IF YOU'RE ONLINE BUSINESS IS NOT WORKING, WHY NOT DO WHAT EBAY DID?

I imagine almost everyone here who owns or has owned an Internet business wonders if it is working. Of course it is common sense to look at it and if sales are slow or nonexistent then it is easy to say no it is not. But is this a proper barometer? It might be the farthest thing from one.

I remember the days when Ebay first started and almost 100% of the transactions there were Pez dispensers; that is collectors selling to each other. Forget Ebay Motors, Ebay Express, jewelry, books, Half.com, Skype.com, etc. etc that now all belongs to Ebay. Pez was their specialty At first, it was like a ghost town there. I can remember when they had less than a thousand members. But was it "working"? Indeed it was. That is, the foundation was being built.

So Ebay "hung out it's cyber-shingle" and was known as "THE place to buy Pez collectibles". Was that their "end game" or their "lack of vision as to what they could accomplish?" Obviously not. But they knew the importance of building a foundation. It really didn't matter (yet) if they were making a million dollars or (in their case billions now), it was their instinctive business knowledge to become "the experts" or "the place to buy" for a specific type item, niche item if you will and go from there.

Too many Internet entrepreneurs look at explosive websites such as Ebay, Google, Amazon, et al, and say "Gee, I can do that and tonight I'm going to sit down and do that and show the world". Oh if only that is how it worked. If it did, everyone would be doing it and making a fortune on the net. If you listen to "the Internet gurus" (I happen to believe there is no such thing), they will tell you they are making a fortune and you can too if you just a. download their e-book or b. buy their software, or c. affiliate with them, etc. Again, if only that were so.

So how does one go from kitchen table to monster corporation? Take your first step and don't try to conquer the world at one time. If you think because it is the Internet and you can now start-up businesses cheaply, don't buy into the "group think" that you can circumvent hard work simply by using the net. Yes, a lot of it, that in "the days of old" is already done for you, that is, if you learn Internet marketing and what works for you. You don't have to call or drive down to the nearest television station, make an ad, or wait for a newspaper ad salesperson to drop by your office that you

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