With all the doom and gloom surrounding the Dot Com meltdown
over the past year, it seems that fear has replaced optimism
for many people who are trying to make a living in cyberspace.
No doubt, there is quite a bit to be pessimistic about in
today's post-Web stock mania crash environment. But on the
other hand, a lot of the fears and anxieties that I often see
expressed by Webmasters are often overblown and are not rooted
in reality. The fact is: it's a big enough challenge these
days building a successful site, without burdening yourself
with unreasonable worries. Here are some of the more common
fears that I've encountered:
1.
"The party's over and I arrived too late to stake my claim
in cyberspace."
Reality: It's true that the heady days of easy
money and instant Dot Com millionaires are behind us, (at
least for now). But the fact is, the Web is still a young
medium and it still has enormous potential that hasn't even
begun to be tapped out yet. This may be hard to believe ---
especially given the enormous negative publicity surrounding
the collapse of many previously high-flying Dot Com companies.
However, what is overlooked by many gloomy media reports is
that the Web itself is alive and well. Millions of new Web
sites continue to emerge every month. And overall traffic for
the Web continues to rise. The fact is, without exception, the
disgraced Dot Coms that crashed and burned were companies that
really didn't have solid business plans for profitability.
In reality, the only reason their stock prices soared in the
first place was a combination of easy money, recklessness,
greed and an absurd temporary mania for all things Net-related.
However, it's important to separate that fiasco from the
realities of the Web today. The fact remains: if you have a
good idea, and a solid business plan for a Web site --- and
you're willing to work hard --- then opportunities for success
still abound in cyberspace.
2.
"I'm not a tech person. Building a Web site and making it
successful requires complex skills that I don't have."
Reality: I hear this particular fear expressed quite a bit by
people who would love to set up shop on the Web and earn a
living in cyberspace. And I think this fear is greatly
overblown. Don't fool yourself: the fact is, setting up a Web
site is a fairly easy task....in fact, you'll find that your
biggest challenge is not building a site, but drawing
visitors.
And as far as drawing visitors goes, you really don't have to
be a Web guru or a tech person to achieve this. We're not
talking about rocket science here --- simply relentlessly doing
the basics and doing them well: making your site a compelling
and useful resource that people will bookmark; learning about
the search engines; working out linkbacks with other sites,
etc.
Building a successful Web site doesn't necessarily have to
involve any complex, specialized skills. Rather, it involves a
series of repetitive (and admittedly sometimes tedious) steps,
over and over again. It's a task that any determined and
focused person can achieve.
Incidentally, HTML (the coding used to create sites) is really
not hard to master. And in any case, there are many Web
editing programs around that will write the coding for you.
3.
"Since the IPO pipeline dried up, I don't think I'll ever
get a shot at becoming a Dot Com millionaire."
Reality: This widespread fear, of course, is grounded in the
bursting of the Dot Com stock bubble over the past year. But
consider this fact: somewhere out there in the vast world of
cyberspace is a person who only today started up his first Web
site. Five years from now, that person will be a millionaire.
Will that person be you? Odds are, no. But the fact is, the
Web remains a wonderful opportunity to earn a living. If
you're only looking to get rich, you have an unrealistic view.
But if you work hard and you have an intelligent business
plan, you will most likely succeed.
The best possible outcome, is of course, cashing in your stock
options someday in a successful IPO. But barring that, it's
still hugely satisfying to simply earn a comfortable living
from your Web site.
I've known a number of people who were able to quit their day
jobs. They now earn a living from the Web. They aren't rich,
but they ARE happy. They work the hours that they choose to
work. They don't have to get up at 7 a.m. and fight rush hour
traffic to the office. And they know that they are the sole
beneficiary of the hours that they work...not some corporate
employer. The fact is, working under these conditions is
vastly more satisfying than a day job. In fact, you'll find
that you can put in 12-hour days and not feel burned out at
all --- because it's all for you. And it's a quite reasonable
goal to aspire toward.
The reality is that, although the Dot Com bubble has collapsed,
the dream remains alive and well for many thousands of
Webmasters.
If you have a Web site, or are thinking of starting one, then
be prepared to work hard to meet the many challenges you'll
face. And you should know at the outset that it's
counter-productive to have unreasonable expectations. But, on
the other hand, you shouldn't burden yourself with
unreasonable and exaggerated fears and anxieties that simply
aren't grounded in reality.
