Selling on the Internet - Lesson Two

Selling on the Internet

Lesson Number Two: A 10 Hour Workday
 (But with All the TV You Can Watch)

One thing about being in business for yourself and working at home is that you can roll out of bed in your pj's, turn on the computer and get to work before even brushing your teeth, bathing or even eating.  My one requirement while I am working is that the TV be on.  I love silence but since I have this stupid "hum" in my unit, I need background noise to drown out the low decibel level thrum.  So the minute the computers are on (yes, I have 2 going at once) the TV begins its daily start up as well.  

Now I have to admit, it's not often I just roll out of bed and begin work - I mean, you have to have some discipline in life, right?  So once all the "morning necessities" are finished, off to work I go.  I usually am in position at the computer around 10am as I am a late sleeper (but I am also a night owl) so I do only sleep around 8 to 9 hours a night depending on what time I get to bed (and how hard I worked that day).  

So once the computer is on, I set up the sites I will be working on, check the e-mail, pull down my photos and start work.  I always start with Ruby Lane first as the site is my bread and butter.  After about 4 or 5 hours there I might switch to Etsy, Ebay or my own web site.  After a few hours on those sites (and a brief stop for lunch) then I can do Facebook or Pinterest or Instagram (I'm still trying to figure that out) or my Blog.  In other words, there is always something to do on a "work" day.  

It's Sunday today and it's a clear bright day outside, the first in many a day so I will also probably try to shoot at least 100 pictures for downloading to the computer.  This way, I keep one step ahead of not running out of pictures of items to sell.  I think picture download is really the most important thing to keep up on - as long as you have pics on your computer, you can just sit down and start listing.  And to stay in business these days you either have to present new inventory to clients each day on your main site or keep "refreshing" old listings often.  Since Ruby Lane has a 1-day wait on getting your photos processed, you have to rely on the photos you listed the day before in order to garner sales.  EBAY still drops listings immediately as does ETSY and of course, your own web site is an immediate drop though it does take time for GOOGLE to pick up on your items.  So, in a nutshell today's lesson is LIST LIST LIST!  Without listings you get no lookers, no sales and therefore no income.  So if you are thinking about doing the Internet for a living - be reminded, it is not a sporadic "hobby", you really have to work at it.  

Watching TV while working may be the bonus in working at home and for yourself but in order to earn that privilege you have to discipline yourself to be in front of the computer a minimum of 7 hours a day, 5 to 7 days a week.  Remember, this is going to be your job for as long as you want it to be. And believe me, you will be very happy not having someone screaming at you to do something you don't want to do!

Till next time.