Overcoming,Your,Cyberspace,Fea DIY Overcoming Your Cyberspace Fears:

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-parent:"";mso-padding-alt:0in When starting a new work at home business it is very easy to become consumed by it. We spend so much time trying to get the business up and running that we may end up becoming burned out and lose our motivation. There is so much to learn and

With all the doom and gloom surrounding the DotCom meltdown over the past year, it seems thatfear has replaced optimism for many people who aretrying to make a living in cyberspace.No doubt, there is quite a bit to be pessimistic aboutin today's post-Web stock mania crash environment.But on the other hand, a lot of the fears and anxietiesthat I often see expressed by Webmasters are oftenoverblown and are not rooted in reality.The fact is: it's a big enough challenge these daysbuilding a successful site, without burdening yourselfwith 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 myclaim in cyberspace."Reality: It's true that the heady days of easy money andinstant Dot Com millionaires are behind us, (at least for now).But the fact is, the Web is still a young medium and it stillhas enormous potential that hasn't even begun to be tappedout yet.This may be hard to believe---especially given the enormousnegative publicity surrounding the collapse of many previouslyhigh-flying Dot Com companies.However, what is overlooked by many gloomy media reports is thatthe Web itself is alive and well. Millions of new Web sitescontinue to emerge every month. And overall traffic for theWeb continues to rise.The fact is, without exception, the disgraced Dot Coms thatcrashed and burned were companies that really didn't havesolid business plans for profitability.In reality, the only reason their stock prices soared in thefirst 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 ofthe Web today. The fact remains: if you have a good idea, and a solidbusiness plan for a Web site---and you're willing to work hard---thenopportunities for success still abound in cyberspace.2. "I'm not a tech person. Building a Web site and makingit successful requires complex skills that I don't have."Reality: I hear this particular fear expressed quite a bit by people whowould 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 isa fairly easy task....in fact, you'll find that your biggestchallenge is not building a site, but drawing visitors.And as far as drawing visitors goes, you really don't have tobe a Web guru or a tech person to achieve this. We'renot talking about rocket science here---simply relentlesslydoing the basics and doing them well: making your site a compellingand useful resource that people will bookmark; learning about thesearch engines; working out linkbacks with other sites, etc.Building a successful Web site doesn't necessarily have to involveany complex, specialized skills.Rather, it involves a series of repetitive (and admittedly sometimestedious) steps, over and over again. It's a task that anydetermined and focused person can achieve.Incidentally, HTML (the coding used to create sites) is really not hard tomaster. And in any case, there are many Web editing programsaround that will write the coding for you.3. "Since the IPO pipeline dried up, I'm don't thinkI'll ever get a shot at becoming a Dot Com millionaire."Reality: this widespread fear, of course, is grounded in burstingof the Dot Com stock bubble over the past year.But consider this fact: somewhere out there in the vast world ofcyberspace 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 opportunityto earn a living. If you're only looking to get rich, you have anunrealistic view. But if you work hard and you have an intelligentbusiness plan, you will most likely succeed.The best possible outcome, is of course, cashing in your stock optionssomeday in a successful IPO. But barring that, it's still hugelysatisfying 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 theyARE happy. They work the hours that they choose to work. They don'thave 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 thatthey work...not some corporate employer.The fact is, working under these conditions is vastly more satisfyingthan a day job. In fact, you'll find that you can put in 12-hour daysand 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, thedream remains alive and well for many thousands of Webmasters.If you have a Web site, or are thinking of starting one, then beprepared to work hard to meet the many challenges you'll face. And youshould know at the outset that it's counter-productive to haveunreasonable expectations.But, on the other hand, you shouldn't burden yourself with unreasonableand exaggerated fears and anxieties that simply aren't grounded in reality.