Some of the clients I’m working and have worked with, have earned millions of dollars through their websites.
After working with businesses from the US to Australia, I’ve noticed some clear patterns that separate the most successful from the rest. If you’re running an online business or thinking about starting one, these ideas might help you.
1. Unique Niche Expertise
The most successful business owners I work with aren’t trying to be everything to everyone. They’ve found their specific expertise and they own it completely. They often have this natural attitude to make people curious about what they do, no matter how specialized their field might be.
2. A Proper Team
Successful online business owners rarely work alone. They typically have at least 3 to 4 people on their team. Sometimes they hire employees, but often they involve freelancers who work with them regularly.
3. They Use Specific Experts for Each Domain
They don’t rely on one “jack of all trades” person to handle all their website’s needs. They usually work with specialists.
It’s difficult to stay competitive in most online niches, often a basic website isn’t enough. The exceptions I saw were all about businesses operating offline and only using the web to get noticed by new customers.
A professional and unique website, especially nowadays, generally tends to require more expertise. So they usually hire a designer, a developer, a copywriter, and other experts if needed for specific tasks.
Even when the business owner could handle some of these roles themselves, the most successful businesses choose to work with specialists instead.
In the projects I’m involved usually I handle development, as a full stack dev. Then either me or the client will hire other professionals like UI/UX designers or SEO specialists.
4. They’re Highly Competitive (In a Good Way)
There’s always this underlying goal in the most successful projects I’m part of: we try build a website that will be the best in their market.
5. They Usually Have at Least One Technical Skill
You don’t need to be a coding expert to run a successful online business, but a good part of the most successful owners I’ve worked with aren’t oblivious when it comes to technology.
For example some of them are SEO experts. Combining some technical knowledge, even at a mid-level, with a unique business vertical expertise can be powerful.
6. They’re Precise with Their Communication
Even when they’re not technical people, successful business owners communicate clearly, or try their best to do it. It makes sense when you think about it, running an online business means coordinating with different people, often across multiple time zones. It saves time, prevents mistakes, and keeps projects moving forward.
7. They Have A Business Plan Before We Start
Before we dive into building a plugin, creating a landing page, or developing a website, successful business owners often already have a plan.
Often this plan is not enough, as it lacks technical details, but it’s incredibly helpful to get started faster with a technical discovery phase.
Everyone is unique
In my personal experience, these are the top 7 things the most successful business owners I’ve worked with have in common. Of course I’ve worked with clients who didn’t have any of these and still made their businesses work just fine. There are always exceptions.
But it’s always interesting to note these patterns over time, as a developer I love to work with a great variety of businesses, there’s always something to learn, beyond web development.