Patience in Business Will Set You Apart (For Good Reason)

Remember the late 90s TV commercial where a group of employees are standing around a computer, turn on their e-commerce web site for the first time and orders immediately start to pour in? So many in fact they don’t know how they are going to fulfill all those orders. That ad was probably one of the most effective, yet destructive ads ever produced.

It was a destructive ad because it permanently convinced the American public that Internet commerce was immediate and infinite. Most believe even today that every online market is endless, and that the only limitation is technology itself. I continue to be amazed at the number of customers who come to me with that notion. Patience in business is one of the most important skill sets you can have as a small business owner.

Slow and Steady

The French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau once said, “Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.”

Patience and understanding is what I preach to my customers. Patience in business is critical because sustained online success takes time. There are concrete steps one should take to be successful online. Contrary to seemingly popular belief, you will not achieve online success overnight. It takes weeks, months, or maybe even years to build your business up and have consistent sales growth in your business.

Dedication and patience when starting a business is what will set your company apart. The small businesses that remain successful throughout the years are the ones who put in consistent, steady effort day after day.

Does this sound familiar? “I don’t know what happened. I hired a web firm to build my site, but once they were done I never saw any online business.”

We hear that one a lot. The truth of the matter is that companies usually have some form of online success (usually increased traffic) shortly after they launch their new site but are completely unaware of it, lose patience, and give up their effort. Although time frames for online success vary, it is not uncommon for companies to stop working and give-up on their web site after not seeing immediate results. This is unfortunately why so many small businesses don’t make it past a year.

Your website can be a powerful tool to help your business gain prominence in your market, if you continuously make an effort to maintain and improve it. It needs to be optimized, tested, redesigned, and improved continuously to keep up with the constant algorithm and online search changes.

If you’re in a rush to get leads or increase your ranking, you may overlook better long term investments or fall into blackhat SEO schemes. Take the time to put in the effort to build your business and your brand. Your relationships with your prospects, customers, and employees will all improve if they can repeatedly see your dedication to your website, your business, and your brand.

Know Your Website

Even though patience in business is critical to success, so is understanding what makes a successful website. We recommend focusing on the following:

* Identifying your UVP (unique value proposition)
* Content Development
* Search Visibility
* Targeted Traffic
* Conversions

In order to track your website’s success and reach, you need to set up a Google Analytics account and set specific metrics you want to track. Once you do this, you’ll be able to track your webpages’ popularity, the times when people view your site, how searchers navigate through your website and much more. If you don’t feel confident to set up and mange an analytics account alone, work with a professional internet marketing agency that can help keep you and your business on track.

When you decide to work with a new web company do yourself a favor and make sure you speak with an internet marketing professional from that company at least once every month to track your progress.

Be sure to spend some time understanding what is happening with the traffic on your web site through some form of web analytics. Analytics will help you understand where you are making progress and where you need to work harder on your site. This will lead to online success that will inspire you to continue to learn and grow your site and business.

In Conclusion

Creating a successful website and seeing consistent sales growth from it will take time, but it’s proportionate to the amount of effort you put in to managing it. Don’t give up if you’re not seeing results immediately.