As an avid follower of WhyDoWork’s online forums you would know about our recent contest which asked our members what they plan on doing to grow their online business in the coming year. The result was a $150 to one of our lucky members and a plethora of valuable tips for our members and blog followers.

I have extracted some of the best advice found within those posts, and what I dub ‘the golden rules of success in the online world’. A lot of these tips can be applied not just online but in everyday life.

Enjoy.

1. Know your niche, research it. Whether you are out there doing a job, or promoting a product you need to be an expert. People rely on you to know it all and you should. Research should be ongoing and when new ideas fall into your realm you should be the first to know about it.

2. Believe in your self and what you are doing. It can be very disheartening to fail but it is a part of life. If you believe in what you are doing you can achieve.

3. Focus on what works, learn from what doesn’t and move on. It’s one thing to believe in something and another to take a step back and realize when something just isn’t working. Sometimes it can be hard to know when to reach that point but it is crucial, learn from those mistakes.

4. Plan on starting to work SMARTER and not just HARDER. This was a profound theme amongst our readers. Constantly revaluate what you are doing to see if there is a better way. Think about how you can earn a residual income so that each month becomes easier and more profitable.

5. Outsource. At WhyDoWork we do this all the time. There comes a point when it is more cost effective and beneficial to pay an expert rather than waste your skills doing something poorly. If your car breaks down do you research how to fix cars or take it to the mechanic? Focus on what you are good at.

6. Align yourself with good people. Whether it is an employer, affiliate company, outsourcers, lawyers, online contacts, or friends, a solid network of people makes all the difference. Networking both online and offline is crucial.

7. Treat ‘this’ as a job. Whether you are working an online job, writing posts in a blog, or are contributing in get paid to programs this is one of my favorite pieces of advice by our contest winner. Think of how you approach a job, you start on time, finish on time and work hard while you are at work. Even if you are sitting on your computer in your underwear you need to approach your tasks with the same level of seriousness if you want to succeed. (Don’t forget jobs have days off.)

8. Be organized. Get the necessary equipment you need in order to be more organized. Whether that is a prioritized to-do list or calendars filled out with milestones and goals it is important to have a quantitative means of measuring your ability to stay on track.

9. Find your motivation and revisit it. Whether it be an education for the kids, escaping debt, or your desire for a new Lamborghini, keep in mind why it is you are busting your butt so you can keep at it.

10. Set your goals and be realistic. You can’t expect to get rich overnight. There are millions of people out there competing for the same piece of the pie. Embrace those small successes because over time a lot of small achievements really add up.

I wish everyone the best of luck this year.

Cheers!

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