When you decide to start a business it can get overwhelming and confusing. There’s so many options! It can be hard to know how to choose the best online business model for your vision. So I’m here to give you some insight on how to choose the best online business path for you.

Chances are you’re already in business or looking for a way to get started. If you are in business you’re probably looking for a better way to scale. And if you’re not you’re probably wanting to know the best path to take.

Whichever it is, I assure you, I was in your shoes once. And that’s why I want to break it down for you step by step.

Let me first point out, choosing the right business path is directly linked to your personal branding. Because you need to ensure the business path you take aligns with how you want to be perceived in the marketplace, who you are, what your goals are, and what you value.

A little while back I spoke about the importance of finding your why. By now, you should know why you want to build an online business. But in case you’re still not clear about that it’s a good idea to go back to my earlier post about this.

Ok ok, I know why I’m doing this. I’m ready to figure out what business path to take.

How to Choose the Best Online Business Path for You

There’s eight main business models. I’m going to break them down for you. Then you can make an educated decision on the best business path to suit your brand and goals.

1: NETWORK MARKETING:

A lot of people start out this way. You may already be using a product (eg. wellness shakes and supplements, beauty products, weight loss products etc.) and want to start selling it.

That gets difficult to do locally because a lot of your network will become people who are also selling the same products. And once you exhaust your friends and family where do you turn? To the internet to figure out how to market the product online. That’s where it turns into an online business.

Does it work? 

This business model can work well if you have a product people want and you know how to market it. Plus the products generally have low entry points so it’s easy to get started.

Problems…

I don’t know if it’s just me, but every second person seems to be selling something like this these days. I want to be supportive of friends in business but when 10 of them are promoting the same thing, how do you choose which one to support? Not to mention, because the products have such a low entry point you have to constantly be recruiting new members and focusing on team building.

Verdict

I’ve never tried this business model because it sounds exhausting. And while I have tried a lot of the products – Isagenix, Arbonne, Herbalife, Scentsy (to name a few). I’ve never found one I actually liked enough to sell. Plus the idea of constantly hosting house parties and workshops does not appeal to this introvert.

2: BLOGGING and AFFILIATE MARKETING:

Blogging is one of the fastest, easiest, and funnest ways to get started online. It’s super cheap to start a blog and you can get one up and running in no time. If you’re not sure how to go about this check out my post on how to start a blog.

Learning how to monetise your blog is also pretty easy as there’s heaps of companies you can become an affiliate for. If you do that all you have to do is share their links in your posts and you can earn an income (you’ll notice this in some of my posts).

Does it work?

Definitely – it’s easy to stay motivated with a blog because you get to write about whatever you want so it’s easy to stay passionate. If you know where to look you can pretty much find an affiliate product for any niche.

Problems…

You won’t build a following overnight. Although you might have great content and all the right links you won’t make money until you get people reading your posts. This is a longer term strategy.

Verdict

This could be the best business model for a lot of people, especially if they don’t need to build a large income quickly. It’s flexible, easy to set up, and pretty easy to learn, but it does take time to grow a following and start earning an income.

3. INFLUENCER MARKETING:

This kind of ties in with blogging, but can also be a whole separate beast. With the rise of micro-influencers many people don’t even need a blog to be successful as an influencer.

You don’t even need a huge following. Just a really engaged one that trusts your advice.

And these days there’s so many apps that will connect you with brands. Or you can just reach out to brands and have the chance that they’ll say yes to working with you.

Does it work?

Definitely – it’s easy to stay motivated with influencing because you’re just posting and sharing products or brands you’d already be talking about. So again, it’s easy to stay passionate.

Problems…

You won’t build a following overnight. A lot of brands won’t want to pay you at first so it’s a lot of exchanging content for free product, but if you’re willing to stick at it it can definitely pay off.

Verdict

This could be the best business model for a lot of people, especially if they don’t need to build a large income quickly. It’s flexible, easy to set up, and pretty easy to learn, but it does take time to grow a following and start earning an income.

4. AFFILIATION WITH BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES:

There are different styles of opportunities in the multi-level marketing (MLM’s) or direct sales bracket. This is a great way for someone to get started if they don’t already have a product or service to sell and don’t want to wait for a blog to take off.

There’s low ticket/front end products vs high ticket/top tier products. You can still use a blog as a marketing strategy to sell these products. With the right product choice you can market a lot smarter and have success a lot faster through social media and attraction marketing.

Does it work?

Definitely – find a high ticket product you’re passionate about and align yourself with a good business coach/mentor to form a marketing plan and you’ll more than likely get results. The great thing about these types of high ticket opportunities is the mentorship and education provided. You’re never left on your own to try figure stuff out. The key is duplication – the system will work for those who get involved, follow the plan, and do the work.

Problems…

There’s so many different opportunities out there, make sure you do your research and choose something that you feel is right for you. There’s generally a higher cost attached to getting involved, but it’s also a much higher return, so weigh up what you want and if it’s the right fit for you.

Don’t be sucked into get rich quick schemes. Anyone promising you a certain income result in a short amount of time is questionable.

All you’re really doing is building up someone else’s business and you have no real control over what happens.

Verdict

For me, this was definitely the best business model when I was starting out. This path is great for anyone who prefers to follow a system and likes having guidance, as well as anyone who loves networking and wants to have potential to earn income quickly.

I used various social media strategies as well as my blog to build my brand and attract people to join me in the business. But after having companies shut down on me I felt guilt about bringing people into this kind of business. And so I would never do it again.

You can read all about why I decided to quit promoting high ticket affiliate offers in this post.

5. SERVICE BASED BUSINESS

This can be anything from social media management, to freelancing, copywriting, editing, web design, graphic design, ads management and more.

