If you like the idea of being your own boss and believe you have found a good vehicle to make money online it would benefit you greatly to learn from the mistakes made by others in the home business industry. This morning we're going to run through the most common mistakes made by people trying to create an income on the internet and hopefully help you to avoid them.

There are two very different groups of people in this industry. Those who are convinced that everything online is too good to be true and, of course, those who are convinced they can strike it lucky by joining a new opportunity which creates their riches for them on autopilot. Both groups tend to get nowhere.

Take a look at those who are achieving results and you may well be surprised to discover that they are not internet guru types. They tend to be regular people, quite similar to those who complain they can't get any results, but they have a few major differences in the way they treat their business. The actual business itself doesn't even matter. It could be Mary Kay, Empower Network or any other established affiliate program. If you get the basic rules in place, you tend to see better results. []

If you put two people from a similar background into an online business you would probably find that one person would enjoy more success than the other. Quite simply it does not matter where you come from or how much money you have. It's about where you're going and how hard you are prepared to work in order to get there. Three things will determine this.

* Setting up a short-term and a long-term goal.

* Notice the difference in attitudes between those who go on to reach success and those who don't progress.

* Skill is not as important as work ethic.

While there can never be any guarantees in the business world, applying today's three proven steps is a sure fire way to get your chosen online business or affiliate program moving in the right direction. Most people who fail do so because they simply don't put in the effort for themselves.

Setting out a long-term and short-term goal for your business is one of the best steps you can take in the early stages of any new venture. It gives you something to aim for, adding structure to your routine as well as getting you into the right mindset to take your opportunity seriously.

The second principle is based upon your attitude. Anybody can join an affiliate program but not everyone is cut out to become their own boss. Most businesses fail in the high street for this reason. There will be testing times ahead and if you are naturally a 'glass half empty' sort of person then you will find things hard.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, is your work ethic. In order to change your financial life you need to set out a plan and then work at it whenever you can. Otherwise your plan will not materialize. The difference between a dream and reality is work ethic. You should be actively looking to grow your business whenever and wherever you can.

These are the three most important ingredients when you are trying to make money online. There is no secret formula or miracle system, despite what many people are led to believe, and the basic rules to success remain the same as they would be if you were trying to become your own boss offline.