There are some things that I just can\’t do.
Actually, there are lots of things that I just can\’t do.
My coding is pretty poor. My singing skills are never going to win any talent shows.
And I can\’t create any more Joel Comms.
I know when I speak in front of an audience, there will be some people thinking, \”I want to be like that. I want to create an Internet business too.\”
That\’s fine. One of the biggest motivations for driving to the office every day is knowing that a big part of my work involves coaching others. I love doing it. I love the talks and the workshops and the seminars and the books. It\’s fun and I get a real kick out of knowing that I\’m helping to deliver skills learned from experience to people with ambition and entrepreneurial drive.
Nothing beats hearing back from someone I\’ve coached who\’s gone on to build a hugely successful business. It happens and it\’s always a thrill when it does.
But none of those businesses ever look anything like mine.
They\’ve had things in common. Some of the revenues might come from websites optimized with AdSense. Some of the sales might be based on trust built with Twitter. Once the first site was up and running that entrepreneur might have expanded into membership sites, forums, affiliate relationships and all of the other techniques that I\’ve used and explained.
But they\’ll be in different niches with different strategies and they\’ll all apply my ideas in slightly different ways.
That\’s important because every business is different. Every business is unique and every business owner has to discover their own way and the methods that work best for them.
I – and other business coaches – can explain what we did that worked for us. We can lay out the guidelines and the paths that usually lead from attempt to achievement. But the only way that anyone can ever walk that path themselves is by trying different approaches, tracking results, tweaking their efforts and trying again. That\’s the most important lesson that any business coach can ever deliver, especially when it comes to building an Internet business.
Carrying out those tests won\’t turn anyone into a Joel Comm. But they will help to give you a successful business, and that\’s a much better goal!