1. Be ambitious and perseverant. Leading an online business on the path of success isn’t easy, so you will need to be ready to overcome any obstacle, especially those directly related to finances.

2. Befriend prominent people with many connections. This will facilitate your access to well-developed networks, where you may find prospective collaborators, partners, clients, and so on.

3. Keep learning and always learn from the best. To do that, surround yourself with the smartest people you can find, particularly those with expertise in areas you are not very knowledgeable in.

4. Make the most of entrepreneur/ business groups (i.e. Entrepreneurs’ Organizations, IMarketers). As Jon Carder explains, such groups allow you to learn from others’ experiences, giving you the chance to avoid making the same mistakes and to gain insight into what successful leaders are doing to stay ahead of the competition.

5. Try to maintain a sense of balance between work and repose. To avoid undue stress and poor decision-making, allow yourself periods of proper rest. Say no to working on weekends and take vacations at least three times a year.

6. Constantly seek to reinvent and improve your business. The world of internet marketing is undergoing permanent change. So in order to keep up with the new technologies, strategies, and tactics, you will need to readdress important aspects in your business every few months.

7. Look to enhance your creativity by studying the literature in the field and other sources of information that you may find useful. If you want to improve your ideas on running your business, acquire as much useful information as you can pertaining to your specific area of activity, sales or marketing. Magazines, marketing articles, books, blogs, films and documentaries all serve as great sources of inspiration.

8. Keep motivation levels high among the members of your team. To achieve that, hold regular meetings to pump up your employees and build team cohesion.

9. Set clear goals and stick with them religiously. Everyone in the organization should have a clear picture of what’s needed of them to achieve success with the company.

10. Back your decisions and actions with knowledge. When faced with a new business challenge, hit the books and read your way out of it.

11. Try to replace criticism with encouragement. Excessive criticism directed at your employees will only break down their morale. If you are upset with someone in your organization, wait a while before you approach them and when you do, start the conversation with appreciation for something positive that they have done.

12. Focus on business dimensions that matter and don’t take on multiple projects at once. Always concentrate on core competencies and core business, and no matter how tempting, never try to run two businesses simultaneously.

13. The journey is more than the destination. As Jon Carder always points out, the goal is not to earn a fortune and retire – it is to live your dream, build your success and maybe even leave some kind of legacy behind you.

14. Live in the now. If your only goal is to earn wealth, then you will forget to live the experience as it unfolds.