This may seem like a silly question because if someone does not know how to do a job it should be easy to correct it my asking someone else for information.  Shouldn’t it?  Perhaps. This is our 4th and final in the series to help Paula and she will have to confirm if this is what has been holding her back in launching her online business.

Does the idea seem far-fetched that a sharp, savvy and successful (offline) businesswoman would allow her lack of knowledge in a particular area to cause her to procrastinate?  For someone who is successful in other areas the idea that they are not able to master everything perfectly could become a motivational block.  Pride for one could prevent her from recognizing that she needs help, or even worse to admit to herself that she needs help.  Subconsciously this results in avoidance or even developing an aversion for the task.

Having been on the internet for about 18 months I can relate, to some extent how Paula may be feeling.  When you are knowledgeable and successful in offline activities, it can be like walking through a maze when you step into the online world. For me there was so much to learn and I actually felt frustrated and ineffective when I signed up for courses that were perhaps too advanced at the time.  During one of these early courses the trainer would talk about ’simple’ things to do that I had no idea what was being referred to.  I can recall the first time I heard that I needed to ‘upload a document with an FTP client’. What language was the trainer speaking?  It got better as I took  steps to learn new things and attend classes for the basics.

Could a lack of knowledge be what has stopped Paula from completing her important task?  If this is the case, we will encourage her to take inventory of what she already knows on the subject then gather as much information as she can on the topic from the Internet.  If she has done that, or if that is not enough, we will help her to find a Mentor who offers the training which will allow her to move forward in her online business.  We might even encourage her to visit forums in her niche as many forums provide tremendous amounts of information for beginners and advanced.

What is holding you back from taking leaps in your business?  Do you procrastinate because of  fear of success, fear of failure, or fear of completion?  Is it because you fail to assign the necessary priority?  Is it lack of commitment, or is it a lack of knowledge?  Only you can decide.  But to succeed you have to identify the reasons for procrastination, confront those fears and examine your attitude. You also need to evaluate the consequences if you give in or the benefits if you overcome these blocks.

We are on our third article to try to assist Paula in determining why she has allowed procrastination in  one important task to stall the launch of her online business.  We were first introduced to Paula when we considered that her fears may be holding her back.  She admitted that while she had some fears they were not strong enough to paralyze her so we suggested that she may not be assigning the task the high priority it deserved.  Today we consider the possibility that Paula could be procrastinating due to a lack of commitment to her online business.

Paula’s record of success offline is well-recognized and is evidenced by the fact that she sometimes has appointments booked up to two months in advance with her clients.  Does Paula really want to start an online business or is she just following a trend?  An online business is a business like any other and must be treated as such for it to be successful.  It demands time, energy, and money.  While an online business may be started with a small budget, a budget is still required to take care of basic start-up costs as well as monthly costs, regardless of how minimal.

To be committed to any activity, including an online business, you must be committed to the start, the middle and the end results – be prepared to see it through.  No coercion or even logic will give you the drive to do this; the motivation has to come from within.  Self-motivation will lead to commitment and commitment will allow you to view obstacles as stepping stones rather than stumbling blocks.  We will propose this idea of lack of commitment or possibly fear of commitment to Paula with the view of helping her determine if she is truly motivated to make a success of her online business.

There is one last possibility we will consider in my next article.  This is perhaps one we should have discussed with Paula earlier, but it’s not too late.