Is It Difficult To Start An Online Business?
Quick answer: no.
But there is more to this question that needs to be addressed.
Many music teachers fear starting their own online business where they earn an income from their skills over the internet and would rather be employees.
And that is perfectly fine. Nothing wrong with it.
But that’s based on the idea that it is difficult to start an online business.
If you have the itch to become your own boss and do your own thing, then you should know what lies ahead and whether it is difficult to start an online business or not.
If it were easy, everyone would do it
You must have heard this one before:
„If it were easy, everyone would do it.“.
Hearing that can be discouraging because you already have doubts, fear, and everyone that comes with going into uncharted territory.
There is truth to that statement, but it doesn’t mean it’s difficult to start. It simply means that it’s not easy to find success.
Don’t confuse the two!
Starting a business and achieving success are two different things.
You Need To Be Super Techy
This was probably true in 2006.
But things have changed.
Today, you can successfully run an online business with zero coding/programmer skills.
All the platforms where you would be hosting your website, music courses, and lessons have varying levels of difficulty when it comes to the learning curve.
For every imaginable feature of an online music teaching platform, there is always an option to make it super user-friendly for those with no tech skills.
Also, tools for video editing, recording audio… every one of those software tools has alternatives – ones made for more advanced users and ones that are beginner friendly.
So, to start an online business where you monetize your music teaching skills, you do not need to be super techy!
It’s good if you are interested in learning, and most teachers acquire those skills along the journey, but you don’t need them to get started.
You Need A Huge Following On Social Media To Start
Many associate having lots of followers on Instagram, loads of subscribers on YouTube, or likes on a Facebook page as a prerequisite for starting an online business.
It is difficult to start if you don’t have it.
While having an established following in one form or another is a good indicator that you SHOULD start an online business, it is not the thing that should be stopping you from starting.
In fact, if you don’t start an online business but rather wait to build the following, you’ll discover it’s a trap.
That’s because you need to grow your audience and evolve an online business that is up and running in a way that is coherent.
You’ll learn things you couldn’t anticipate before when you get started.
For example, a Facebook page with thousands of likes can be quite useless as you can’t effectively reach those people organically. You know, unless you pay for advertising on Facebook (Meta), many people will not see your posts.
They effectively throttle your access to YOUR audience!?
So, if you had started your business earlier, you would know this, and then you would incorporate specific strategies so that you retain better access to your audience and followers, or you wouldn’t invest so much time into social media platforms.
How To Make It Easier To Start An Online Business
You need to do two things to make it easier to start an online business.
It can be as easy as going ahead and incorporating a business in your country and publishing a website where you start selling lessons and services.
These first few steps can be done in a matter of weeks if not days.
And that’s all it takes to start an online business.
But there are two things you need to be doing so that it doesn’t become difficult to start an online business.
#1 – Research and learning
You need to start educating yourself about digital entrepreneurship, strategies, marketing, tools, software…
The sooner you start, the better. You do need to be prepared to get to the next level.
Because the more you know before you start, the better decisions you’ll make.
And better decisions will make the whole experience of starting an online business feel less difficult.
I’ve noticed when working with musicians, that we are a bit “too artsy for business”, when it comes to taking these things seriously.
As musicians, we like to improvise. It’s at the core of what we do.
It’s good and will certainly come in handy when you have started an online music teaching business and are in the phase of tweaking it.
But, it’s not ideal for the very starting phase, and that brings us to the second thing you need to get right:
#2 – You need a good plan (for starting an online business)
If one thing can make the experience of starting an online business difficult it is: not having a plan.
When you don’t have a plan, not only do you find every step and decision you encounter as difficult as scaling a mountain… Feel like you would rather just quit there.
But, you are more inclined not to follow up.
Why wouldn’t you? You don’t have a solid plan of action – so you don’t take it seriously.
But there is a bigger danger hidden in not having a plan:
You don’t think things through enough, so you make wrong decisions.
The process of making a solid business plan for starting an online business will force you to make coherent decisions.
To make every piece of the puzzle (somewhat) fit so that you can put together the first version of the puzzle when building your first online business.
If you sit down and make a precise plan that addresses all the important factors, you’ll feel more motivated than ever.
You’ll also be increasing your chances of success, as you’ll be doing it right, at least much better than just going without a plan and winging it.
So, to make it easier for yourself to start an online business, you need to do the following:
- Research & skills development
- Make a solid plan to start an online business that answers most basic questions like what you’ll be doing, who will be your customers, what you’ll offer exactly, etc.
If you need my help making this plan, I’ve put together an online course called Play, Click, Succeed.
The course is based on my experience of more than 15+ years in the online music education industry.
I’ve made this course so that you can quickly go through it: there are lessons you study that prepare you with stuff you need to know to make the right decisions. Then, you fill out the action items to create a plan!
It’s like having me beside you, showing you a shortcut to make a business plan for your online music teaching venture that later saves you headaches from not having thought things through.
This course works regardless of what you plan to sell when it comes to educating music, but it needs to be an online model as that’s what this course is about:
Click here to learn more about the course and enroll>>
Conclusion
Starting an online business is not difficult if you have the right mindset, motivation, and a solid plan.
I know that taking that first step is one of the most difficult decisions you’ll make, it certanly feels like that.
But, if you feel that’s what you should be doing, at least try, then I encourage you to give it a go.
You will never feel regret for trying and not succeeding, but you most definitely will if you don’t.
I hope this post helps you answer this question about starting an online business.
If you want to stay in the loop with the content I post and get tips that are specifically for music teachers looking to create income streams online, then you should consider subscribing to my newsletter below.
All the best,
Bogdan
Founder, MusicTeachingBiz.com