The Beyond Average Podcast

Welcome to Episode 12 of Season 1 – 4 Mistakes That New Online Business Owners Make

Season 1 of the podcast is all about how you can start your first profitable online business. This season draws its shows from the free downloadable resource 'The 13 Steps to Creating Your First Profitable Online Business.'

In todays show we cover 4 Mistakes That New Online Business Owners Make.

To be honest, it's not just new online business owners who are making these mistakes. So let's dive in and get you back on track to serving your market place.

Mistake # 1: Trying To Come Up With The Perfect Plan

If you're someone who isn't taking action until you have the perfect plan then here are 3 reality checks:

1. There is NO perfect plan
2. No matter how good your plan is, it will need adjusting once it gets implemented.
3. By the time you've crafted this perfect plan... conditions have changed! We live in a world that has an incredible pace of change. Be quick or be left behind!

Mistake # 2: Wanting To Be Perpetual Learner

Now don't get me wrong. I believe in learning and growing everyday. I even close out the show saying 'kaizen' (Japanese for 'continual improvment').

What I'm talking about here are the people who never take any action because they always feel like they don't know enough and therefore need to keep on learning. They mask their fear of failure by needing to learn more, and so they go from course to course to course and never implement anything.

This is why getting coaching is so important, because a good coach will see through your rationalisations and give you a good kick in the behind to get you doing what you should be doing. (If you're interestead in my coaching offerings then CLICK HERE. so you don't fall pray to these mistakes that business owners make.)

Mistake # 3: Assuming You Know What The Customer Wants

"The graveyard is littered with brilliant business ideas that no-one cares about."

Clive Smit

So how do you know what your customers care about?

You ask! Ryan Levesque wrote a great book called Ask. grab a copy of his book. I personally have the audible version.

Here are some examples of questions that you can ask your clients:

• What challenges are you facing?
• What fustrates you the most in your day to day _____ ?
• If you could change one thing about _____, what would it be?

But what if you don't have any clients yet?

Talk to people who fit your target market. Let them know that you are thinking of creating a product / service and ask if you can get their opinion.

The mistakes that business owners make here is that they ask people if they'd buy their product / service and people, beeing polite, will say yes. Then, you rush out and spend a heap of resources building a product or service and then no one buys from you.

Let me make it clear. The only way that you know if someone will really buy your product is if you get them to pre-order it!

Tell people that you're thinking of putting together a product and service if you can get X amount of pre-orders, and give them the link. If people pre-order, then you know you are on to something!

Mistake # 4: Giving Up Too Soon

Unfortunatly, the online space is filled with a lot of BS marketers who tell you that if you buy their program that you too can be making 6 figures in 6 months. The difference between you and them though, is that they have an extensive list and network, not to mention experience.

Learning requires an investment of time and finances. We understand tis when we go to university, but we forget it when we start our online business.

"Success is inevitable if you are consistent."

Clive Smit

So don't give up. Persevere. Instead of comparing yourself to others success who have been at the game for 10 years, remind yourself that they too started from scratch. They too experienced many failures and had to continually take imperfect action. Remind yourself that they persevered and that if they can get there, so too can you!

Leave a comment and let me know what you thought of this episode and what your greatest challenges are that you are facing.

In The Next Episode:

In the next episode we'll look at Systems That Create Stress Free Success

I look forward to reading your questions and comments!

Make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any further episodes.

Show Sponsor:

This show is brought to you by my coaching program: Business Success Foundations.

This is an 8 week coaching program that covers all the essentials so you can start your first profitable online business.

Stop dreaming about being your own boss and design the life you love by getting your online business off the ground!

This Show's Highlighted Tool:

Acuity Scheduling

Earn Good Karma Points By Leaving An iTunes Rating & Review

If you love all the valuable free content you're getting from the show then I'd love for you to get rewarded with good karma points by leaving an iTunes Rating & Review.

Its simple, it takes only 2 minutes and I even have a tutorial for you HERE.

Not only will you earn good karma points, but you'll be helping others just like you to find this valuable resource. Not to mention, you'll be providing me with motivation to keep creating great content for you.

