I have studied 100′s of books on personal development over the years and one of my favorite authors is Brian Tracy. Tracy is a well known author, business trainer and motivational speaker. His background is in sales so many of his topics are about developing yourself to be not only a better person but to improve your skills in sales and in business.

Tracy had a technique of self evaluation that he used in his teachings to help people to develop qualities, attributes or skills that they feel to be their weakest skill set. Think about this statement for a minute; ‘Your weakest skill is determining your current income.’ How could you double your income by developing that weak area of your life to make yourself more effective?

A couple of posts ago I discussed Communication as the #1 skill I believe that you should develop to be successful as an online entrepreneur. In this post I will list 6 other skills that I feel are important to your online success.

As you read through the following list, you might want to take a personal inventory or an honest evaluation of your own skills. Notice if you are stronger in some of these areas and weaker in others.

After this self evaluation is completed; work on developing your weakest skill set to make it stronger for online success.

1. Communication-I’m listing this skill again so you have a complete list of skills. You can read a prior post for details about communication online.

2. Organized Thinking, Organized Knowledge, Organized Planning

It starts with an idea, then it’s implemented with a plan. Unorganized knowledge is useless without a plan for using it. An organized plan for the information is the fastest and most efficient way to get from point A to point B.

Make a straight line plan to reach your goals. Get it on paper, write out the details, set a date to accomplish your goals. Work out the details so you know where you are headed and keep your focused attention on the goal.

3. Creative Thinking

Always thinking of new ideas and creating solutions for problems as they come up in your own business is a necessary activity for your success. Create new products that solve other peoples’ problems. You use your creative juices for writing blogs, emails, ad copy, sales copy,  and creative graphics; the list is endless. We need to continually create to succeed. Become a creative ‘idea person.’

4. Continued Education

If you love to learn and are continually studying, you have a quality for success. Are you always looking for new innovative ways of doing things? Do you like to research? Do you have a natural curiosity that keeps you motivated to keep learning?

Study sharpens your mind.  Personal development is an ongoing process. We need to continually work on ourselves. We need to  work on improving our business by learning new technologies, learning new marketing methods, or new systems for efficiency. The internet is changing rapidly everyday; we need to be continually learning to keep up!

5. Discipline and Time Management

The internet is there for us to gather information, as well as for our entertainment. It’s the information age. I don’t know how we survived in the past without it! People are becoming addicted to this machine that practically gives them all the answers to almost anything they want to know. You can connect with friends, hold meetings, take online classes. You can even have dinner with someone online if you both have a plate of food in front of you with your web cam on:-)

So, do I need to say anymore about time management for an online business? It’s easy to get overwhelmed with all the possibilities online. So this requires discipline. You don’t need to read every email or every sales letter or get lost in searching for new products. If you don’t pay attention, a few hours flies by and you don’t know where it went. You were lost in the moment and you accomplished absolutely nothing!

And might I also say… there are other things you need to accomplish in your life that doesn’t require being in front of the computer? Hey, you need to get out and spend time with your family, or your pets and dare I say exercise? Well, you get the point. Manage your time for online success.

Here’s a tip I use that has proven to be very effective. At the end of the workday, make a list of the 5 most important tasks to be completed the next day. The next day you have your tasks in front of you, start cracking away accomplishing one at a time. Believe me, this works!

6. Risk Taker, Decision Maker

A successful person makes decisions quickly and changes them slowly. They also take action on those decisions. It takes self confidence to make decisions quickly and to act on them. Successful people are also risk takers. They not only have a confidence about their ability to make decisions without wavering, they also have an inner knowing or sixth sense that their decisions will turn out as planned.

7. Passion for Your Work

Finally, my favorite success skill; finding your passion and designing your life and work around it! Statistics show that the most successful people are doing what they love to do. Success comes naturally to people who follow their passion and find work they enjoy.

Can you say that about your work? If you don’t enjoy what you are doing for a living or anything else for that matter, you will not be very good at it.

Sell products in a niche market that interests you.  Avoid trying to market pet supplies if you don’t own a pet and don’t care about them. Do what you love and the money will follow.

Til the next time….To your success!

Ann