How to Start an Online Business So You Can Become Location Independent

Becoming location independent can change what you are able to do in your life. But, it can be a difficult journey because you still have to make money somehow. Starting an online business is a great way to build a location independent life that fits your lifestyle.

But, building a business takes work. We’re walking you through the steps to start an online business so you can become location independent.

Self-Reflection

The first step to starting your online business is to do some self-reflection. This will help you see what you are good at and how you might be able to turn this into a business.

Grab a piece of paper and make a list of the following:

Your Strengths: What are you good at? What do people go to you for help with?

Your Passions: What do you enjoy? If you could do anything, what would you pursue?

Your Experience: What have you done before? It could be past jobs, volunteer experience, or even self-study.

A note about this: Your business does not have to fit into all three of these aspects (strengths, passions, experience). If you are really good at something, but it’s not your dream business, it’s okay. As long as you don’t hate it, it’s still a good place to start. You can always expand and change your business later on. This is just a place to start.

Brainstorm Ideas

Next, brainstorm any ideas you have for a business. Start listing any idea you have. It doesn’t matter if it’s great or bad. Now is not the time to censor yourself. 

Your business can be a product or a service. Try to think of both!

Some ways to develop new ideas:

• Think about your strengths, passions, and experience. How can you use them to help others? 
• Look around you. What problems do you see in the world? How can you solve them?
• Ask your family, friends, and network. Flat out ask them what troubles they have. Then, think about how you can help. 

Validate Your Ideas

After you’ve brainstormed everything you can think of, you need to narrow the list down. Start by choosing your top 5-10 ideas. These are the ones you’ll investigate further and see if they are worth pursuing. 

Market Research

You should conduct market research to see if there is a market for your product or service.

Competitors: Google your product/service idea and see if anyone currently does it. Look at how many businesses already do it. Are they big businesses or small businesses? See what the current market is like and if it’s possible to break into.  

If someone is doing your idea, that’s not necessarily a bad thing! Having competitors (businesses who do the same thing as you) means that someone is buying that product/service. Look at what they’re doing and see if there’s a way you can do it better. 

Potential Customers: You need to make sure there are actually people who will buy your product. Look at who your competitors’ customers are. Another way is to talk to your friends, family, and network to see if they think it is worthwhile. They can help you see if there’s a market and if there is any way to improve your idea. 

Validate Logistics

In addition to validating the market of your business, you should also validate the logistics of it. 

Lifestyle: Will it fit your lifestyle? You might be starting this business because you want to build a certain lifestyle. If so, you need to make sure they fit together. 

If you want to travel the world, a hardware store business might not be the best idea. But, an online nutrition coaching business may be better. 

If part of your lifestyle desire is to only work a few hours a week, you should be careful in starting your business. Most times, it takes a lot of work to start a business in the beginning. Over time, you may be able to spend less time working. But, in the beginning, you may have less free time than you did working your 40-hour a week job.

Money: Can you afford to start it? Or can you feasibly get the funding necessary to start the business? There are businesses that have very low start-up costs. There are also ways to get investments to start your business. Just make sure you’ve thought about it. 

Know-How: I would love to be a freelance computer programmer. But, I have no idea how to do that job and it would take me a long time to learn it. I know I shouldn’t start a computer programming business.

Think about the education and experience you have to be successful in your business. Can you complete the job? Or can you learn (reasonably well and quickly) or hire/partner with someone to help? You definitely don’t need to be an expert but be realistic in the requirements. 

Figure Out the Logistics

You need to figure out all of the inner workings that will go into starting your business.

Create a business plan so you have a road map and can potentially get funding. Here’s where you can also start to think of your business name and what your special proposition is. 

Make a rough budget. How much do you have to work with? How much do you need? There are many ways to start a business with little costs. 

Create some goals. Be sure to make them SMART. Then, make a plan to achieve your goals. Write out all the steps you need to do to meet each goal. Then, give each step a deadline. Knowing your timeline will help keep you on track.

How will you start? Are you still employed at another job? This is very common (and smart). But, it can lead to a little trouble in finding time to work on your new business. Figure out how you will juggle all your commitments?

Find Resources

You may be the only one in your business, but you are not alone by any means. There are many resources available to help.

The SBA (Small Business Administration) offers many services to entrepreneurs. They have classes and online learning opportunities that can be very valuable. There may be other local groups that offer similar services in your industry. 

Hiring professionals such as an accountant, tax advisor, or lawyer may be helpful or even a requirement depending on your business. Finances and laws can be a confusing area to navigate. Get professional help if you need it. 

One of the best places for support is from people you know. If a family member or friend is available, they can give you motivation and ideas along the way. If not, you can get support online. Find fellow entrepreneurs on social media. Connecting with others can make the journey easier. 

Launch Your Product/Service

Build a marketing plan to get the word out about your business. Will you use social media? Paid advertising? Blogging? There are tons of ways to market your business. Choose the methods that you think will work for you.

Now, it’s go-time. Launch your product or service to get your first customer. 

It can take some time. But, if you build a solid marketing plan and have a good product, you’ll get there. 

Be persistent and always deliver value.

Reflect

Great! You made your first sale! Now what?

Well, first, celebrate! (Taking time to celebrate your wins will help develop confidence and make you more successful as an entrepreneur.)

Next, reflect on what has happened so far. Ask yourself some questions:

• Was your marketing effective?
• Did you deliver value to your customers? 
• What does your customer say about it? (Ask them for a testimonial if appropriate.)
• What can you improve?

Take any improvements you think of and implement them. Your business will change over time as you continue to find what works best. Reflecting every so often will keep the improvements coming. 

Start Today

Building a business takes time. The sooner you start, the sooner you can run your own online business and become location independent.

Photo by Danielle MacInnes on Unsplash