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Welcome to Episode 11 of Season 1 – How To Get Traffic To Your Website Part 2

Season 1 of the podcast is all about how you can start your first profitable online business. This season draws its shows from the free downloadable resource 'The 13 Steps to Creating Your First Profitable Online Business.'

In todays show we cover step 9 of the 13 steps to creating your first profitable online business: Create A Traffic Plan

If you missed part 1 of How To Get More Traffic To Your Website, then CLICK HERE to check it out.

Where Should You Advertise?

In today's episode we cover how you can use paid advertising to play the short game to get more traffic to your website.

I recommend that you use advertising on FaceBook as everyone is on it, you can target the exact audience you're after and its cost effective.

Let's be honest. You CAN waste a whole lot of time and money if you don't know what you are doing. So get training on how to run your FB ads.

The best people to learn about FaceBook ads are:

• Amy Porterfield
• Claire Pelletreau

Where Should You Send People?

A basic mistake that people do when creating their FaceBook ad is to send people straight away to a sales page. The conversion rate on this is extremely low as these people don't know, like or trust you... yet.

I suggest you send them to your freebie. (check out episode 6)

Make sure that your freebie has a landing page. A landing page is a page on your website that has no other navigation or calls to action except for the one action that you want them to take. So here they can opt in and you can send them their freebie and some automated emails. (see episode 7)

How Much Should You Spend?

This is simply a question of maths. You need to know how much your product or service costs, how many click on your ads and the cost per click and how many of these people actually opt in to your freebie. Then how many of those that opted in actually used your service or bought your product.

Example:

If your cost per click is $1 and you had 50 people click on your ad. Thats a cost of $50.

Lets say that of those 50 people who signed up, 25 opted in to your freebie.

And of those 25 who opted in to your freebie you got one new client.

You now know that the cost to get one new client is $50.

Well, there we have it, all the basics covered in Part 1 and today's Part 2 of How To Get More Traffic To Your Website.

Leave comment and let me know what works for you in getting more traffic to your website.

In The Next Episode:

In the next episode we'll look at 4 Mistakes That New Online Business Owners Make

I look forward to reading your questions and comments!

Make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any further episodes.

Show Sponsor:

This show is brought to you by my coaching program: Business Success Foundations.

This is an 8 week coaching program that covers all the essentials so you can start your first profitable online business.

Stop dreaming about being your own boss and design the life you love by getting your online business off the ground!

This Show's Highlighted Tool:

Word Swag

Earn Good Karma Points By Leaving An iTunes Rating & Review

If you love all the valuable free content you're getting from the show then I'd love for you to get rewarded with good karma points by leaving an iTunes Rating & Review.

Its simple, it takes only 2 minutes and I even have a tutorial for you HERE.

Not only will you earn good karma points, but you'll be helping others just like you to find this valuable resource. Not to mention, you'll be providing me with motivation to keep creating great content for you.

Double Karma Points!

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Welcome to Episode 10 of Season 1 – How To Get Traffic To Your Website Part 1

Season 1 of the podcast is all about how you can start your first profitable online business. This season draws its shows from the free downloadable resource 'The 13 Steps to Creating Your First Profitable Online Business.'

In todays show we cover step 9 of the 13 steps to creating your first profitable online business: Create A Traffic Plan

So many people expect that if they build a website or create a freebie, that the masses of people online will simple stream in. WRONG! You need to go out and get traffic to your website.

If you build a concession stand on a quite rural road then no matter how good your products are, you won't be doing much business.

However, if you place that same concession stand outside a major sports stadium… well now your PayPal account will pop!

It's our responsibility to place our offering in front of the right traffic.

There are 2 strategies to get traffic and you should use some of the tactics from both of these strategies.

For those who don't have much in the way of finances, you'll use the Long Game strategy. The good news is that you can get traffic for free. The bad news, it is going to require a lot of hustle and you won't necessarily see immediate results.

In the next episode we'll look at how you can leverage finances to play the short game.

Tactic # 1: Out Teach Your Competition

When you're adding value to people you give them wins ahead of time and they get to know, like and trust you. And who do people do business with? With those they know, like and trust!

Another bonus is that for every extra day that you post content, you can get up to an 18% increase in your traffic.

