Do you know your ABCs?

Last night was Karaoke night. Yes, I do Karaoke—albeit poorly. It all started when I was dating this Asian girl. Oh wait, that’s not important.

So, there I am doing my Elvis impression while singing the ABC song. I hope you know the one: “ABCDEFG HIJKLMNOP QRSTUV WX and Y and Z.”

I began to think about how many people I saw daily who were struggling to start up an Internet business or struggling to make money.

The thought hit me. They don’t know their ABCs. I participate at a few forums that are loaded with people trying to do business on the Internet. A common issue with many is their lack of basic business knowledge.

Why is this? Are late-night infomercials to blame? I think so, partly. We now have an entire culture that believes all you need to do to make money is turn on your computer. Ah, I can hear the old the old mantra: “Build it and they will come.”

Rather than learning about business principles, people are simply following advice from others who apparently are doing the same—what a vicious cycle. Rather than learning about the why, they just want to know what to do—quickly. Unfortunately, this almost always leads to failure or very limited success.

There’s a dangerous thought out there that Internet business is completely different from doing business in the real world. While the Internet has some differences, the basics of business still apply. And not knowing them equates to failure on some level.

Whether you read some business-oriented books, go to college, attend some seminars or all of them, you need to grasp the basics of business to succeed.