Let’s face the facts: doing online work is not for everybody. No matter how many targeted Facebook posts say that you too can “Earn dollars everyday” or how many flyers you see on the jeep saying you can “make 15K per month, minimum”, doing work online will not be good fit for many people.

Here are a few questions we’d like you to ask yourself before doing online work:

1. Have you started something online?

This is the key question, really. Whether it’s a blog, or a photo album or a Twitter news feed, contributing online (for free we might add) is the number one thing that determines whether you will succeed at online work or not.

You must love doing stuff online. If you don’t feel that working with computers is for you or being online all the time is a waste of time, then this job is not for you.

On the other hand, if you can’t stop yourself from trying out the latest apps and websites, love turning ideas into pixels and bits and would rather interact with people online than offline, then read on!

2. Do you have the equipment?

Hardware is getting cheaper by the day. A sturdy laptop, even one made a couple of years ago, should work well for most basic tasks. If you’re really short on cash, a netbook might work well but we do not recommend it. Neither should you work with a tablet since it restricts the kinds of work you can do.

Desktop? Maybe, if you already have one. Personally, we like the freedom laptops give and you get to work anywhere in the house.

Second thing to consider is your internet connection. Don’t trust public WiFi to keep you online. Get a broadband stick or a phone that can share its internet connection with your computer. Best bet is getting internet wired to your home. Despite the dropping hardware prices, telcos are not dropping their own internet fees.

Make sure you budget for these two things so you can keep working whatever happens.

3. Are you a go-getter?

The best jobs go to the ones who go out and grab them. On top of being a hard worker, you also need to be a self-starter. Slackers might get work now and then but it’s the people who are committed 100% who get the lion’s share of rewards. After all, skill is built by practicing it and if you get a lot of work, you get a lot of practice. More skill, higher rates, all without the need to go abroad.

Included in this is being able to get things done. Clients trust people who get things done and will probably give you raise rather than see you go. Again, it boils down to practicing your craft. Once you’ve mastered it, doing the basics will be a synch for you.

Read Part 2 here.