Tactic # 2: Leverage SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)

First things first, if you haven't already installed the plugin called YOAST in your WordPress site, do this immediately. It's a great tool to help you get basic SEO right.

The more niched your content, the greater the chance you have of being found.

Use Long Tail Keywords. These are 3 – 4 keyword phrases that are very, very specific to whatever you are selling or communicating about.

Tactic # 3: Use Your Social Media

People tend to fall into one of two camps here. Either they post only about what they're trying to sell… and become ignored or unfollowed or they post about everything except what they're selling or offering.

Gary Vee in his book Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook says that we need to give value with our jabs but then follow it up with an ask.

A word of caution: it is so easy to waste hours on social media. You need to ask yourself what ROI (Return On Investment) you're getting. Are you actualy able to get traffic to your website using social media?

A good hack to save you wasting countless hours is to set your timer to 15mins and spend NO more than this on your social media each day.

Tactic # 4: Leverage Other People's Audiences

You can guest post or appear on other peoples podcasts. In this way you are introduced to their audiences.

Another angle you can take is to ask others to guest post for you or to appear on your podcast or videos. Ask your guests if they can promote the post / podcast / video to their audience.

Tactic # 5: Connect and Add Value On Blog Comments, Forums & FaceBook Groups

Just a note, don't be one of those people who only leave a comment so you can drop your spammy links to get traffic to your website! Add value, and people will want to know more about you.

Tactic # 6: Speaking

Find opportunities to speak for free. This will:

1. Improve your communication skills and confidence
2. Give you an opportunity to send people to your offerings

Without a doubt, you can get traffic to your website without paying money… but it will require time and hustle on your side.

Let me know what you're trying out and what results you have seen.

In The Next Episode:

In the next episode we'll continue to look at step 9 in the 13 step process to creating your profitable online business: Creating A Traffic Plan

I look forward to reading your questions and comments!

Make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any further episodes.

Show Sponsor:

This show is brought to you by my coaching program: Business Success Foundations.

This is an 8 week coaching program that covers all the essentials so you can start your first profitable online business.

Stop dreaming about being your own boss and design the life you love by getting your online business off the ground!

This Show's Highlighted Tool:

Canva.com

Earn Good Karma Points By Leaving An iTunes Rating & Review

If you love all the valuable free content you're getting from the show then I'd love for you to get rewarded with good karma points by leaving an iTunes Rating & Review.

Its simple, it takes only 2 minutes and I even have a tutorial for you HERE.

Not only will you earn good karma points, but you'll be helping others just like you to find this valuable resource. Not to mention, you'll be providing me with motivation to keep creating great content for you.

Double Karma Points!

Share this episode with a friend. It's easy with the social share buttons below.

Welcome to Episode 9 of Season 1 – 3 Principles For Success (Including Your Content Creation Schedule)

Season 1 of the podcast is all about how you can start your first profitable online business. This season draws its shows from the free downloadable resource 'The 13 Steps to Creating Your First Profitable Online Business.'

In todays show we cover step 8 of the 13 steps to creating your first profitable online business: Your Content Creation Schedule:

The 2 foundational pillars of business is to:

1. Add value to your customers ahead of time
2. To get them to know, like and trust you

This is why having a content creation schedule is so important.

Success Principal # 1: Consistency

Consistency leads to success.

When you produce consistent content you are training people to come back regularly. However, when your content creation is irregular, you are teaching people not to bother!

Most people give up too soon because they are not seeing immediate results.

"Success is inevitable if you are consistent."

Clive Smit

What medium are you going to create in?

• Written
• Audio
• Video
• A mix of all 3

I recommend making content in the form that you like to consume in.

The great thing about making this content is that you can use it as the source or your social media content. And this brings us to the best part...

Success Principal # 2: Delegation

Get your VA (virtual assistant) to use the transcript of your content to post to your social media accounts.

"Can I really do this?" I hear you ask. Not only can you, but you MUST!

The two most important questions you need to ask about your business:

1. What can only I do?
2. Who else can do the rest?

"But I can't afford..."

"Scared money don't make money."

Our next success principal will explain why delegation is an absolute must.

