haha! 😛

      I’m surprised a lot of the stuff is new to you, I’d have thought you were already implementing most of it. Goes to show that you must be doing something right if you give that impression!

      Yeah, please do jump on the Hangout if you can. I don’t know when it will be, just trying to get feedback at the mo and gauge things accordingly. I’ll let you know though.

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting (eventually lol 😛 ).

      »Glenn«
      Glenn Shepherd recently posted…When Your Business Hands You LemonsMy Profile

  8. Hi Glenn,

    Sorry I missed the event, we are selling our house to downsize. My partner dropped that one on me when I was all ready to get my ticket so I couldn’t make it. I’m living in a construction zone here. I’m ready to buy a hard hat. It is driving me crazy! The house we are moving to needs work too. The one good thing is we won’t have to live in the new house till it’s fixed up.

    I can’t wait till you have your Google hangout(spelled correctly) count me in! You have so much knowledge to share with us.

    I love your blog and the way you put it together. It’s unique, I love the theme and design. Did you do that yourself or did you have help?

    God bless you Glenn and you have an awesome rest of the week!

    Linda
    Linda Schrier recently posted…Putting In The Effort And Make Things HappenMy Profile

    1. Hi Linda,

      It’s such a shame you couldn’t make it to the workshop, that must have been so disappointing. Never mind, there will be other chances, I’ve no doubt at all. 🙂 I hope all goes well with your house and that you get sorted and settled soon.

      I’ve done everything on my blog myself, obviously with the help of theming, plug-ins, etc. I hadn’t the first clue about WordPress when I first started, but I just got it running, played around with it and learned as I went. I’m just that kind of person – if I don’t know how to do something then I learn (where possible).

      For example, the photos I took at the MonaLisa Twins’ gig. I’m not a pro photographer by any means and I’ve never had a proper, digital SLR camera before. But I bought one, researched about lenses and settings for concert photography and took it along with me to the gig. That was the first time I’d used the camera properly and was the first time I’d ever taken those kind of photos. Then there was the processing. Again, something I’ve no experience in. But I decided to go down the route of taking the photos in RAW mode rather than allowing the camera to process as it went. I then learned a bit about processing and did the best I could. I have to say I’ve still pretty much no idea what I’m doing, but I thought the results turned out pretty well, considering!

      That being said, in harmony with the subject of the post, I won’t try to do everything myself at the expense of my sanity or my results. If I need help with something then I’ll always ask. I’m just fortunate that I have quite a technical and methodical mind, so this makes the learning process a lot easier for me. Plus I have around 30 years computing experience which certainly helps when doing a lot with computers.

      At the same time, I recognise that there’s so much I don’t know, though, and there’s always much more to learn! 😉

      Thanks for visiting, commenting and expressing an interest in the Hangout idea. Hopefully some more will get on board and we can have a good time sharing ideas, etc.

      »Glenn«
      Glenn Shepherd recently posted…Do You Need Knowledge to Be an Authority?My Profile

  9. Great review Glenn and awesome plan of attack. I say go for it bro. You just have to get uncomfortable as you know. Trust me I went down that same road when I started doing webinars and hangouts.

    I didn’t know what to expect but I told myself I was going to do it. No excuses.

    That’s what leaders do and I choose to be a leader. It has paid off for me in more ways than one and I will continue to build upon that going forward. As a matter of fact they are actually fun and there no better way to build a following than through the face to face atmosphere.

    Thanks for sharing your experience bro and keep doing the do.
    Jerry Handy recently posted…Failing Forward?My Profile

    1. Hey Jerry,

      Thanks for the words of encouragement! I know that the Partners who have been on your hangouts have really appreciated and enjoyed them and I’m sure that your regular readers and subscribers feel the same way too.

      That’s an excellent point about choosing to be a leader, I’ll try to make sure I keep that in mind. Great stuff, my friend!

      »Glenn«
      Glenn Shepherd recently posted…3 Approaches to Online SuccessMy Profile

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