Online business owners – of all types, from affiliate marketers to store owners to coaches – can easily “open their doors for business” without a firm business plan in place. Some may test the waters to see if they attract any clients and some start out doing this online work as a side gig while working their full time job.
If this is how you opened your business, do you have a business or a hobby?
A hobby traditionally is an activity that brings you pleasure, that you do in your spare time. A business, on the other hand, provides a service or products to clients, has regular business hours, and strives to make a profit.
Here are some questions to ask yourself, to determine if you are working a business or a hobby:
Do you have firm business hours or are you working sporadic hours as your family or full time job allows?
Do you make the most of your business hours or work time, working as efficiently as possible, or do you get distracted with social media or other behind-the-scenes tasks?
Do you have a business plan, even for one year, which includes expected profits?
Do you make opportunities happen or do you wait for them to come to you?
Do you withdraw every penny from your account after clients pay or do you give yourself a pay structure and reinvest some of your profits into software, training, or other business expenses?
You should have an idea now about if your business is truly a business.
If you need help moving from a hobby model to a business model, reach out to me. I have ben running businesses for over three decades, and am happy to share my expertise and experiences to help you move in the right direction.
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