Success Principal # 3: Focus

Most people wear the ability to multitask as a badge of honour. But this simply means that you are NOT focused!

Gerald Weinberg found that context switching is a productivity killer.

Context switching is the time and energy that it takes to get re-associated and reacquainted to the other project you just moved away from and that you are now coming back to.

So stop multitasking and focus!

F. O. C. U. S. = follow one course until success.

We can do this by batching our work. Take a day each month, fortnight or day to create your content. Calendar this is to your schedule now.

Create as much as you can on this day so you can get ahead and have margin for times when emergencies or opportunities pop up on your calendar.

What other regular tasks can you batch?

In The Next Episode:

In the next episode we'll look at step 9 in the 13 step process to creating your profitable online business: Creating A Traffic Plan

I look forward to reading your questions and comments!

Make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any further episodes.

Show Sponsor:

This show is brought to you by my coaching program: Business Success Foundations.

This is an 8 week coaching program that covers all the essentials so you can start your first profitable online business.

Stop dreaming about being your own boss and design the life you love by getting your online business off the ground!

This Show's Highlighted Tool:

99 Designs

Earn Good Karma Points By Leaving An iTunes Rating & Review

If you love all the valuable free content you're getting from the show then I'd love for you to get rewarded with good karma points by leaving an iTunes Rating & Review.

Its simple, it takes only 2 minutes and I even have a tutorial for you HERE.

Not only will you earn good karma points, but you'll be helping others just like you to find this valuable resource. Not to mention, you'll be providing me with motivation to keep creating great content for you.

Double Karma Points!

Share this episode with a friend. It's easy with the social share buttons below.

Welcome to Episode 8 of Season 1 – Grow Your Email List From Zero to Hero

Season 1 of the podcast is all about how you can start your first profitable online business. This season draws its shows from the free downloadable resource 'The 13 Steps to Creating Your First Profitable Online Business.'

In todays show we cover growing your email list from zero to hero.

"List building is like flossing... you know it's good for you, but you don't always feel like doing it."

Nathalie Lussier

We tend to avoid:

• What we think we're not good at
• When we're unsure about what steps to take

Tip # 1: Use Paper & Pen

Write down the last 10 people you texted and emailed and invite them to join your email list.

Tip # 2: Ask For A Referal

This tip seems obvious, but most people just don't do it!

Tip # 3: Create A Grattitude List

Make a list of 15 people you follow. Thank them and share your success story of using their info, program, service, etc.

Caveat: This must be genuine.

Tip # 4: Add A Link In Your Email Signature

Tip # 5: Invite Your Social Media Followers To Subscribe... Regularly

Tip # 6: Use Content Upgrades For Your Top 10 Posts

In deciding on what content upgrade to produce, ask yourself what would help people to take the first step to apply what they have just read / listened to / watched?

Tip # 7: Buy Traffic Using Ads

FaceBook is the gorrilia, but this is an advanced tip to grow your email list as you need knowledge and refining to get paid ads to work for you.

The best people to learn about FaceBook ads are:

• Amy Porterfield
• Claire Pelletreau

In The Next Episode:

In the next episode we'll look at step 8 in the 13 step process to creating your profitiable online business: Creating A Content Schedule

I look forward to reading your questions and comments!

Make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any further episodes. Our next show will be on 'Setting Up Your Email Marketing Service'.

Show Sponsor:

This show is brought to you by my coaching program: Business Success Foundations.

This is an 8 week coaching program that covers all the essentials so you can start your first profitable online business.

Stop dreaming about being your own boss and design the life you love by getting your online business off the ground!

This Show's Highlighted Tool:

Host Gator

Earn Good Karma Points By Leaving An iTunes Rating & Review

If you love all the valuable free content you're getting from the show then I'd love for you to get rewarded with good karma points by leaving an iTunes Rating & Review.

Its simple, it takes only 2 minutes and I even have a tutorial for you HERE.

Not only will you earn good karma points, but you'll be helping others just like you to find this valuable resource. Not to mention, you'll be providing me with motivation to keep creating great content for you.

Double Karma Points!

Share this episode with a friend. It's easy with the social share buttons below.

