Provide value and gain Experience first. Money will follow

It can be hard to decide whether you want to start an online business, if you expect to make money right away. Right now, I am in the early stages of my online business and Youtube channel, and I have not made any money with it yet. But the thing is, you need to build your system first, before you can start to build up revenue. You can not expect to make money instantly. Most of the time, it takes about two to three years before you can see monetary results, sometimes even more.

The reason people quit their Youtube channels and online businesses is probably because they did not see any results right away. You need to build patience and perseverance, and it helps a lot if your really enjoy the process of building it. But when you do start to see results, they can come exponentially. In this article, I am going to explain why you need to provide value and gain experience first, before you can start to see results.

The Pyramid Machine

There is a story from the book 'Fast Lane Millionaire' by MJ de Marco, that really stuck with me. In Egypt, there was a pharaoh who had two nephews, Azur and Chuma. One day, he decided that he wanted them to build a pyramid. So he told both of his nephews to build a pyramid. The only rule they both had was that they needed to build the pyramid alone.

Azur started building the pyramid and carrying the massive boulders right away. He hired physical trainers to keep him in optimal shape to carry the boulders. Chuma, on the other hand, did not seem to do anything. His pyramid was nowhere to be seen. He sat in his tent and fiddled with ropes, levers and pulleys.

Azur made progress, but he became very tired, and his body and mental energy started to wear down. He decided to train harder, to continue carrying the boulders. After a while, he build an impressive pyramid that was almost finished. But every muscle from his body hurt. He had back pain and could not carry the boulders anymore. Chuma on the other hand finished his pyramid machine. After weeks of tweaking and developing a machine, he was able to finish his build of the pyramid in a few days, and became the new pharaoh.

Provide value and gain Experience first | Transferring this to reality

If you build your systems first, it will become easier to get results overtime, without feeling extremely exhausted and burned out. That is why it is so important when you start an online business, to focus on the process and build something that will create revenue in the future. You need to gain experience, so that you will become better at writing, marketing, content creation, persuasion and many other skills.

When you are just starting out, like me, forget about making money. In the first years, solely focus on providing value, solving problems and gaining experience. The reason I say this, is because this is true for almost anything that has a high potential. If you are a musician, for example, you did not go on stage when you were just starting to learn your first chords. It took years of practice and development before you could perform for other people. If you are a professional athlete, think of all the years it took to get to the top. All the training and hard work, which started when you were just a kid.

You need a long term vision to start something like an online business, and you need to get good at it before you can expect results. For me, this is actually a game changer. Because it means that I can focus on my craft and constantly improve it with every blog post or video that I create.

It also means that I know that I am on the right path, and that it is only logical that I am not creating any revenue yet. And for me, that is okay, because I am still young and I do not need the money right away necessarily. But if you are older, and have more responsibilities, then it might not be a wise option to go all in on the online business. Instead, try building it with the free time you have instead.

The Instant Gratification Trap

The most common reason why people give up on their dreams and visions, is because they are so used to having instant gratification. If you do not get a reward right away, then it is not worth it. This is because a lot in our world is designed for instant gratification, like social media, junk food, television, shopping, you name it. Companies implement this strategy to make a lot of money and keep you trapped.

Because of this, many people's attention span has decreased a lot, along with their patience and long term vision. But you have the ability to overcome this, and build your dream life. You just need to be okay with delayed gratification. If all expectations of results are out of the way, and you enjoy the process of building a business and the skills that you learn, then the only thing you can do is win and set yourself up for success. You just need consistency and an idea of where you are going, and what you are trying to create.

Experience is never lost

Even if you do not get the desired outcome from the thing you are trying to build, and you decide to focus on something else, you still gained experience, which you can use for other projects. You still learned new skills and have become more valuable. You have become a different person.

That is why it is not a waste of time. You might think that it is because you did not make the desired money, but that is just a byproduct. More importantly, you learned how to run an online business. You learned things about building a website, creating content and making valuable offers. The next time you start something, it will be a lot easier. That is why I think experience is way more valuable then money.

But still, we are not here to quit. We are trying to realize our vision, and that means that you do something long enough. And in this process, you can still reiterate based on past experience. You can try something different with every new video you create, every newsletter you write and every offer you create. You try to sharpen your axe each week. You become better at filmmaking, speaking, writing, persuading and selling.

You also get to discover where you are naturally good at, which is very important in my opinion, because when you do things that come naturally, you are in a state of flow. It is way more fun to do something without feeling forced or frustrated. I noticed that writing and creating videos are natural to me. That is why I am trying to build my business around these skills. It gives me energy and more clarity.

Real life example

To illustrate what I am trying to say when it comes to providing value first and gaining experience, take Ali Abdaal as an example. In the first three years of his journey as a creator, he focused solely on pure value creation. He had zero subscribers and no monetization strategy. But he had a goal, to share his study techniques and productivity tips. He stayed consistent and posted a video about his study or productivity every week.

He learned valuable skills like video editing, thumbnail design and storytelling. After two years he started to create revenue. This is an extreme example, because he is very good at his craft, and generally it takes longer to reach these numbers. But it is a good example of delayed gratification. Every creator and entrepreneur starts out having zero subscribers and zero revenue. As long as you are dedicated and work on something that has meaning to you, you can build the life that you want and are aligned with. You do not need to have millions like Ali Abdaal, but you do need to embrace delayed gratification.

Building an Extension of who you are

I think the beauty of building an online business, is that you can create something that is a reflection of yourself. You can capture your thoughts, experiences, and interests and combine them into your creations. When you build your system, you are building something that you truly stand behind, something that only you created, and that is helpful to other people. That in itself, is already worth it to me.

Think of it like your personal journal, that is captured in a place where other people can see it too. You can track the things that concern you on a daily basis. You can see how your perspective about things can shift overtime. It is about solving your problems that might also solve other people's problems. Another great thing about it is that you can inspire other people to take action themselves, which is even more powerful.

I hope you enjoyed this article. If you want to read more stories like this one, subscribe to my newsletter, to receive new insights every week.

Also check out 'Beyond the Hustle: Creating a Life That Feels Right' that complements this article.

I hope you have an inspiring day,

Mart Bergsma