Working at Home – Have You Got Initiative?

Continuing on with the DRIVE acronym, guest blogger Angela Wills is going to talk about letter I and initiative today. Be sure to read about the other traits of DRIVE -  determination and resilience before going any further!

I once had a client ask me if they could get me to build their website and start their business – then they’d pay me when they made money. UH – Bet your butt I said no way Jose!

This potential client was showing none of the next DRIVE trait I consider very, very essential: INITIATIVE

DRIVE stands for:

Determination (Monday’s post)
Resilience (Tuesday)
Initiative (Today!)
Values (Thursday)
Energy (Friday)

If you missed the first two DRIVE traits, check out yesterday and Monday’s posts to read about Determination and Resilience.

INITIATIVE

There are many places in your online business where you’ll need to take initiative. Nobody can run your business for you. Nobody can create a business that fits you perfectly the way you can.

Taking initiative in your own business means:

• Doing Market Research: reading forums, googling websites, checking out the competition, etc.
• Managing Your Finances.
• Learning Your Products Inside Out.
• Tracking Your Statistics: subscribers, visitors, sales, etc.
• Managing Your Website.

There’s no special order that you must do everything in and you don’t even have to do it all yourself. But the worst thing you can do in business is to think you can hire someone to have DRIVE for your business. Put your passion into your own business. If you don’t feel the DRIVE for your business, then it’s likely you’ve picked the wrong business in the first place.

Take Initiative with Your Website

One of the places I would consider it essential for any online business owner to take Initiative with is their website. I personally believe that it’s a mistake to hire someone to build your first website. The reason is that it’s very, very difficult to hire someone to do something when you don’t understand what you are asking them to do.

If you don’t understand how a website is put together and how it works it’s nearly impossible to hire someone to get the results you’re hoping for. A good website is also a constant work in progress. Knowing how to build and update your own website allows you to move quickly, respond to your market and work your business simply more effectively.

Taking Initiative doesn’t Mean

Taking initiative doesn’t mean you have to be a lone ranger and do it all solo. It means you have to be the captain of your ship. Don’t fear that control. Trust yourself and your instincts and learn as you go. Ask for help where you need it but never be afraid to get dirty and do the work yourself.

Don’t get me wrong here. I understand you are only one person. You can only do so much and that’s ok. What exactly you do is going to depend on your own interests, the business you choose and what works for you. Just make sure you use your Determination, Resilience and Initiative to keep moving in the right direction!

As I mentioned in the post, website design is in my opinion an essential skill for any online business owner. If you don’t know where to start I highly recommend WordPress for it’s ease of use, multitude of add-ons, simple integration with social media and constant improvements. Oh and did I mention it’s totally FREE!

I’d also like to invite you to sign up for the free mini-course I offer on how to set up your own WordPress Website in a matter of hours. Check it out here:
http://www.marketersmojo.com/freebies/courses/blogging/