I would have to say its a combination of lack of funds and lack of knowledge, Books like the rich jerk wont teach you what you really need to know although they claim to...
Exactly, if people want to succeed, they have to treat what they do like a business, not like a hobbie
But to some people this is a hobby. I remember when I first started out, I loved domains. I had killer ones too, I thought it was fun to build the site up, etc and then leave it for the world to see. I have the majority that I have regged back in the late 90's and then there are some I sold. I think people fail because they see the glam and fortune before they see the mountain to climb to reach that.
I have been learnign about ecommerce for 2-3 years and have not gave up. The problem I see is not having money to start a business. I have done well with what I have but if I had atleast $3-$5k to start I would do a lot better than starting with $100. There are so many systems promising get rich quick schemes and that is what they are schemes, sometimes pyramid schemes and the only profiter is the seller of the system.
Its the Nerds that make in the Internet .biz. The others give up. See geeks usually have unlimited time, as they have no social life and spend all day on there computers and they usually already have years of computer skills before they even venture into it.
The Internet is a never-ending 2AM cable TV timeslot. The sooner you realize that, the sooner you can get on your way to being successfull with it.
Most people fail in online business because they think it's just a kickback job where they can just start up the company and leave it there expecting it to earn money. For some other people they started with no plan or a bad plan resulting with them not having enough money and having to close the business.
I understand that promotion is important. But, where funds are relatively restricted, it is better to spend on SEO or content? Is promotion King? Or is Content King? People have suggest the latter, I am getting confused.
There's a giant thread already discussing the importance of content and the importance of promotion. It came to the conclusion that it is much like "the chicken or the egg" dilema. One does not work without the other. What IS important is that your promotion promotes good content and your good content justifies that promotion. This is how you will gain interested and loyal customers. Promotion is short term and content is long term: If you have a well promoted site you'll get tonnes of hits and could get a lot of AdSense monies for a short period of time. If you have good content in your site then your SEO rankings will slowly rise to the top and gain you steady traffic earning you long term monies. As for being unsuccessful: There are thousands of "entrepreneurs" out there who are entrepreneurs because they like the idea of getting rich fast. Who doesn't?? But these "entrepreneurs" will lack confidence, determination, knowledge of the market and promotion abilities. All which are paramount of importance to any successful business owner. If you have an idea STICK with it and if your friends and family like your idea then invest A LOT of time in it. Money isn't needed in the online business world but time certainly is; the two variables are interchangable depending on what is in more abundance.
best post I read so far here... I lost motivation many times but still I am holding the last will that I have...so far, progress little by little keeps me doing what I want to do..
I would say lack of knowledge. But after 20th website you learned a lot and than they get to be successful and than you make money with your 21st and your correct all your other websites. But internet biz is not fast money anymore.
One more point about motivation. If you have a great idea but you struggle to find that driving force that will propell you to success then I advise, if you have any sense of responsibility, to go into partnership with family or a friend. Relying on one another to meet certain aims and criteria will boost your motivation if you feel responsible to do so. Partnerships also lower the work load and double the ability to think of new ways to promote or progress. Not only this but you are able to not just motivate yourselves, but to motivate one another. I strongly recommend a partnership if you are struggling to put 110% into your business. But remember, a good partnership will only come about through a good bond. Pick your business partner carefully - if not more carefully than a love partner!
I woudl say the opposite - most people are focused on SEO promotion tactics and not on the USPs of their website. Here's the mistakes I made: http://www.sitesalary.com/blog/the-5-biggest-mistakes-i-made-when-starting-my-online-business/
I think the main reason is a lack of consistent effort. If people don't see results immediately, they get discouraged and simply give up on whatever it is they're trying to do to make money online. I think if more people remembered that it takes time to build it, and that patience and consistency is the key, many more people would become successful at earning an income online.