Basically you can take a skill you’re good at and provide a done for you service. Generally it will be for clients who don’t have the time to do it themselves. Or they would rather pay someone else to do it for them rather than learn the skill themselves.

Does it work?

Yes – it’s simple to get started. If you’ve got a skill that people will pay for then all you need to do is reach out to potential clients, start building relationships and build up a strong client base.

Problems…

The 1-1 model can get tedious and can lead to burn out. You could end up with a lot of demanding clients that don’t respect your needs and boundaries.

It’s hard to scale because you’re stuck in the constant dilemma where you either have to sacrifice more time to take on more clients if you want to earn more income. Or if you want to keep your sanity you have to sacrifice clients to have more time so you can’t ever reach a higher income level.

Verdict

I personally haven’t run this kind of business. But I briefly offered some done for you services for some of my students in my last affiliate company. I was offering these services as a bonus when they invested with me because I wanted to set them up for success.

So I would set up their emails, write their brand story and set up their sales funnels. I quickly realised this was not the way to go because it led to a lot of people expecting me to keep doing everything for them even though they weren’t paying me any extra.

If you’re going to run a service based business all I can say is be sure to charge your worth. Otherwise you’ll just burn yourself out and it won’t be worth it. And be selective with your clients, make sure you really gel before you commit to providing this type of detailed service.

6. COACHING

This is a step up from done for you services. Rather than taking clients and doing all the work for them, you could coach them on how to do things themselves instead.

So you could be a business coach, branding coach, social media coach, life coach etc. Basically if you’ve been successful at something and people look up to you, then they could hire you to guide them on how to do it too.

Does it work?

Yes – it’s simple to get started. If you’ve got a skill that people often ask you to teach them about, then all you need to do is reach out to potential clients, start building relationships and build up a strong client base.

Problems…

Even though you’re not doing the work for your clients anymore it’s still essentially a 1-1 model. Unless you offer group coaching programs.

So then you’re in the same catch 22 situation as a service based business. It’s hard to scale because you’re stuck in the constant dilemma where you either have to sacrifice more time to take on more clients if you want to earn more income. Or if you want to keep your sanity you have to sacrifice clients to have more time so you can’t ever reach a higher income level.

Verdict

If you are going to commit to coaching people make sure you charge your worth. And vet your clients so you only work with people who light you up.

I’d also be careful about saying you’re a coach unless you have results to back yourself. You need to be sure you can teach your clients how to get those results as well. If they haven’t had a transformation by the end of your coaching period that won’t be a good experience for either party.

7. DIGITAL COURSES

Creating your own digital course is a great way to scale and grow. It’s the best business model if you’re wanting to get out of the limitations of 1-1 client work and really create a life changing income for yourself.

Because of the nature of courses you can create the product once and then you have the ability to help many people. So you’re moving into a 1-many model which gives you far more room to scale.

Does it work?

Yes – the online learning industry is one of the biggest and fastest growing industries around. And there are so many stories of people having HUGE success with courses. You can create a course on any topic you’re passionate about and there is bound to be a market for it.

Problems

It might be outside of your comfort zone to create something of your own but if you follow the right formula it can be one of the best decisions you make.

Verdict

This is my favourite type of business model and had I known about this a few years ago it’s definitely the path I would’ve looked into more. But I’m also grateful for the journey I’ve been on because it led me to understand why digital courses are such a good model.

To learn more about why I believe digital courses are the best online business path read this post.

Want more information on how to succeed with digital courses? Take this free training designed to help you validate your course idea and get super clear on who you’ll serve.

8. BRICK and MORTAR 

A traditional business that deals with customers face to face. Usually from a storefront or some kind of real life facility. If you’re reading posts about building an online business then this generally wouldn’t be the type of business you’d go for. However, if you’ve already got a brick and mortar business and are feeling like you want more freedom then you could still keep your business and just learn to leverage the internet.

Does it work?

Yes, if you already have this type of business then you need to be turning to the internet. Small business owners need to start thinking globally rather than just locally. If you have a product or service that is meaningful then you can leverage the internet to explode your business.

You could be the perfect person to branch into creating a course. Or coaching people on how to build a successful business like you have.

Problems…

If you want to build a location independent business, then it doesn’t make sense to be tied to a physical workplace. Even working your own business can keep you tied down if you have a shopfront where you have to be present. So if your why is to travel then this isn’t the right kind of business. But if your why is to design and sell clothes, then you could definitely start this kind of business. Then you can also leverage the internet to reach a global market so you can scale.

Verdict

Probably not the best business model if you’re looking for a location independent lifestyle.

So, how to choose the best online business model for you?

Well it’s not my place to tell you that. Everyone is different and what worked for me, may not work for you.

BUT…

I’ll let you know I started with Option 4 (affiliation with business opportunities). That tied in with blogging and influencing. And eventually I moved to creating my own digital courses.

Why?

I saw someone living the travel lifestyle I wanted. And I approached her to find out how she was doing it. She taught me about her high ticket business opportunity. I decided to get involved as well. I loved the product, and I was looking to have more flexibility. It enabled me to quit my job and travel a lot.

But then the opportunity fell through so it was time to create something of my own. Whilst I love blogging and influencing the big bucks are in creating courses. And you can help a lot more people through courses as well. So it made sense for me to end up on this path.

It’s just proof that knowing your why, and finding the best business model for you, goes a long way.

Next steps…

I’m not here to tell you what the best business model for you is, because I don’t know you right now. But I’d love to get to know you if you want. Especially if you’re interested in learning more about option 7. Join my free Facebook community and let’s get to know each other.

And that’s it from me for now. I really hope you found this post useful and are now ready to make a decision on how you’ll make your mark in the online world.

Much Love

Jade xo

P.S. If you like what you’ve read feel free to like, comment, or share. Your time reading my posts is greatly appreciated.