Welcome to Episode7 of Season 1 – Create Your Opt-in & Automated Emails

Season 1 of the podcast is all about how you can start your first profitable online business. This season draws its shows from the free downloadable resource 'The 13 Steps to Creating Your First Profitable Online Business.'

In todays show we cover how you can create your opt-in and automated emails.

The Problem:

How many great websites have you been to that you've simply forgotten about and couldn't even get back to... even if you wanted to?

This is why you absolutely MUST build an email list!

An opt-in is how you actually collect email addresses.

The 4 Step Process:

1. Have an opt-in
2. Send them to your Thank You page
3. Send them Automated emails
4. Add them to your House List

Step 1: The Opt-in

Use the code from your email marketing service to embed your opt-in form in your post or sidebar of your website.

If you want more advanced control over your design and placement (and higher opt-in rates) then I suggest using Thrive Themes or another lead generation service to have pop-ups, welcome matts, slide-ins, exit intents , etc.

The only information that you need to gather is peoples names and email addresses. Remember, the more you ask for, the less you end up getting, so keep it simple.

I also suggest that you keep seperate email lists for each of your freebies , etc.

Step 2: Your Thank You Page

Your email marketing service will provide you with a Thank You page, but I really suggest that you have your Thank You page on your own website. You can then ensure that your visitors have a consistent experience.

Also, remember that your Thank You page is prime real estate as these people are really interested in your offerings. So use this opportunity to:

• Give any extra instructions for receiving their download
• Tips on using your freebie
• Special offers
• Offering your service and products
• Video about what else is available from you

Step 3: Automated Emails

I suggest using a sequence of 3-6 automated emails to create and deepen your relationship. Here is a suggestion of the content to include in each one:

1. Intrigue them to consume your freebie. Remember, a lot of people won't consume or even download your freebie right away. Also, introduce yourself and share your story / journey.
2. Refer back to the freebie and share an AHA moment you had and the results it brought into your life.
3. Share a 'How To' (how they can apply that aha and get similar results in their lives).
4. Share what your product / service offerings are.
5. Share some case studies of how others have found success with your products / service.
6. Have a Call To Action.

Step 4: Add Them To Your House List

It's important to keep up your relationship. So be sure to move these people on to your regular emailing list.

In The Next Episode:

In the next episode we'll look at How To Grow Your Email List From Zero to Hero

I look forward to reading your questions and comments!

Make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any further episodes. Our next show will be on 'Setting Up Your Email Marketing Service'.

Show Sponsor:

This show is brought to you by my coaching program: Business Success Foundations.

This is an 8 week coaching program that covers all the essentials so you can start your first profitable online business.

Stop dreaming about being your own boss and design the life you love by getting your online business off the ground!

This Show's Highlighted Tool:

Acuity Scheduling

Earn Good Karma Points By Leaving An iTunes Rating & Review

If you love all the valuable free content you're getting from the show then I'd love for you to get rewarded with good karma points by leaving an iTunes Rating & Review.

Its simple, it takes only 2 minutes and I even have a tutorial for you HERE.

Not only will you earn good karma points, but you'll be helping others just like you to find this valuable resource. Not to mention, you'll be providing me with motivation to keep creating great content for you.

Double Karma Points!

Share this episode with a friend. It's easy with the social share buttons below.

Welcome to Episode 6 of Season 1 – Create A Valuable Freebie

Season 1 of the podcast is all about how you can start your first profitable online business. This season draws its shows from the free downloadable resource 'The 13 Steps to Creating Your First Profitable Online Business.'

In todays show we cover how you can build your email list by creating a valuable freebie (also known as a lead magnet or opt-in).

In the last show we looked at how list building is the life-blood of your business. But how do you go about building your list of emails?

You earn emails by giving something of value and then continuing to invest in them.

