It’s not an exaggeration to say that building RiskHedge changed my life.
I see my kids off to school every morning. I cook dinner for them every night when I’m not traveling.
In short, I’m one of the lucky few Americans who doesn’t have to choose between financial independence and seeing my family.
And it’s all thanks to having a successful business selling info-products online.
You’ll struggle to achieve true financial independence if you’re “selling your time.” If you only make money while you’re working, your earning potential is capped. Even a highly-paid lawyer who makes $1,000 an hour will hit a ceiling.
Instead, you need a business that makes you money while you sleep. If you set it up right, the sky’s the limit.
An online business that sells info-products is the best way I know for anyone to make money while they sleep. There are other ways of course… but most of them require teams of people and lots of capital and time to get started.
You can start selling info products for close to $0, by yourself, today.
Think about a traditional business model. If I want to sell 100 loaves of bread, I first need to bake 100 loaves of bread. Scaling will come with all kinds of challenges.
Compare this to selling info-products like courses, training, or content (like a paid newsletter). You can produce one thing – then sell it to millions of people!
Here are 5 traits to build a successful online business that gives you financial freedom…
1. Set clear goals
Be clear about what you want to achieve and set goals to track your progress.
Figure out:
- How much revenue do you aim to make?
- How many sales do you need to make to achieve that?
- How much do you need to grow your email list to make those sales?
For example, if your goal is to build a $1M per year business selling courses at $999, your goals would be:
- Revenue – $1M
- Sales – 1000
- Email list – 100K contacts (assuming your conversion is 1% for this product)
Working backward from revenue is a good strategy to keep you on track and focused on the right things.
2. Commit to goals and tell others about it
Sharing your goals means that you’re accountable to them.
It’s easy to let yourself down. But the fear of letting others down can be a huge driver of success. The most success I’ve ever had was when I partnered with others, shook their hands, and we agreed on what we’d achieve together.
Personally, when I promise someone I’ve committed to something, failure no longer feels like an option.
If you have business partners, make sure you’re all clear on your goals together.
If you operate as a solopreneur, share your goals with friends, family, or followers. Add it to your Twitter or Linkedin bio and update people on your progress. Building in public can be a marketing strategy in itself.
Discover the specific leverage points that will unlock growth in your business in less than 3 minutes. Start the diagnostic.
3. Shortcut your learnings from others
I can pretty much guarantee that whatever type of business you’re trying to build, someone somewhere has already done it.
You could try to figure everything out on your own – or you could shortcut your learnings and learn from people that have been in your shoes.
Seek these people out and find ways to work with them. This could be in the form of:
- Mentoring
- Coaching
- Partnering (I went into RiskHedge with somebody with a previous track record of success)
This is one of the reasons I founded Clear Accounting – to use my previous experience from RiskHedge to help mentor others.
4. Stay disciplined
There will be long periods where you’re working hard, but it’s not translating to money.
Especially in the early days when you’re starting out building your audience.
Keep at it. Realize it’s all part of the journey. Stay the course no matter what.
5. Doing > reading or watching
I’ve met too many wannabe-preneurs that go from book to book, or course to course, trying to learn the ‘next best thing’ they need to grow their business.
Don’t get me wrong, learning new things is important.
But it’s 100x more important to get to work.
Write the content, send the email, run the ads, launch the partnership, increase your prices. Whatever it is, just do it. I guarantee you’ll learn far more in far less time doing it yourself than reading about someone else doing it.
Hope these ideas help. Until next time,
– Dan Steinhart, CPA
P.S. Did you know that your business consists of a few hidden leverage points that can unlock revenue growth?
Take this simple 3-minute diagnostic to identify the specific leverage points that will unlock growth in your business. Start here.