In online marketing, everyone wants a formula, a rulebook if you will. People want to be told exactly how they can make money, and how they can do it with as little work as possible. This is a natural human disposition that isn’t necessarily something to be ashamed of, but it’s a mindset you need to move away from.

Sure, there are processes for making money online; building affiliate sites, selling products, contextual ads, etc. These things all work. However, what sets the truly great marketers apart from the rest of the pack? Why are the people selling their $997 online course making more money from their methods than their students?

It’s called creativity.

Creativity is horribly underrated in online marketing. Unfortunately, no one is making this clear. It’s simply not in the interests of most marketers to say – “Well you could buy my course, but it probably won’t make you much money unless you use your creativity”. They’re not going to sell as many products, and you’re probably going to look for a different option that doesn’t require creativity.

You’re probably thinking that you don’t know how to be creative. This mindset has been created by years of marketers selling “The step-by-step system to generate huge passive income streams”.

Instead of thinking in this way, you’ve got to start thinking outside the box, and you’re business is going to be vastly more successful because of it.

Do you know how the most successful marketers get millions of visitors from search engine traffic? They use creativity. They don’t just do what every other chump is doing, because otherwise they’d be in exactly the same situation as them. They don’t necessarily work hard, they just use their brain! They innovate with their link building strategy, they find loopholes to generate buzz and traffic to their website, and they keep doing it.

There are loopholes in every market. Each niche has its own intricacies and things that you can exploit to make your business wildly successful. Why is there no step by step guide for you to follow? Because every niche is different! No one can tell you how to completely dominate the “Weight Loss” niche, you need to find that out for yourself. If someone knew, they certainly wouldn’t tell you. There are people who have used their creativity to create massive brands that dominate huge niches without spending millions to do it.

How many marketers do you know that put their success down to reading some SEO manual? How many millionaires tell you that they followed a step-by-step guide to build their business? None, because there aren’t any.

If you don’t use your creativity, you’re not going to fulfil your potential. If you’ve had some success with online marketing, think back to what really made you money. You’ll almost certainly remember a few little innovations and creative touches that you used to set yourself apart from the competition or to generate more revenue.

Creativity is everywhere. You don’t have to be an artist or have a brilliant mind, you just have to use what you’ve got. Grab a piece of paper and start jotting down ideas relating to your latest business venture. I guarantee that you’ll come up with at least one idea that you can put into action straight away. Within an hour you could have dozens of potential ideas that will completely transform your business.

Stop looking for answers in the latest money-making course. You might find a great way to make money, but imagine what you could do if you added your own creativity to that method – you could be wildly successful.

Think about this. When you read a self help manual, it’s not going to tell you everything that will change your own life. It will give you general guidelines for improving your life, for improving anyone’s life. You then have to put those guidelines into action and apply them to your own life.

This is what you have to do in marketing. You can take an idea, but you have to apply it to your own business. You have to mould it to suit your business, otherwise it’s just not going to work as well as it could.

Here are some questions to get you started:

Creative ways to generate revenue – Is Adsense your only option? Have you thought about a premium membership for your website? How about creating a small product related to your site? Are you giving your visitors what they are looking for? Are you building a list? Where is the money coming from in your niche?

Creative link building – What is unique about your niche? How do people interact in your market? Are there lots of blogs, or news sites? Who are the authorities in your niche, and how can you help them? How are the big players in your market getting traction?

Creative content – What are your visitors really looking for? What would cause controversy? What are people afraid to talk about? What different types of content can you create? What creates linkbait in your particular niche?

Creative branding - What sets your site apart from your competition? Do you talk to your customers about your brand? What is exciting about your business? How are you using social media?

Creative marketing – What are people passionate about in your niche? Why not create a hilarious Facebook group related to your niche? Are your banner ads boring and stale? What is your message, and how does it differ from your competition?

You have to start asking yourself these questions. There are potentially thousands of them, and each one could give you a great idea. Most people are stuck in a rut when it comes to online business. Either they start with a basic formula that isn’t working, or they spend their whole time trying to think of a killer idea and never get started. Why not combine the two? Start with a basic formula and then add your own killer ideas to it once you start seeing it take shape. This is a million times easier and far more successful.

Adding creativity to an established business is incredibly powerful, and it’s why some people are so hugely successful, while others are stuck struggling to get by. Don’t overlook the fact that creativity is fun. Doing the same mundane tasks all day will not stimulate your mind. Finding exciting ways to transform your business will give you the motivation and stimulation to make serious money.