5 Tips To Creating Effective Freebies / Opt-Ins / Lead Magnets:

1. Make it specific to your target market.
2. Provide results ahead of time.
3. Make it east to consume (PDF should be 1-3 pages, Audio should be under 10 minutes and Video should be 3-5 minutes)
4. Make sure it looks good.
   • Canva for doing the design work yourself
   • Fiverr for cheap work from $5+ (please note that this is an affiliate link where I get a small kick back)
   • 99 Designs for great work (please note that this is an affiliate link where I get a small kick back)
5. Include a call to action

Freebie / Opt-in / Lead Magnet Formats:

• Video (the camera on your phone is all you need!)
• Audio (podcast, MP3)
• Written

Example Ideas For Your Freebies / Opt-ins / Lead Magnets:

• Video Tutorials & How-to's
• Video / Audio Interviews
• Video / Audio of your story / journey
• Cheat Sheets
• Check Lists
• Templates
• Systems
• Discounts
• Access to you (check out my special access offer HERE)

I look forward to reading your questions and comments!

Make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any further episodes. Our next show will be on 'Setting Up Your Email Marketing Service'.

Show Sponsor:

This show is brought to you by my coaching program: Business Success Foundations.

This is an 8 week coaching program that covers all the essentials so you can start your first profitable online business.

Stop dreaming about being your own boss and design the life you love by getting your online business off the ground!

Earn Good Karma Points By Leaving An iTunes Rating & Review

If you love all the valuable free content you're getting from the show then I'd love for you to get rewarded with good karma points by leaving an iTunes Rating & Review.

It's simple, it takes only 2 minutes and I even have a tutorial for you HERE.

Not only will you earn good karma points, but you'll be helping others just like you to find this valuable resource. Not to mention, you'll be providing me with motivation to keep creating great content for you.

Welcome to Episode 5 of Season 1 – Setting Up Your Email Marketing Service

Season 1 of the podcast is all about how you can start your first profitable online business. This season draws its shows from the free downloadable resource 'The 13 Steps to Creating Your First Profitable Online Business.'

In todays show we cover setting up your your email marketing service.

5 Reasons Why Having An Email List Is The Life-blood of Your Business:

1. These are the people who want to hear from you!
2. This allows people to 'know, like & trust' you!
3. Emails have to be dealt with!
4. Emails have a 10X better conversion rate than any other medium!
5. You own your email list!

So Why Do You Need An Email Marketing Service?

1. It's very difficult to manage a growing list of emails with your normal email service such as outlook, safari, gmail, etc.
2. By law, when you email a list, they must be able to unsubscribe.

My Suggested Email Marketing Services:

Mailchimp

• Benefit - first 2000 emails a month are free
• Drawback- requires a double optin

Aweber (please note: I am an affiliate with Aweber, so if you do choose to go with them I'll get a small kickback)

• Benefit - only needs a single optin and has a 30 day free trial
• Drawback - you pay for every email (but very reasonably priced)

Don't spend anymore than 2 minutes deciding which service to go for. Just make a choice and go get after it!

While both Mailchimp and Aweber are easy to use, give yourself permission and time to get used to how to use them.

Keep In Regular Contact:

Make sure that you keep in regular contact with those on your list. If you don't, they'll forget who you are and when you do eventually email them, they'll think you are spam.

The Good News:

The good news, no, the great news is that you don't need a million people on your list! Click HERE To READ Kevin Kelly's seminal article called 1000 True Fans, or watch the video below:

I look forward to reading your questions and comments!

Make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any further episodes. Our next show will be on 'Creating A Valuable Freebie'.

Show Sponsor:

This show is brought to you by my coaching program: Business Success Foundations.

This is an 8 week coaching program that covers all the essentials so you can start your first profitable online business.

Stop dreaming about being your own boss and design the life you love by getting your online business off the ground!

Earn Good Karma Points By Leaving An iTunes Rating & Review

If you love all the valuable free content you're getting from the show then I'd love for you to get rewarded with good karma points by leaving an iTunes Rating & Review.

It's simple, it takes only 2 minutes and I even have a tutorial for you HERE.

Not only will you earn good karma points, but you'll be helping others just like you to find this valuable resource. Not to mention, you'll be providing me with motivation to keep creating great content for you

Welcome to Episode 4 of Season 1 – Setting Up Your Business Accounts, Entity and Record Keeping

Season 1 of the podcast is all about how you can start your first profitable online business. This season draws its shows from the free downloadable resource 'The 13 Steps to Creating Your First Profitable Online Business.'

In todays show we cover setting up your business account, busness entity and record keeping.

