By Denise Hall (C) 2003

We’ve all heard that old saying, right? Of course, we have. And it’s so true!

Nothing we try to accomplish in our lives will bring us to our ultimate goals overnight. Everything takes time. Was Rome built in a day? I don’t think so.

Why, then, do people think they’ll become rich in a few days, a week or a month if they run an internet business?

Good question. Maybe it’s because there’s so much hype out there. It sounds good to say “just sign up 20 people and money will flow in!”

Yes, actually, that does sound good. But no one tells you hard part is signing up those 20 people. I'm not saying it can't be done. I just mean it takes time and effort on your part.

How many of us have fallen for “get rich quick” promises? Probably most of us. Online and offline, there are plenty of scams and hype. It’s easy to get caught up in presentation of program and think that it will work fast. Unfortunately, when it doesn’t work out immediately, alot of people give up and feel like failures.

Working at any business takes time and effort. I used to sell cosmetics door to door for a great company. I’m sure all of you know one I’m talking about. There’s no doubt products sell themselves. But I still didn’t have a large client base or hundreds of sales overnight.

By Denise Hall (C) 2003

Have you ever walked into a store and things looked sloppy? Stores should have nice neat displays, right? Normally, yes, but sometimes they get a bit messy on busy days and we all understand how that can happen.

But what if you were to walk into a store as soon as it opened in morning and place looked liked it had been ransacked? What would you think?

You'd probably think it wasn't very professional-looking. If a rack of shirts was haphazardly thrown together, with all styles, colors and sizes mixed up, you'd probably walk right past it without giving it a second glance.

If a sales associate wouldn't answer your questions or help you find something, you would consider that unprofessional, too, not to mention rude.

When we do business in offline world we expect a professional appearance and professional manner from those who deal with customers. The same is true for online businesses.

Your business depends on how professional you are. Your website, your customer service and appearance and quality of your work all reflect upon you, business owner.

Two key factors of professionalism:

1. Good Customer Service/Relations

2. Quality Appearance and Writing Skills

Recently I had problems submitting information to several websites. After trying for several days I finally e-mailed for technical support. (After all, website owners had messages posted that said to contact them at any time.)

I didn't expect an immediate reply to my inquiries. I know they're busy running their businesses, and dealing with other people, too. But I have yet to receive any replies.

Where is customer service? Why would I want to do business with someone who seems to be ignoring me? At very least, if it typically takes them more than a couple of days to reply to e-mail, support questions or other requests, they should post that information on their website so customers/visitors know what to expect.

Without good customer service, you're shooting yourself in foot. Don't expect customers to buy from you if you can't afford them some common courtesy.