Selling on the internet is neither automatic nor a guaranteed success. Although thousands of businesses of all sizes have made a success of it, many more have tried and failed. What’s the difference? More often than not, ecommerce sites are most successful when a successful marketing campaign is consistently in place. If people don’t know about you, they’re not going to be able to come and shop – it’s as simple as that. And even if you do have a marketing campaign in place there’s little to stop customers who bought from you in the past from not returning because your competitors’ marketing efforts are getting their attention. Here are 7 essential tips for ecommerce marketing that will help you develop the online business you deserve.

1. Product feeds: One of the best ways to get the word out about your products is through the use of Google Marketplace (formerly Google Base). This free service allows businesses to either upload an XML file or submit a live feed that displays all your products, pricing and images in Google’s search results. This way, every time a Google user looks for something you have, you have a chance to make the sale. Sure, not everyone will click through to your site, but at least you’re getting your products out there to compete for clicks.

2. Customer reviews: Make sure your site has an easy to use interface where customers can create reviews of the products you sell. Their, opinions and experiences can be shared and that can be very helpful information to your future shoppers. Besides providing content that enhances the value of your site to visitors, customer-provided reviews boost your search engine standings since the search engines like to see a steady stream of new content.

3. Be SEO conscious: It’s well known that both the structure and content of a website can affect the way it is viewed by Google and the other search engines. Therefore, SEO is a constant effort of evaluation and correction. Make sure you have relevant keywords and phrases so that people searching for products like yours can find you. Also, simple on-site optimization techniques such as creating internal linking, using header tags and having relevant metadata can make or break an ecommerce site.

4. Make your policies easy to find: One of the biggest reasons for customers abandoning their shopping is the unavailability of vital information. Customers want to know about shipping costs, processing times, payment methods, return policies, contact information and privacy. In sort, everything that you’d like to see when shopping should be part of your Web site. You can even make the transparency and accessibility of your store’s information one of your marketing points.

5. Encourage repeat customers: As with regular businesses, the majority of the marketing dollars are spent attracting new customers. Once someone becomes a customer, it’s a lot cheaper and more effective to get them to come back than it is to get another new customer. That’s why you should send out regular newsletters that have company and product news and special offers for returning customers. This helps you establish a customer base rather than trying to rely on one time customers for your livelihood.

6. Use social media sites: You might be weary of hearing about Facebook and Twitter, but if that’s where your customers are, that’s where you need to be. Social media presents great opportunities for people to learn about your products and follow your store inside the Web site where they spend much of their time. Some stores have even made it easy to buy their products directly from their Facebook presence, so customers don’t even have to leave Facebook to shop.

7. Get others on board: Every store should have money budgeted for marketing, so why not use some of that money to get other people marketing for you? By setting up an affiliate program, you pay other people for delivering clicks to your site and sales from your store. Some Internet users make their living but doing nothing else than directing traffic to their affiliates. This is a great way to boost sales and get constant, high quality traffic to your site.

This guest post was written by Tom Walker, a blogger who works with an online supplier of HP 300 inks and refills as well as other supplies. He is a regular contributor to their blog where he writes about advertising and design.

We know! Yes we know! We know that some people are making a living online, we know that some people can afford any of their monetary desires from their earnings online but the question remains, Why Can’t You?

Why can’t you make a living online? Why are you struggling for success while you see others reach greater and greater heights, seemingly with ease?

Do not despair! There is no hype here because I am not trying to market anything to you but I want to tell you five things you need to do if you want to start making money online.

1. You Have Not Started: Yes! You have not started, you haven’t made an attempt yet, you haven’t even raised a finger, you are just reading the same things again and again but you are yet to implement any of what you read. Take action today and you can now focus on the next step.

2. Overcome Your Fears: I know that feeling that feels like it can almost swallow you whole! But it isn’t supposed to be so. Let me ask you! Why are you afraid? Try to think over it again and again and you will see that there is no justifiable reason for you to fear. Eliminate your fears, believe you can achieve it, forget about your tomorrow… just think today, Implement your ideas and you will have a much better chance of reaching your goals.

3. Information Overload: How often do you just try to read and read and read until you don’t know what to do?Utilize what is in your head and decide to follow one strategy to the fullest before you embark on another one. When you read 10 different ebooks on affiliate marketing, blogging, freelancing etc, you will get to the realization that you don’t know where to start. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying reading is bad, it is necessary at times… but what I am saying is keep implementing as you are reading in order to avoid analysis paralysis.