Bank Account

Before spending your first dollar you absolutly MUST have a business bank account!

To mix your personal and business spending is to invite the tax man to go through your business with a fine tooth comb!

Remember that cash is king!

Forgt GAAP accounting as this does not take human nature into consideration.

Set up the following accounts:

• Regular Expenses
• Irregular Expenses
• Profit
• Tax

Most entreuenuers don't pay themselves as their is nothing left! Make paying yourself and paying to the profit account your first priority!

Business Entity

Chat to your accountant to find out what business entity suits your needs.

Your accountant can also tell you what expenses are important to track for claiming expenses.

Get your accountant to look over your taxes before you submit them.

Record Keeping

My suggestion is to use Fresh Books (I have no affiliation). There are other platforms, but the important thing is that you are keeping records!

I look forward to reading your questions and comments!

Make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any further episodes. Our next show will be on 'Setting Up Your Email Marketing Service'.

Show Sponsor:

This show is brought to you by my coaching program: Business Success Foundations.

This is an 8 week coaching program that covers all the essentials so you can start your first profitable online business.

Stop dreaming about being your own boss and design the life you love by getting your online business off the ground!

Earn Good Karma Points By Leaving An iTunes Rating & Review

If you love all the valuable free content you're getting from the show then I'd love for you to get rewarded with good karma points by leaving an iTunes Rating & Review.

It's simple, it takes only 2 minutes and I even have a tutorial for you HERE.

Not only will you earn good karma points, but you'll be helping others just like you to find this valuable resource. Not to mention, you'll be providing me with motivation to keep creating great content for you

Welcome to Episode 3 of Season 1 - Setting Up Your Business Website

Season 1 of the podcast is all about how you can start your first profitable online business. This season draws its shows from the free downloadable resource 'The 13 Steps to Creating Your First Profitable Online Business.'

In todays show we cover how to set up your business website and the 4 pages that you absolutly must have.

So let's start with the basics of your setup:

Domain

The first thing that you're going to need is a Domain (this is your address, eg. mine is http://beyondaverage.me)

You can get yours from many places but I suggest to use your hosting provider.

Hosting

Next you'll need Hosting (the land that your address lives on).

My suggestion is to get yours from Host Gator (whom I use) or Blue Host.

Content Managment System

Your website CMS is the infastructure that your site runs on (like the infastructure of your house).

There are many choices out there such as Wix, Squarespace, etc. that charge you monthly for using their CMS.

Inmy humble opinion, you want to go with a WordPress site. They are hands down the biggest CMS out there and for good reason. WordPress is free, open source and has an almost endless array of themes, pluggins and widgets available to you. What thismeans is that you will be able to customize your site in a way that just isn't possible with these other CMS providers out there.

(quicknote: you don't want wordpress.com but wordpress.org. If you're using Host Gator they have a 1 click WordPress install which makes the whol process easy peasy.)

Theme

Your theme is the visual design of your site (the outside decor of the house).

In a world where a book is judged by it's cover having a great theme is essential.

There are free themes available but I'd highly suggest you go with a paid option as free themes aren'tupdated regularly and getting support cn be difficult.

I'd suggest using Thrive Themes (I use them), as they build their themes with 1 thing in mind... to convert your website visitors into customers.

For more indepth notes get a hold of the the free downloadable resource 'The 13 Steps to Creating Your First Profitable Online Business.' When you get this, I send you much more detailed emails on each of the steps.

Your Minimal Viable Product

Ok, now that we have you all set up we need to get content on your website.

The temptation is to want to get everything on your website and you can easily spend 6 months getting this all ready. Ain't nobody got time for that!

So here are the 4 pages I want you to work on:

1. Home page
2. About page
3. Work With Me page (if you're a service) or Products page
4. Blog (this is where you add value to your customers and potential customers by giving results ahead of time).

Ok, that was a lot to cover but we got there!

I look forward to reading your questions and comments!

Make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any further episodes. Our next show will be on 'Setting Up Your Bank Accounts, Business Enitiy and Record Keeping'. Not the sexiest sounding topic, but get it rght and you'll have smooth sailing... get it wrong and you can sink your ship!

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