No, cashing that week's paycheck wasn't what I had been keenly anticipating... Leaving a job I hated in order to work for myself full-time in cyberspace was dream goal I had finally achieved!

The goal of leaving "rat race" and calling shots in one's own profitable business - online or off - is common to many people. At times it even reaches point of desperation. Some waste thousands of dollars in an elusive attempt to reach it.

If running your own successful business is a goal you'd like to reach, I empathize with your situation. I'll share some tips in this article that helped me "leave rat race" for my own online business, which may also help you.

Even if you've already achieved self-employment, maybe some tips I share can help increase profitability of your existing business, online or off.

Keys To Leaving The Rat Race

1) Being a doer, not just a dreamer.

One of my favorite sayings is: "When all is said than done, more is said than done." It's easy to dream and talk about our goals, but we won't get anywhere until we take decisive action.

Before I built a successful online business, I did more dreaming and telling others about my goal than I took action toward reaching it. Finally combining my dreams with action, however, was only thing that worked.

Caution: Don't confuse taking decisive action with making rash decisions. Temper your willingness to act with sound reasoning and knowledgeable decisions, based on sufficient research.

2) Effective time management.

Time certainly means money in business world. The ability to manage your time effectively is an asset that can repay you many times over, in both your business and personal life.

Getting maximum productivity from your time is even more crucial if you're working a full-time job at same time you're building your own business.

Back when I worked for an employer, time usually dragged by. Now I find that working for myself, time just breezes by and I often wonder where time went!

At one point, I was making money in my own business while holding down my full-time regular job, but not enough to live on. Moreover, I needed more time than I had available in my spare hours to pursue things I felt would increase profits.

I then decided to cut back on hours at my regular job, which my employer agreed to because he didn't want me to quit. This allowed time to expand my business faster and made transition to running my own full-time business easier. If you can't or don't want to quit your job "cold turkey," consider a similar strategy.

3) Knowledge of your field.

You may not personally be strong in all areas, but you can get by as long as you can delegate tasks that call for them to someone on your team that is.

* Good Communicator

Whether you are communicating by email, your web site, ICQ, web-based forums, or whatever, you (or someone in your organization) need to demonstrate good communication skills - especially good writing skills. Unfortunately, many online communications are very weak in this area. I'm not saying this to be critical, but to point out an area for improvement that we can benefit from by giving attention to.

Since we're all human and prone to making mistakes, our communications may not be flawless, but more clearly and accurately we get our message across - with fewer mistakes in spelling, punctuation, and grammar - more likely our prospects will grasp our message and take desired action, and more professional image we will project.

However, that does NOT mean that we need to try to impress people with complex language. Research has shown that clear, simple language outsells complicated language.

* Calculated Risk-Taker

True entrepreneurs aren't necessarily foolhardy gamblers or risk-takers, but tend to be willing to take carefully calculated risks after careful thought and planning (thereby reducing risk). This is better than dragging one's feet too long, suffering from "analysis paralysis," wasting precious time over-analyzing things.

* More of a Doer Than a Dreamer

Having dreams and aspirations about becoming a successful entrepreneur is all well and good. The problem is, it is much easier to dream than it is to roll up our sleeves and get busy making those dreams come true. Only when we do more doing than dreaming will we ever become successful.

* Persistent

As I've watched new online ventures come and go, and others (including my own) come and GROW, I've noticed that persistence is a key ingredient missing from many failed ones. And some are right on brink of success when they quit!

* Cautiously Optimistic