When you have the desire to break out on your own and create a successful business, you need a plan. There are different skill sets needed to develop a successful business compared to being a successful employee. Owning your own business can be the fastest way to succeed in today’s economy. That’s the good news. The bad news is, we were not brought up nor trained to be business owners or entrepreneurs. Not to worry, there is more help than you could imagine!

You need to come to the table with one thing that no one can give you and that’s DESIRE!

When you have the desire to break out on your own and create a successful business, you need a plan. The plan will consist of a number of aspects such as deciding what you want to offer the world that you are uniquely good at and love to do. Why are you going after this new way of making a living (rather than working for someone else).  You will need to have this down pat because you will have to anchor to your 'WHY' when the going gets rough. You will also need to develop the skill sets to succeed in your new business. What are the skill sets that will put you on the road to success? Here are 5 that you can start working on and perfecting.

Work Through Your Fears.

How do you go from fearful to fearless? It is as simple as to realize that your fear has no basis in reality a great majority of the time. When you push forward into the unknown you come to realize the unknown quickly becomes the known and your fear goes away as you become comfortable with new ways of doing things.

Approach your business in a fearless, confidant manner and you will over come that common feeling of fear.

Almost all of the time, you will not get hurt, you will not die, at most you might be embarrassed and in most cases that wouldn’t even happen. Try on the armor of confidence and it will eventually fit you. Try it, you’ll like it!

Networking and Joint Venturing.

One of the fastest ways to gain confidence is to network with others and to form Joint Venture teams. Both of these are skill sets that can be developed and will grow your confidence and also your competence.

In networking with others, you gain the knowledge and experience that others have mastered before you, in a much abbreviated time frame. To learn in this manor is a very efficient way to become an expert in your field.

Networking also allows you to increase your customer and client base from a pool of prospects that you probably would not have access to in any other way. Grow your business and your experience through networking! Look out for possible joint venture partners. These are people and business that offer more to your customers and clients than you can offer on your own. A joint venture partner can also bring in more customers from places that you would not have access to. JV partners can bring to the table more skill sets right away, increasing your offerings. Networking and Joint Venturing are skill sets that will set you and your business apart.

Become a Life Long Learner

We can all invest in many, many things in life, but investing in yourself is the one thing that will pay the biggest dividend. Developing the skill set of life long learning will not only pay off for you but it will pay off for generations that come after you. Your family and their families will benefit from what you learn. Those you work with and their families will benefit from you becoming a life long learner. Read, listen and watch those things that build competence in your field.

Watch webinars, go to events, read books and talk to people. Become a learning machine. Most of all apply what you learn everyday to your business and watch it succeed!

Become the Expert in Your Field

When you become a life long learner, you will become an expert in your field. Learn from those who you admire in your field. As you acquire teachers as the years go by, you may find yourself teaching the teachers. Engage in your business. If there is an aspect you don’t know, find the answers. Make it a point to become the expert of every aspect of your business and industry. Developing this skill set makes you a magnet for customers that want to do business with you and joint venture partners that want to be associated with you.

Help Others

Do seminars, do webinars, do calls, help others. Who learns more, the teacher or the student? It’s the teacher! The student learns but the teacher gets a deeper understanding the more they teach.

You have been given a gift; now develop the skill set of helping others. Develop the habit of asking one of the greatest questions that can be asked. How can I help you? Then listen and help.

When you develop these 5 skill sets you will be on the way to a successful business and a true leader. Aim high!