How detailed is your marketing plan? Are you using the best resources? How achievable are your goals? Do you have the patience to see your efforts pay off?

Research shows that 73% of entrepreneurs do not recognize what’s involved to be successful.

Excited about their new venture, they can be overly optimistic about achievable sales. Many think that within a short time and with some effort, sales will begin to roll in. I know I did. This thinking, in most cases, is triggered by the hyped claims that draw in new participants with promises of fast riches. That, along with the “I want it now” attitude.

At the start, many preliminary steps must be taken to set the snowball in motion. Once it’s started, it must be constantly pushed along the path one day at a time until it picks up momentum. Think of it as learning to walk. You didn’t just pop out of your crib one day and high tail it down the street. It took time to develop the strength and the knowledge for you to progress from crawling to walking and finally, to running.

New business operators also underestimate how much money is required to start a business and finance the stages of growth. It’s important to understand how much work and what steps are involved. Then you can better determine the length of time it will take to turn your dream into a success. In turn, this will help you figure out which parts will require money and which will be available without cost.

Recognizing what needs to be done to be successful is your first step to success. At this stage, you develop your plan of action and set out the details for marketing your business. Where will you advertise? How can you get the most exposure for your business to the right market in the shortest period?

In developing this plan, it’s wise to seek the advice of professionals who have already struggled to success through trial and error. From their mistakes and research, you can benefit greatly.

Having that plan is only the first stage, however. You need to be diligent in following each step of that plan. In addition, you must allow enough time to see the results.

Another top reason businesses fail is the person does not recognize, or ignores, what they don’t do well and don’t seek help from those who can help.

It took numerous failures and many years before I was able to step back and see what my weaknesses were, and to accept that they were holding me back. My story goes like this.

For years, I’ve been trying to launch an online business. Using the advice of top online marketers, I developed several to-do lists that were designed to get me to the top. Each month, my dreams were shattered repeatedly. I wasn’t showing any results and online marketing slowly became a frustrating challenge.

After sitting back and taking a very critical look at my methods, I realized what I’d been doing wrong all those years. Instead of working hard to ensure I’d done absolutely everything possible at each step, I wandered off my plan. This was largely because, once I’d done the parts I knew, I hit a roadblock. I didn’t know where to go next. With each day of failure, I became more susceptible to all the other offers out there.

Before long, I’d jumped from one promotional program to another and not completed any of them. A week or two into each effort, failure dogging me all the way, I’d try something else. Evidently, I wasn’t giving any of those methods a fair chance. I repeatedly dismantled my plan of action.

Part of my problem was a lack of confidence in what I was doing. In some cases, I questioned the feasibility of the product. In others, I was unsure that the promotional decisions were right. Once doubt crept in, I was again seeking some sort of direction and jumping on new marketing ideas. Again, failing to take the time to follow through.

Clearly, I needed much more detailed guidance than the overviews given in the e-books. My own plan was only partially working because I didn’t have the long term details in place. I didn’t have any idea what were the best programs to join, or where to find the best advertising and marketing opportunities.

Then, I came across a program that has done all the preliminary work for me. They designed my site, encouraged me to sign up with five of the best affiliate programs on the market, set me up with an e-zine, and provided me with a manual that details all the things I have do to promote successfully. It even directs me to the most effective advertising and marketing services, those that require payment and those that don’t.

By following the daily manual, I’ve begun to make progress at last.

The value of having the right focus, the right knowledge and the right plan of action is priceless to your online business success.