4. Understand That Mistakes Are Necessary: You will have problems when you start out – most do and a perfect start is almost impossible. Learn to make mistakes and learn from your mistakes. In fact, continually testing and tweaking because of mistakes will refine your skills and eventually make you great. If things are going along too smoothly, what are you learning?

5. Be Patient: Have you ever heard that success doesn’t come overnight? Well, you heard it right. You have to be patient and wait to see the results of what you have been doing; the common phrase states that people stop digging just before they hit gold. The fact that everything isn’t going on well now doesn’t mean you have to quit, try and fix your mistakes before dropping your project that looks doomed to fail and be patient – without this you will not make money online.

The following are five things you NEED to do to start making money online, try and implement them and you are sure to see success.

Onibalusi Bamidele is a 16 year old student and blogger who passionately believes success is all about providing value, visit his online success blog to see what he has for you.

I have been listening to a lot of keynotes lately by entrepreneurs, especially ones by Gary Vaynerchuk. He’s accomplished so much and his philosophy is to do what you love, work your tail off, care about your customers, and you will be able to monetize. Hearing this from someone who came from Russia with no money to build a 60 million dollar company in Wine Library is very inspirational advice. Its advice I myself have taken, but many people still question how they can do the same thing he did with their business? Like any business, becoming successful takes time and it’s not going to happen overnight unless you work for it. Granted, people here this all the time and it’s obvious, but does anyone truly understand where businesses are headed today?

Gary has stressed the starting an online business is so easy that anyone can do it. There’s no cost to start up like there used to be. So, what better way to get a company started? Free to start and you don’t need a facility. I think anyone can appreciate the simplicity in that. Businesses are headed in a direction where the old way we remember businesses being are becoming no more. Now you may be wondering, what does this mean?

Well, with everyone having the ability to start a business online, you take a business like newspapers. Most people are reading the news online and the need to buy a physical newspaper isn’t in demand like it was 10 years ago. When companies put coupons for discounts off their products in both the newspapers and online, where do you think most people are going to get that coupon off of? Quite simple, it’s the internet. The internet business is taking over physical businesses to be as straight forward as possible. This doesn’t go for all businesses, but with customers being able to purchase products online, they are less likely to go to the location of the business. Why would they? It’s easier to do things online.

Online businesses become more and more accessible as the internet grows by the years. I think businesses that aren’t making a presence online are seriously missing out. There’s so much potential revenue from companies online just as there is at their current location. Today, the money is predominantly coming from their online business. Having an online business is being served to practically the entire world as more people each day engage with each other online. Those companies that are hesitant to bring their company online aren’t only limiting themselves from making more money, but they are being ignorant! The internet is a space where we as people live. Your company will have more luck converting your customer to a sale online than doing it at a location. This isn’t to say that physical businesses can’t make money anymore because they definitely can, however they need to realize the direction businesses are heading. If they fail to acknowledge this, they will be eaten alive by the competition.

So the question is, where is your company positioned in the marketplace? Can you be found online as well as at current location? Please be aware that this is a fact with where companies are heading. It’s not a joke and it’s where many individuals are making their careers off of. My three takeaways that any new or current business should be aware of are as follows…

1. You are not a dominant company today if you don’t have a presence online. The world we live in is changing and growing. You must understand that even though your company may make millions of dollars at your facility, you have the potential to double that with an online presence.
2. Your cost to startup up your business online is NOTHING. For those that run their business through a facility, think how much you paid to start that and business and compare that to ZERO.
3. Listen to keynotes by Gary Vaynerchuk to get an even in depth description of why online businesses are the way to go and why anyone can do it!

Frank Angelone is the founder of Social Tech Zone. He provides individuals and businesses the news and tips they need to better interact with social networks and technology.

Have you ever impulsively jumped on a great new idea to make money only to find that your enthusiasm dwindled after the first week or two? Have you started a hobby that a friend got you fired up about, dropping a big investment to get started, but soon after you completely lost interest?

In order for an activity or goal to sustain itself long enough to be successful through life’s ups and downs, there must be meaning or a passion behind it. This love of your work, relationship, hobby or practice is the glue that will keep you cherishing your wins and picking yourself up after your losses as you progress on your path toward success. When an activity or goal has meaning to you, you are more likely to give your heart and soul to this cause, making sure that you stay focused, labor over every detail, and absorb yourself in every moment. When you spend time on efforts that really matter to you, it’s much more probable that you’ll make the commitment that’s necessary to build a lasting entity.

