Copyright 2006 Cynthia Bull

When you're having a bad day in business, keeping a stiff upper lip is hard to do when you feel that your goals and dreams are crumbling, especially if you're an online entrepreneur. Does this scenario sound familiar?

'I'm having a rough morning. It's actually been a rough couple of days. I'm so discouraged I can see my dreams fading quickly. I can't get the answers I need and I don't know where else to look for them. I know I can do this, but without the knowledge of certain things, I'm wasting all this precious time. Oh no! Now I've hit the crying point. (So and so) is absolutely wonderful, but he's not God and doesn't have all the answers. The places I'm supposed to look for the answers don't respond when I ask them, and I'm absolutely beside myself at this point because of that. I've not made a dime and it's costing me more money as time goes on. I can't pay my bills the way it is. I'm not expecting to be a millionaire in a year and I know this all takes time, but I can't even get the beginning squared away.'

How do you deal with these problems and keep your sanity and your pocketbook intact?

To avoid total despair and self-destruction, you must realize that you're having typical business pains. At least some or all of these conditions happen to online entrepreneurs at some point in their journey to success. You simply have to bite bullets and get past troublesome points.

The worst news is that these times will happen again and again in varying degrees of 'Ouch!' Being an online entrepreneur isn't for everybody, and if you've hit any of the above snags, then you can better understand why so many who try fail.

It's tough to get started. You will have successful moments, but those come with a price tag of sweat, tears, frustration, and expense. There is no one clear roadmap, but some are definitely better than others. You are in a pot with many, many others who seek to improve their lives by having an independent career and have chosen online business as their focus.

The truly hard part is hanging onto your dreams, despite the emotional and financial rollercoaster you've chosen. Yes, it would be so much easier to not venture out and to stay in your comfort zone with an offline career, but if you've chosen to become an online entrepreneur and step outside the proverbial "box" of how most people live, then your course is definitely riskier.

You have two options:

1) Face the task and get past the temporary block, or
2) cave in and become a negative statistic.

You've no doubt researched what comprises the components of a successful online business, and here are additional tips to add to your list:

1. Keep looking for paths that lead to answers, or that at least provide comfort. In most cases, you have to create those paths.

2. Use all the search engines, not just your favorite one. Get on forums and ask everybody you know for help with whatever problem you're having at the moment. The answers do exist.

3. Don't get sucked into false promises and duped into thinking that 'anybody can do this.' That just isn't so. You have to maintain your sense of purpose and direction and constantly relate back to your dreams. Otherwise, you risk temptations of adapting another's dream as your own or of losing your dreams altogether.

4. During stressful times, do something constructive and creative and put your heart into it. It doesn't matter what that is, but it must replace the negative mental and emotional place you're in at the time. Get up physically and move about. Temporarily change your routine, your scenery, your focus.

5. Don't sweat the challenges anymore than you need to. Move forward because, even if you step on what seems like an endless path of stones, the path to success is still before you. It's just temporarily camouflaged.

Rather than becoming mired in the negative aspects of building your business, even those that bring you to tears, you must get past the negative phases because, sadly, more will come on your road to success.

Remember, mentors are watching you and watching out for you, and you need to reach out to them. You started somewhere, didn't you? Well, use them as one of your most valuable resources.

It all takes time, so keep in touch with your goals, asks lots of questions, and create relationships with mentors as you become an online entrepreneur. You may experience feeling discouraged when you hit snags, but you don't have to feel beaten. It's just part of the online entrepreneur's success package.