I was just asking myself this question lately... Why do people call their "email list" a "business"..? What if someday your list gets hacked. Will your "business" be gone? haha xd What I mean is, are you really putting all your eggs into your email list?! Off course an email list can multiply your profits and without it, you'd make probable 1/10 of what you can right now because of the sale funnels and stuff but... How about you lose your list, i'm pretty sure MOST of you guys put too much importance on it and calling it your "business" will most likely lead that to bad things :/ Can you simply tell me your opinion on the fact that your email list is your business?
I've actually never seen anyone say that their email list is their "business" nor have I seen anyone imply it. As you have stated, an email list does not constitute having a business. Just like having a website is not a business. Each of these are a PART of your business and there's many other important elements as well. I would agree that having an email list is a very important part of a business (online or offline) as it's a great way to stay in touch with customers and build relationships with potential customers. There's a reason that many many business have a business plan and they are generally rather lengthy. Otherwise I could just take a piece of paper, write "Email list" on it, and bam. Business plan done. I think it's great that you bring up this point because people really need to step back and look at their business, or website, or list, or whatever they have and make sure they are setting themselves up for long term success.
I don't think a e-mail list a business. An e-mail list is part of your business. A business has many more elements that makes it up. An e-mail list gives you money, when you offer your services to them.