Millions of people desire to leave the confines of the corporate world to start their own business. Even though they fantasize about the idea of freedom, they become paralyzed with fear at the thought of leaving a safe, secure job. I talk to people all day that tell me they are feeling empty as if something is missing in their daily lives. They spend three quarters of their lives at a job void of soul and passion. Their creativity and drive are buried so deep within them they feel numb and shut down. The status quo, title and a paycheck are not enough anymore. They have upped the ante. They now want to be inspired and fulfilled with purpose in their home and work life.

Then there are those who have taken the haphazard plunge into a business that they are not passionate about, and find themselves feeling like they have fallen into the drudge of yet another boring job. What was once their mission becomes their biggest nightmare. After a few years of being disillusioned they opt to throw in the towel. This does not need to happen!

When the purpose of your business matters to you on a deeper level, your efforts will endure. And when you reach your meaningful goals, success will feel like a shining glory. When you have built something you can be proud of, something you are completely passionate about, the satisfaction is not only in the outcome, it’s in the day-to-day process. If you’re only working toward the destination and not reveling in the journey, you miss out on the abundance of life. When you are only focused on the goal , you may find yourself thinking, “Is that all there is?” while feeling empty, sad and bored, and once again, unfulfilled.

What’s the difference between those entrepreneurs who are optimistic and moving forward and those who are just getting by? I believe that much of it has to do with how you view the glass – half full or half empty. George Sheehan (author, track star, cardiologist), once said, “Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be.” People with a positive outlook and a life plan don’t get off the track when things change – they just change tracks.

As a life and business strategist, I spend a great deal of time helping clients tap into their passions, and then guiding them to create a business that reflects their inner purpose and dreams. Particularly in this economy, if you are a business owner that is having some slower weeks or months, it is crucial that you stay connected to your mission and why you started the business in the first place. If the business is only about making money, there is not much heart or soul to draw from to get you through.

Here are a few tips to feeding the soul in yourself and your business.

• Surround yourself with inspiring and motivating people. You may find that your usual crew begins to lean toward the negative side of life when times get tougher. Seek out those people who are supportive of your goals. Join groups or seek counseling to keep you motivated and accountable.
• Be Easy on yourself. Change and transformation can bring up all sorts of good, bad and ugly stuff. When you feel yourself struggling, take a break. When you have small successes, give yourself kudos for all your hard work and continue to move on toward your bigger visions and dreams.
• Start now. You don’t want to look back in ten years and realize that you’re still at the same place in your life then as now. Even if you love your life now, growth is a necessary part of your evolvement on this planet. Every single day of your life is precious. Embrace it, and those you love, to the fullest.

Once you finally connect with something that has meaning to you, and your internal passion regarding this is accessed and utilized, your once deadened perception and reality will be pumped with new and energized life blood. I call this your Secret Spark, a perfect mix of meaning and passion that enlivens your life purpose and gives you the drive and stick-to-it-ness to make things happen. When you discover the soul in your business, your work will become stimulating and fun, and you’ll be immersed in your satisfying activity and lose track of time.

Dreams are gifts of the soul.
We need to make every effort
to cherish them, to live them.
Otherwise they only surface in our sleep.
A soulful life is an awakening
and actualizing of our
deepest dreams within.

~Allison Maslan

Allison Maslan, HHP, CCH has been an entrepreneur for the past 25 years and has a vibrant array of nine successful businesses to her credit. She is an author, life and business strategist, homeopathic physician and international speaker. Her book, Blast Off! The Surefire Success Plan To Launch Your Dreams Into Reality launches on January 19 2010.

This is a guest post from Lynn Terry of ClickNewz, successful internet marketer for well over a decade, and blogging full-time for more than five years…

A lot of online marketers view Social Media properties as a means of getting traffic to their blog or website, or as a way to get inbound links. This creates a lot of noise in the social media spaces, flooding info streams on sites like Facebook and Twitter.

You can push content out, pull feeds in, use software programs to automate your processes. Auto DM’s on Twitter for example, are a robot-like way to “connect” with your new followers. Or so people think…

I’m all for automation and systems in my online business, and use them strategically. I use post-dating features in WordPress to schedule blog posts, autoresponders to follow up with new customers or subscribers, and scheduled email notifications for my readers to receive my latest blog updates.

