This guest post by Don Silver is the FINAL post in the awesome VBL Guest Post Month!

To all of you who contributed, and those that have commented on all the excellent posts from everyone, thank you, sincerely, for making October such a great month – and the one with the most traffic EVER, here at Virtual Business Lifestyle

I’ll see you guys on Monday with my October ‘Virtual CEO’ Monthly Report!!!

In the real world of brick and mortar business, every day millions of people are dragging themselves from their comfortable beds, performing their morning rituals of washing and breakfast to head to their jobs. In their daily grind some are thinking that there must be a better and easier way to make a living.

All these millions know someone or know of someone who has “made it” by quitting their boring existence and become their own boss using their own computers in the comfort and ease of home.

While the idea of working from home sounds like an ideal solution, most are just not preparing. Many of these unhappy people will just quit their jobs and jump right into the first internet marketing business they find with no preparation, no knowledge of what they are doing, no education, and no hope of success. Failure is their only option and they are not even aware of it.

According to many sources, more than 90% (Ninety percent) of all Internet business start-ups end in failure within the first 120 (one hundred twenty) days. And that number is all too accurate: NINETY PERCENT!

This alarming failure rate goes unheeded for a number of reasons:

1. Many don’t know the statistical probabilities they face.
2. Many don’t see themselves as being part of the failures or they wouldn’t leap.
3. Many are talked into things they are unprepared for.
4. Many don’t know the basic tenant of – “If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.”

Of course, success is still a possibility. There IS that other 10% (ten percent) that do succeed. For them, success doesn’t happen by accident. And success isn’t just a crap shoot. Success happens because of some very important factors.

Success happens because people learn about internet marketing and how it works. They do not expect to get rich quick or be able to make a killing overnight and retire to a tropical isle.

It is strange but somehow the same people, who wouldn’t dream of starting a real world business, think they can make a go of an internet business even though they have no business background.

People think that an internet business just means that they no longer have to get up and go to work. They think they can simply work when the feel like it and still make a good living. They do not understand that any business requires them to work hard and sometimes work long hours.

Some Wrong Ideas on the Internet

That 90% failure rate of new Internet businesses really is not surprising when you think about the sort of people who start an internet business.

Most people seem to think that being a successful internet marketer is as easy as getting a website built and getting their own domain name and they could not be farther from reality.

Being a successful internet marketer requires self-discipline. People read books like “4 Hour Work Week” and think that partying all night, sleeping until noon and then 3 or 4 hours with a computer will make them rich.

There is not a magic button to push to have instant massive traffic to their million-dollar-like website and fistfuls of cash in their bank. It is just not going to happen.

Internet marketing does not run on auto-pilot. And while established internet marketing types do not put in the long, boring hours they have built their businesses by doing that in the past.

It does not happen overnight for anybody. Most people are not prepared for the time requirement necessary for an internet business to achieve success.

They Do Not Have a Business Background

All businesses whether large or small, Internet or “brick and mortar” have two things in common: they are a BUSINESS and must be operated like a business! Business people must understand accepted business practices.

There are simple and basic concepts like “acceptable over-head expenses in relation to projected income”. All entrepreneurs need to understand profit and loss and what constitutes each.

It is not a requirement to have a college degree in business to be successful but it wouldn’t hurt. On the other hand some basic business knowledge is an absolute necessity.

If it is difficult to balance your check book, then it might be a good idea to keep your day job and forget about being in business.

Yes, you can hire an accounting firm that will tell you WHEN to make tax deposits, but they will not tell you IF you need to make tax deposits.

An accountant can tell you if you made a profit but not how you make it. If you have no business background get some good business advice before you consider opening any business.

The fact is that all successful businesses follow the rules of sound business principles. A successful business is not an accident. The numbers tell the story that only 10% of all new internet businesses are successful or are even still in existence after their first 120 days.

Even the expectation of profit is not reasonable for the first few month.

Have sufficient resources available for everything from startup costs to personal needs for a period of time. It’s called “capital” and there is no alternative to plenty of it.

They Do Not Have The Right Mindset!

Most of us have heard the phrase, “He has an attitude!” And it is often a derogatory remark made about a person with a negative attitude.

The word “attitude” is important when thinking about marketing start-ups. A good attitude or a good mind set will not guarantee success but a bad attitude or a bad mind set can guarantee failure.

Let’s examine a few attitudes that will absolutely guarantee failure:

1. I can work when I want to. This is absolutely wrong! You cannot just work when it suits you. Expect many long and sometimes boring hours of hard work for your business to succeed.
2. I can get rich quick! This is a dangerous one. While getting rich quick is possible, there are too many “get rich quick” schemes that are only ways for the unscrupulous to take advantage of the willing. Expect to be wealthy in whatever time it takes. It is possible to make a very comfortable living in internet marketing but it is not usually quick or easy.
3. I don’t need a business plan. Internet business is still a business. All business principles apply to online business as they do to brick and mortar business. It is imperative that you have a plan for your success based on sound business principles.
4. Internet business people do not have a boss. You are the boss. A good boss sees that all work is completed on time and in full, or you will fail. Set up a work schedule and goals to meet or you will find yourself working at a job under a boss who does do those things and maybe for minimum wage.

Ways to Avoid Failure

Starting a business … any business … has no guarantee of success, period!

Even large multi-national businesses can fail in a new business venture. Failure is always an option and the possibility or probability of success can be enhanced.

You can increase your possibility of success by:

1. Making a business plan BEFORE starting your online business. To remind you one of the things I said at the beginning: “If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.” A plan for success is a requirement. Have the steps listed in great detail including reasonable cost estimates for completing each step.
2. Expect to work hard to achieve your goals. Never expect things to be easy. Most of the time things are not as easy as they appear. Each successive step will require its own work, time and patience. Sometimes things don’t go right on the first try. Be willing to keep going again and again until you succeed.
3. Do not fall for a get-rich-quick schemes. The internet woods are full of those who prey upon those who are looking for quick and easy ways to become rich. Most are ways for the other person to get rich quick from your money.

Remember those statistics! Ninety percent of all new internet businesses fail in the first 120 days. You don’t have to be part of that majority. You can become a part of that 10% minority of successful internet business enterprises. Find something that others are having success with – to the level you want your own success, do what they do, and you will have your own success. Be prepared to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes.

Don Silver – Luxury Vagabond, world traveler, entrepreneur, big thinker and writer of thought provoking articles. More information and assorted links at: www.donsilver.info