I have this realization that pushes me to go back on my values and visit again my goals. Starting an online business is one of them and it has been long overdue.
It was 5pm in the afternoon, I look at my watch and realized it was home time. After a long day at work finally I am going home. Having dinner, and spending time with my wife watching a few episodes of our favorite series on Netflix. Go to bed at 11pm then wake up from the sounds of an alarm clock in the morning. Then a little preparation for breakfast before we head to work again.
That was my typical routine during weekdays since I started working in the UK months ago.
If I have done this routine for several months, what makes me stop doing it for a year or for the next 5 years, or even for life?
Remember, repetition is the mother of all learning. What you practice repeatedly you make it perfect, and you make it permanent.
I ask myself “…Is this what I want to perfect about my life? Is this what I want to be permanent?”
It comes with a huge realization for me. I’m slacking, I almost forget my dreams and never visit my written goals. I get comfortable with earning wages, and I became content with the easy life brought by living abroad.
In this post, I will talk about the list of online businesses that I am planning to build. I’ll share to you my reservation and challenges, and what inspires me to work on them.
E-commerce as online business
Doing business online is something that I really dream of. Back in the Philippines, I have tried the traditional business of having to rent a place. Come early in the morning to open the shop, and leave late in the evening for closing. It was really exhausting and demanding, not to mention the hassle of commute, traffic, and dealing with bad employees.
One of my goals is to have an income-generating business that is not dependent on a specific location, and I found it in E-commerce.
The challenge for me in this type of business is my lack of knowledge and technical skills to begin, let alone make it grow and be profitable.
But enough of all those excuses. I need to start somewhere, somehow. So here I am, starting my first e-commerce shop.
I plan to start with a low-risk model like selling digital products, affiliate marketing, or drop shipping and progress later to have my own brand and label.
I know this might sound too ambitious, but the thing is, I don’t want to see myself again 5 years from now regretting that I did not do something about it.
Niche Blog online business
I love reading blogs with topics of my interest. The personal experience and the journey of the writer are far more interesting for me than general literature teaching about certain things.
I love storytelling and persuasion and in writing you can do both. Through writing you can build the world of your imagination as well as influence someone to your point of view.
In fact, Joy and I started this Explore with Joy blog way back in 2016. This is to share our journey in business, finance, and lifestyle as a couple while giving value to those who follow the same path.
The problem for me is I am not good at writing, especially in English. I will be spending the whole week just to finish writing a three-hundred-word paragraph, that is how bad I am. I have limited English vocabulary and my grammar is rubbish. If you find this article acceptable that is because I depend too much on Google and apps like Grammarly or Editor.
Digital Marketing Agency as online business
Back in the pandemic of 2020 when the world was in lockdown, I find myself plenty of time inside my studio-type apartment. That was when I search the web to learn new things and venture into the world of online freelancing. You can read my blog post here about my journey back to freelancing.
I was able to get a client that runs a digital marketing business specializing in content marketing and search engine optimization (SEO). She grow her business from earning less than a thousand dollars per month to earning a five-digit income every single month. I am impressed by her dedication and work ethic, enough to inspire me to build my own digital marketing agency.
Moving Forwards
Right now, I am still in learning mode and evaluating my luck through trial and error while slowly building from scratch. It looks daunting and challenging especially when you don’t have someone to support and guide you.
Failure is ahead, I am hundred percent sure about that.
People might ignore my E-commerce shops, or it might not interest them to buy anything at all. People might find no value in my articles or services. I might fail once or twice maybe more. The truth is failure is always part of the process.
Despite the challenge, I need to keep moving forward and achieve those higher degrees of financial freedom for which I am aiming.