But with Social Media, standing out from the noise in your readers’ info-stream is extremely important. If you really want to stand apart, and connect with your target audience, consider these 5 important elements in your Social Media strategy:

1. Reply/Respond – First!

I check in daily on my Social Media properties, my favorites being Twitter & Facebook, and I focus in on replies and mentions. You may not have time to get involved in the active stream of updates from others, but you’ll do well just to reply to any tweets or replies. The same with Facebook – I check first for any new messages on my wall, or replies to my own wall posts.

No matter how good your information is, if you only push out content and never respond to replies or questions… you’ll quickly become part of the noise in their info-stream. Ignore, and you’ll be ignored.

2. Be Resourceful, Not Just Self-Promotional

To be a true Market Leader in your niche, you’ll want to be the “go-to guy” for all things relevant. Break news, share blog posts you’re reading, retweet or share updates from other Market Leaders in your space.

While you may think “hey, I’ll be promoting my competitors!”, the truth is that you’ll providing valuable content to your readers. They will appreciate the updates, and make it a point to keep an eye on your for more interesting links.

Obviously you’ll mix your own updates and links in with these, and the end result is that you’re considered a valuable resource. Not just self-promotional.

3. Engage, Ask Questions

In addition to sharing solid information on a regular basis, and responding to any comments or questions, you also want to be the discussion-starter. Ask your friends & followers questions, or engage them in an active discussion about a hot topic.

If you’re niche is Time Management, ask them which techniques they use and like to manage their busy schedules. If your niche is Gift Ideas, ask them the best gift they’ve ever given – or received. You get the idea.

People like to be heard. Giving them an ear will ensure they also give you theirs.

4. Let Your Readers Do The Promotion

Be sure that you include Social Media options with your content that encourages your readers to Stumble, Digg, Tweet, bookmark your page, or share your content on Facebook.

While publishing your own links on your own profiles is a good strategy, what other’s share and say about you will carry much more weight than what you share or say yourself. Make it easy!

5. Join Conversations About You, Your Site & Your Products

There are several ways to track conversations across the web. You’ll want to set up Google Alerts for your name, your domain(s), and your product titles. This will send you an email alert of any blog posts or mentions so that you can view them and join in on those discussions.

Posting a simple “thank you for the mention” is a good start, but you can also check for issues or questions that need to be addressed. Don’t let a conversation about your product hang out there without acknowledgment.

In addition to Google Alerts, you can set up a column in TweetDeck for an ongoing search of keyword mentions. You can also use http://search.twitter.com to search manually.

One of my personal favorites is http://www.ubervu.com which allows you to track mentions and conversations across all of Social media – including FriendFeed, YouTube, Twitter, Blogs & Blog Comments, etc. UberVU is especially helpful as it tracks links even when they are shortened by TinyURL or Bit.ly

6. Be You, Not Your Brand

Even if you are using Social Media to promote a company and/or a brand, you want to be the human element behind that logo or username. Make sure that people know who you are, and how to address you personally as a start.

As an example, I follow @Aweber on Twitter. But I also follow @JustinPremick – Director of Education Marketing at Aweber. It’s Justin that I usually have personal conversations with regarding Aweber features or specific services they offer.

People like to do business with people.

There is a big difference between being ON Social Media properties, and being engaged in Social Media.

You may not have time to read every single tweet from every single person you are following, or keep up with your Facebook friends’ hourly updates. But you can organize your information streams strategically, and focus on industry news & events to share with your followers and friends.

And if nothing else make sure you respond to every conversation about you, to you, or in direct response to your updates. Being accessible and personally engaged is what will make you truly stand out from all of the Social Media noise – head and shoulders above your competition.

Best,

See Lynn’s own Twitter Marketing Strategy and Internet Marketing Blog for even more great tips on Social Media & online business success.

So you want to write an ebook – and are eager to get going. But wait! There are a few simple things you need to do first to make sure your project goes smoothly and fast.

1. Research what’s available

Before you set out to create your content, survey the marketplace. See what others in your niche are doing. Study their process. Look at their quality and depth of their content offering.

Then, decide how you are going to DIFFERENTIATE yourself, set yourself apart from the crowd and become someone special in that niche.

2. Brainstorm

In free-style, jot down notes about what you are going to offer prospects in your niche. Just list things without worrying about details. Rely on your expertise and knowledge. Think about what kind of value you can add to your audience.

