Today I am going to briefly touch on an idea that you may have already been contemplating yourself, that being whether or not the concept of building your own lifestyle business means that you have to have a purely online one.
I think this is a common issue that some people face when they are considering building a business of their own and my goal today is to dig a little deeper into that idea.
Does Lifestyle = Online?
I think this is a really interesting question.
Much of what I see on the internet today to do with building a business that you can run from home and allows you to get the freedom you want seems to be entirely geared towards doing everything online, either through selling products or becoming an affiliate marketer to promote other people’s products and make commissions.
But my contention is that the concept of a lifestyle business, or the essence of what you are trying to achieve with a lifestyle business, has been around for longer than the internet or the need for businesses to have an online presence in order to thrive. Don’t get me wrong, I think the opportunities that the internet and digital marketing provide for any business is immense, but I believe that you don’t have to deliver your core proposition or service ‘online’ in order to achieve your lifestyle business goals.
Think about some of the things that your ideal business might entail for a minute, could it be that you’re passionate about a musical instrument or teaching of some kind, how about physical fitness or training in a particular sport. There are many things out there that you could do that are best done ‘offline’ so to speak, and in many cases businesses can be built around these interests that would fall into the lifestyle business category (which is ultimately down to your definition after all).
If you want to build a business that delivers services in a face to face or physical manner with a goal of working this around other aspects of your life then in my opinion this is a lifestyle business. Having control over when you work and who you work for instead of being at the mercy of unrealistic deadlines or unreasonable bosses is absolutely the goal of a lifestyle business, and it’s possible to get these without having to build an online business.
Being ‘Online’ is an important factor however…
Now just because I’ve spent the first part of this article telling you that lifestyle ≠ online this doesn’t mean that you can ignore the online world or digital marketing altogether. In this day and age having a digital presence is vital to any business if it’s going to succeed and you will need to spend some time learning about how to make the most of social media, online advertising, blogging etc to build up your lifestyle business.
Even if your business focuses on delivering services such as golf training or physical therapy there are massive benefits to be found through utilising digital marketing and online methods of delivery that will allow you to make the most of your business. In fact it is by leveraging the power of the internet and the ability to deliver training or services through video, audio or written products that you could find yourself supercharging your lifestyle business in the long run.
Granted there are some services that you cannot deliver video a web camera or when you are not physically present, so it is absolutely true to say that you can have a lifestyle business without needing to have an online business. But, as the success of any business is going to rely on creating interest and bringing in customers, being able to make use of online marketing techniques will only serve your business better if you can master them (or understand them well enough to get others to do it for you).
In conclusion
So there you have it, a quick summary of why lifestyle ≠ online, tempered with my advice that no matter what type of business you are interested in building you should ensure that online marketing is a part of your plan. You may even start out thinking that you can only deliver your products or services ‘offline’ but by learning more about what the internet can offer you and the many ways in which you can provide content to customers, your business may be an ideal candidate for online delivery.
At the end of the day, you shouldn’t let the belief that building a lifestyle business means having to build an online one hold you back from pursuing your dream of being an entrepreneur and breaking free of the 9-5 to be your own boss. On the flip side, don’t ignore the benefits that being online and digital marketing can bring to ensuring that your lifestyle business grows to it’s ultimate state.
That’s all for today, don’t forget to share your thoughts via the comments below and of course if you are interested in developing your digital skills and/or building your own lifestyle or online business simply click on the big ‘Find out more…’ button below to check out a tested and proven business system.
All the best.
