Suddenly it occurs to the young man that there beats within his chest the heart of an entrepreneur. What he lacks in skills he makes up for in determination. He can mow and chances are pretty good his dad will let him use the family mower. It's a start and his motivation is cash.



He uses the family printer to craft a poster that markets his fledgling capabilities and then includes strips with phone number information for potential clients. He likes to call them mini business cards.

He waits by the phone waiting for the call that will mean a few dollars closer to Biff Blasters 17 – The Prequel. One day and two pass and still no calls. The young man is desperate. He decides to embrace the idea of calling family, friends and neighbors to see if they have any work that needs to be done.

As it turns out there is a vacant lot three blocks away that needs to be cleaned up. The young man agrees without seeing it. The job is much larger than he expected and he wants to quit. Dad presses his son to deliver on his promise and eventually the work gets done.

He didn't earn as much as he thought it was worth, but suddenly the phone begins to ring and he finds himself with several odd jobs and the perfect opportunity to gain increasing experience. His perseverance paid off.

Why do we lose the ability to take our marketing message to those we know first? Why do we hesitate in doing everything we can to find that first big client that can help open other doors? Why do we treat ecommerce as an established buffet line that requires none of the tenacity of our fourteen year-old boy?

The growth of business online requires that those who wish to develop a company make it their top priority to ensure the enterprise has every opportunity to do something more than look like a homemade poster with mini business cards attached.

You may not need the money for video games, but you do have a motivation behind a successful online business. It could be to seek a transition from a traditional job to a home-based business. It could be that you are seeking a way to supplement existing income. It might even be that you have a specific purchase in mind that the extra money will be used for.

The truth is it's a very rare occasion when someone develops a business with the motivation of failure, yet there are occasions when because of poor planning or little understanding of marketing a good business idea fades into oblivion because the owner did not understand how important their role was in doing everything they could to get the idea to market.

Start with friends, family and neighbors then work at tackling the world with your message. You can do it, but it involves more than watching from the sidelines.