3. Arrange your content

After you have listed all the pieces of content you plan creating or offering to your prospects, the next step is to arrange them into some kind of structure.

• What will you give/create first?
• What will follow it with?
• What more will you give people who have already got this?
• What is your next step, and how will it benefit your audience?

4. Decide how much to give

• You may know enough about a subject to fill 10 volumes. But are you going to share all of it?
• Or will you give some, and withhold the rest?
• Or will you use part of it as a ‘teaser’ sample, to entice some prospects to pay you to learn more?
• How much will you be writing or recording on a topic?
• Will you have articles of 500 words? Or will your ebooks be 50 to 60 pages long?
• And will you create one new report every week, or month, or less often?

5. Plan who will create your content

If you intend outsourcing your content, identify your writers or creative people and have them tested and trained before you begin. I’ve had multiple projects stalled because the people I hired couldn’t deliver, or had to quit for some reason or another.

6. Set timelines and schedules

Having a goal and deadline for each component of your infopreneur project will guarantee it gets done, and done on time.

Decide how much content you will get done on a daily or weekly basis. Create a system to monitor and track progress. Without such a system, you will get hopelessly lost and fall behind.

= = = =

About the author:

Dr.Mani is the author of “Which Niche Will Make YOU Rich?”, a step by step guide to identify hot profitable niches easily. Read about the BIGGEST mistake in information marketing, and how to avoid making it http://InfoProfitz.com/guides/whichniche.htm
–

I want you to take a moment and think about what brings you joy. What are you truly passionate about? What makes you come alive?

Is it cooking? Helping people? Reducing poverty? Perhaps all three?

Close your eyes and imagine yourself living a life in which you pursue your passions without fear.

(Why are you reading? I told you to close your eyes.)

How does this make you feel?

Feels good eh?

If your goal is to become a successful entrepreneur or even to be happy for that matter, it is essential that you follow your passions wherever they may lead.

Simply existing is no longer acceptable. Today is the greatest time to be alive. More people than ever are consciously choosing to follow their passions and making a solid living in doing so. What’s your excuse?

Too often we fill our lives with people and things we cannot stand , leaving us to live an unfulfilled life.  The key to living an amazing life is to follow your passions. Your passions awaken the powerful force that resides inside you.

One of the reasons I have chosen to pursue the path of entrepreneurship is because it gives me the chance to live the life I love. That’s not to say entrepreneurship is easy.

Following  your passions doesn’t mean that life will be wonderful 24/7.  Life will never be obstacle free, you will always have to PERSEVERE, and will continue to face numerous setbacks along your life journey, however when you follow your passions setbacks are only temporary.

The world needs people who put their passions first and security second, for those are the people who will solve the problems of the world.

What are your passions?

The greatest thing you can ever decide to do is discover and live your life passions. When you follow your passions you then inspire others to do the same. Imagine a world in which everyone pursued their passions.

Quit living an unfulfilled life by simply going through the motions. It is time you summoned the courage and followed your dreams.

Are you living your passions? If not, what are you waiting for?

Bud Hennekes is a 17 year old blogger and aspiring young entrepreneur. His hobbies vary depending the day, but more often than not he enjoys reading, authentic conversation, meditating, blogging, and growing. He is the owner of www.aboundlessworld.com

If you take a look at all the young entrepreneurs who have made it to the list of rich and famous, you’ll find that they’ve mostly made their money online, through applications and programs for the Internet. Their success has spurred on others to take up the challenge and see if they can be the next Mark Zuckerburg (Facebook) or Chad Hurley (YouTube).

But not everyone has it in them to be an entrepreneur, even though they may be brilliant geniuses [Stan's Note: I do not agree with this comment] What it does take to be an entrepreneur is:

Guts

When you aspire to become an entrepreneur straight out of college or before you’ve left your twenties, when you’re ready to go it alone without seeking the safety net of a regular job and a month to month salary, you need to be courageous and gutsy. You can achieve success only if you’re confidence level is high and if you’re relatively sure of your capability, come what may.

Fearlessness

You need to be willing to take the necessary risks that are a part and parcel of any business venture. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. If you’re hesitant about taking a large leap based on your intuition, you’re going to lose out on opportunities. You also need to be ready to deal with failure, because as clichéd as it sounds, failure is indeed a stepping stone to success. You can learn much from your failures if you treat each one as a new experience that allows you to prevent the mistakes you made in the past.

