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Three years ago I decided to kill my job.

My wife and I took last year off and traveled the world. We visited exotic places like Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand and India. We dove shipwrecks in Indonesia and spent 17 days hiking through the Himalaya in Nepal. While we took the year off, our business continued to run profitably on auto-pilot.

I wish I could say there was a "secret" to our success. But there isn't. Like the old saying "The only place success comes before work is the dictionary." It's an uphill battle to succeed but... when you compare building your own online business to 40 years working for someone else... I'll take the former any day of the week and twice on Sundays.

Here are my top 4 suggestions for anyone struggling to "make it" online.

1. Learn to do keyword research. This is the greatest skill you can learn at the beginning, and it will save you months - maybe years - of struggle. Start with the Google Keyword tool (https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal) if you want, or use a paid tool such as Wordtracker or Micro Niche Finder.

You should become very familiar with looking at keywords and analyzing competition. Make a list of popular keywords people are looking for (e.g. 40,100 people search for "dog training supplies" every month) and create a solution for them (website that sells dog training supplies or a review site for the best supplies in the market).

2. Forget long term plans. The Internet is changing fast, and you need to change with it. I wasted my first six months chasing every opportunity. Now, I choose a strategy and focus on it for 90 days. After 90 days I review the results, refine the process and put my head down for another 90 days.

3. Outsource everything you possibly can. We get more done in an afternoon now than we used to in a month. Outsourcing is cheap and effective - do not wait to take this step. You can find virtual assistants on sites like elance.com and guru.com.

4. Set action goals instead of result-based goals. Rather than saying "I want to make $50 a day in six months" try "I will research and build six websites with at least 50 pages of content." The latter places responsibility squarely on your shoulders.

I believe that anyone... yes, anyone... can escape their job within one year if they work hard and outsource as much as possible. My wife and I are living proof this is possible. What's stopping you?

Business in a Backpack by Adam Costa and Darcie Connell (ISBN 978-1-84528-404-6) is available at all good bookstores priced at £12.99. To orders call + 44 (0)1476 541080, visit howtobooks.co.uk

BUY IT HERE: Business in a Backpack: How to build and run a profitable business while you travel the world

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