By Sara Urquhart. Photography of Chanel Paris week fall 2012.
Being a successful blogger means you also need the skills of a great entrepreneur. Here are ten skills to hone as your business grows.
1. Take risks. A willingness to try things—and fail—is at the heart of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs are comfortable with uncertainty.
2. Manage pressure. When things get really intense, successful business people have the ability to stay sane, maintain family relationships, and sleep at night, even under serious pressure.
3. Have confidence. Believe that what you’re offering is what people want. It sounds simple, but it’s that kind of conviction that leads to success.
4. Persevere. Keep working at your business. And work some more. And then some more. Even when it seems your to-do list never shrinks, you’ll know you’re cut out for this when you’re still enjoying it.
5. Be passionate. Working in an industry you love increases the quality of your work and therefore your odds for success.
6. Finish strong. New ideas are thrilling, but seeing them through can be exhausting. Successful entrepreneurs have the ability to start great projects, and the smarts to finish them.
7. Manage and plan. Practical skills like how long a project will take, how to keep it moving forward and what you’ll need to do to stay on track are essential.
8. Make communication a priority. Good people skills are fundamental in business and life and you’ll constantly use them to understand what others need from you, to communicate how you can provide that, to problem solve, reach out, build relationships and follow up.
9. Keep an open mind. When you encounter opportunities or pitches that may not seem promising, listen anyway. If you can discover the need behind the proposal, you may be able to craft something new that will be mutually beneficial.
10. Move forward. If a project bombs, resist the urge to get caught up in failure. Simply figure out what went wrong and try it again.