Caution

Even when you take risks on one hand, you need to tread with caution on the other depending on the situation and people involved. The best way to do both is to learn to read situations and people and then trust your instincts to tell you the best way to go.

Money

If you have your own money as seed capital, well and good. If you don’t, you need to arrange enough to cover your start-up costs. You may be working out of a single room, but your experiments and market research will cost you money.

Business Acumen

I’ve listed this last, but it is by no means the least important of the list. It’s not enough that you’re a genius who has the best ideas there are in the business, you need to know how the business end of the deal works. If it’s not in your blood, hire someone or join forces with a friend who complements your genius with their business acumen.

Any business venture needs great ideas and a whole lot of persistence and dedication in order to succeed. If you think you have it in you to be an entrepreneur, go ahead and try your luck. After all, how will you know if you’re good at it if you don’t even try?

This post was contributed by Tiffany Davis, who writes about top online college courses. She welcomes your feedback at TiffanyMDavis82 at gmail.com

Do you often find yourself giving up when things get tough? Do you retreat to your shell when adversity comes your way?

Perhaps it’s time you work on your perseverance.

If you’re dedicated to becoming  a star-studded entrepreneur (and reading this leads me to believe you are) learning to persevere is essential.

What is perseverance?

Let us first determine what perseverance is NOT:

Perseverance is not continually failing without learning something along the way.

Perseverance is not a half-assed effort put forth in hopes of producing a different result (as a matter of fact, Albert Einstein once said “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”)

Perseverance is not whining and complaining about how “bad” you have it.

So what IS perseverance?

Perseverance is failing and learning from your mistakes.

Perseverance is giving everything you have until you’ve reached your goal (or moved on to bigger and better things.)

Perseverance is remaining positive during your life’s journey even during the toughest of times.

Some examples of perseverance:

Suffering a serious setback (such as an injury) and using it as motivation to win the next track race.

Having your book idea rejected numerous times before it hits the best-selling list (Chicken Soup ring a bell?)

Continuing to follow your dreams even when no one believes in you.

Emailing guru’s of your niche (multiple times) so you can interview them. (Gee.. sounds familiar.. doesn’t it? eMillions anyone?)

Perseverance is what separates the lions from the cubs. The professionals from the amateurs.  The successful from the unsuccessful. Without it, you are merely one of the millions of want-to-be-entrepreneurs.

While that may seem depressing, consider this: Once you begin to develop and learn to persevere you become light years ahead of the millions who just give up. What are you waiting for?

Entrepreneurship is for the strong willed only. Becoming an entrepreneur is NOT easy. Any belief otherwise is simply an illusion. Becoming a entrepreneur requires a great deal of hard work, but the benefits of financial freedom and calling your own shots is an incredible pay off. You don’t need anyone telling you how much value you can or cannot create. You deserve to be free.

One of the most important lessons I have ever learned is that, success is a mindset, it’s as simple as that. As human beings, we have the wonderful ability to consciously choose our response to any situation. This means we have the ability to choose how we react to anything that is thrown our way this includes the toughest of situations. We can choose to whine and blame others, or we can choose to accept our blows and keep pushing on.

The most successful entrepreneurs aren’t the one’s who had all the “lucky” breaks. In-fact the majority of successful entrepreneurs faced numerous setbacks (being homeless etc.) The successful entrepreneurs see a “setback” and say “setback? no problem” and use it as motivation to succeed.

I’m not saying you have to be motivated all the time. I’m not suggesting that you can’t have a few down days. I’m not suggesting you will never fail. You will. That’s part of being human. However, letting setbacks and obstacles dictate the intensity of your dreams is not. Setbacks are temporary. Do you have the strength to overcome them?

Learning to persevere not only will help you in becoming a successful entrepreneur but will also benefit you in other facets of  life. Hiding from your fears is not something to be proud of.

How many times have you wanted to walk from something you loved just because it got tough?
How many times have you wanted to break up with your loved one just because you  had one  big fight?
How many times have you called it quits, stopping just short of reaching your goal?

Sure it’s easy to give up and walk away, but that’s the way of mediocrity. You don’t want to be mediocre do you?

Stop giving up so easily. Stop looking for excuses to call it quits. Keep pushing down the path of greatness, and one day you might just achieve it.

Bud Hennekes is a 17 year old blogger and aspiring young entrepreneur. Born in California, he currently resides in Shanghai and has a passion in personal development. He blogs at AboundlessWorld.com