I was asked a question recently send from a reader which centered around what I thought “was most important skills/qualities  beneficial when going out on your own?”  You can read my answer below.

In terms of skills for being an entrepreneur I think the 3 below are the most needed:

1) Courage/strength
You must have courage to make the decision to jump out on your own. Courage means acknowledging there is risk involved and you do have some trepidation, yet you still take action and make the move. It also means you are in it for the long haul. This takes strength and trust in yourself.  But you JUST DO IT.

2) Market Identification
This is the ability to look at certain markets and market segments to identify holes, or needs that are not met yet. This is where you get strategic and determine what you are going to build and why. It’s pretty hard to be a successful entrepreneur if you can’t find a market for your product or service.

This is a skill that develops over time but I would suggest starting by reading as much about business, technology and the changing dynamics of our world today as possible – and then make that a daily habit.  Also, once you figure out the general market you want to serve, you polish your market identification by talking to your (potential) customers to find out all you can about their problems.

3) Flexibility
Great entrepreneurs are very flexible and change direction similar to how a sail boat tacks back and forth. Nothing stays the same for very long and the ability to shift with the wind is a huge advantage over people who aren’t willing to change. Entrepreneurship is a tough road, but the ability to handle the hard knocks and go with the flow will allow you to remain relatively stress free, also it will help you to quickly pounce on unexpected but awesome new opportunities.

Although you can’t take classes for these, I think if you concentrate on the general ideas long enough you can really polish the skills.