I came into my business fully unprepared for all that I needed to know and do to be successful. So I just ran with it and hoped those skills would come in time.

The good news? Most of it did, because most of it I could only learn by doing. But I’ll admit that there are a few skills that I would like to be better at (and am always trying to get better at).

For those who are about to make the jump and wondering what skills you need, I thought I’d take a quick look at a few of the skills that might be helpful for you.

Prioritization

The one thing about clients is that they will see everything as a fire that needs to be put out right now. And the best way to get burnt out on social media? Trying to put all the fires at the exact same time.

This is not to say you need to ignore the worries of your clients, but you need the ability to see it all as a much bigger picture. Then you need to be able to prioritize those actions that will make the most difference and move from there.

The truth of it all is that if everything is a fire, nothing is a fire. So prioritizing those actual fires is a real skill that can put your clients ahead of the game.

Communication

This is my best and worst skill. I will talk to my clients all day about social media and their presence in particular. That is good except when I over-communicate. I am always preparing for the worst, so I am always running worst case scenarios in my head. It probably would be better not to share every worst case scenario in my head with clients, and yet that’s exactly what I do.

Striking that balance of knowing exactly what the client needs and wants to know is a fantastic skill. And then being able to share it with them in a way that gets them to do what they need to do is absolutely necessary for the survival of your business. Although I fail at the first, I’m usually good at explaining what is going on and what the client needs to do.

The first step to this is always to figure out how a clients wants to communicate and receive communication. That varies from client to client. So be open to what works for them and you will be well on your way towards communicating with them effectively. And then work from there to figure out what they need to hear and what you need to keep to yourself.

Boundaries

Clients will push your boundaries from time to time. They will want more time than they have paid for and will try to contact you during hours you have designated as your own. It’s rarely done with bad intentions. They are just looking at their needs and trying to respond to them.

Knowing the right boundaries to put in place and enforcing them will be huge for the longevity of your business. And if it’s done correctly, the client will respect you.

What are the right boundaries? Honestly it’s what helps you work most effectively and what your client will accept. For example, if you can only work between midnight and three in the morning, I don’t think there are many clients who will accept that as a boundary. But if you want to reserve certain hours for family time, that is usually a boundary most clients will accept. The skill here is recognizing what is acceptable and what is not.

Organization

A lack of organization can be the death of your business. You’re wasting time trying to locate everything. That time could be used for client or admin work.

Does this organization system need to make sense to anyone else? That depends. When it’s available to the client, you need very clear cut organization. When it’s just for me, I am the only person who understands the organization. I can find everything and that’s all that’s important.

Just be aware of what is necessary and give it the organization it needs. Then you are able to free up that time for work that will bring money in.

Time management

I have a joke that I can do more in three hours than most people can do in a full day’s work. I’ve always been good at maximizing my time, but after I had my daughter, it was one of those skills that made it possible to work while having my daughter at home.

The first step for me was being aware of the time it takes you to do things. This was difficult for me. I just like to do, and I hate tracking time. But if you have no awareness of the time it takes, then you have no idea how to charge for these tasks. Yes, it could work in your favor and have you overcharging. It’s much more likely that it will result in you undercharging.

And being aware of the time can be vital. It’s easy to get lost on social media. There is always something else you can be doing. If you allow yourself to get lost, you won’t complete your tasks and you won’t be able to keep your clients. Having tools like timers for tasks can make a huge difference so you can get more done.

Motivation

The single hardest skill for most freelancers is motivation. When I struggled with it, I happened to be seeing a therapist. She told me to start breaking all of my tasks into their tiniest components. For example, I was having trouble getting to yoga at six in the morning (yes, I am also shocked that I used to go to yoga at six in the morning every day but less shocked that I had trouble with this). Instead of looking at going to yoga as a whole, I looked at the different parts and tried to complete at least one more every day. So the first day, the goal was to just wake up. The next day, it was to gather my yoga items. And if at anytime it felt like I wanted to do more, I would.

I scoffed at the idea of doing this at first. Could this really work? The fact is that it did. When I stopped thinking of tasks as these big items and started looking at the tiny components, I started doing more. I am never intimidated by the bigness. I am just focused on what I need to do. That is huge when so many things about running a business can feel intimidating.

But this works for me. That doesn’t mean it will work for you. My biggest piece of advice is to figure out what motivates you and exploit the heck out of it. If you love food, use your favorite food to get things done. If you’re a big reader, use reading time as a treat. Just find what works and then use it to be as effective as you possibly can.

What skills do you wish you’d known you’d need as a business owner?