Copyright © Liane Bate
http://www.HonestMoneyMaking.com

When starting an online business, I think people have this impression that it will make life simpler than having a regular 9-5 job. In some cases, I'm sure this is very true, but many people have both a 9-5 job, and start an online business, and life just got a lot more complicated for them, and well, me!

Once the 9-5 job can be replaced if that's what you so desire, then perhaps having an online business is easier. However, I'm willing to bet that a full-time online business can be just as crazy and complicated, or even more so than a regular job. After all, you have to organize yourself and your work rather than someone else doing it for you.

The online world I have found is a whole new world. I have actually tried to imagine my life without it, and I feel that suddenly I would be cut off from the internet business world and I'd be dying to connect to a discussion forum, talk to my subscriber list, change my website, write to my blog, and find out what's going on out there!

The fact is, there is so much to owning an online business that it's hard to keep it all straight, it's hard to stay organized, it's hard to turn new products or opportunities down, it's hard to know how to best advertise your business, it's hard to stay focused and motivated, and it's hard to know when to say yes and when to say no. That's what this article is all about...Knowing what you can simplify, and how you can simplify your online business life.

When you start an internet business, you get quickly and easily overwhelmed by emails, e-books, and articles coming from everywhere. There are new product launches giving you unbelievable deals that you don't want to miss out on. You may be following a program of some sort to get started in business, and following every suggestion as to what to buy and when to upgrade your memberships.

You are so excited at the beginning that you will turn almost nothing down, and soon you have this amazing website offering amazing things. There's nothing wrong with that. Some people would argue that more is better. In my case, I started out simple, added more programs to my website, and have since decided to remove those same programs because I've come to my own conclusion that more is not better for me. I'm making a pact to keep it simple and go back to the basic programs. This is one way that you can simplify your internet business.

The other question is how best to advertise your online business. I still struggle with this, as there are so many ways. In keeping with my pact to stay simple, I am trying to focus on four ways to advertise. One way is to write to my blog frequently, at least once or twice a week. Another way is to write articles and have them distributed around the internet to different publishers and article directories. The third way is to generate and exchange links with authority sites and sites with a higher Page Rank (PR) than my own site. Finally, I like to participate in at least five different discussion forums where I can display the URLs for my website, sales pages, and blog in my signature file.

These are all highly effective ways to advertise your online business, but by no means are they the only ways to advertise. You could also choose to advertise offline, or advertise using Google Adwords, for example. The point is to choose only one way, or a few ways, and keep it simple.

Another way to keep your online business simple is to have a short, daily to-do list. I have sticky notes all over my desk reminding me what I need to do, but the to-do list is the only list that I think is crucial to keep directly in front of me and to look at every day. The list may change, but as long as you keep it short, sweet, and manageable, then your business life will be so much simpler.

If you find you are not completing the daily requirements, then it's time to re-do your list, and complete tasks in smaller chunks, or simply just do fewer tasks until you are doing something every day to move your business forward, or maintain the momentum. This will help you stay focused and motivated.

Finally, you will find that there is only so much information you can read about and retain before you get over-loaded and overwhelmed. It's times like these that you will want to call it quits because you're frustrated, brain-fried, and getting nowhere fast with very few positive results. This is when you need to know when to say yes, and when to say no.

As much as you would like to read all of those emails coming into your inbox every day and absorb everything, you just can't without losing focus. Unless you want your brain to explode, it's a good idea to create folders in your email system and either manually or automatically have incoming mails filed into those folders. If you have time to go back to those emails later, they will be there and organized for you to look at. If you find you never get to them, you can do a mass delete. It's unbelievable how clear your mind can feel after a mass delete!

Not only do you need to say no to emails, but also say no to other products, services, offers, and opportunities that are presented to you when you know you can handle nothing more. I have been tempted myself, and in fact I still haven't gotten around to working through an amazing program I just had to purchase last spring!

Moral of the story: Keep it simple stupid, or you will find doing business online a very daunting task!

About the Author:
Liane Bate owns a Plug-in Profit Site web business, and is a member of the International Association of Home Business Entrepreneurs (IAHBE).
Visit: http://www.HonestMoneyMaking.com, Plugin Profit Site, and HonestMoneyMaking.com's Home Business Blog