The Essential Skills You Need To Run A Location Independent Business - And How To Tool Up
Photo by flattop341
As someone who comes from a corporate background of management consulting, one of the things I found the most thrilling about our journey to becoming location independent was the “skilling up” required… I love learning new stuff.
In consulting, it was the constant need to learn something new, to assume the status of an expert amongst far more experienced people and in all honesty, to be able to blag with the best of them which created the love/hate relationship I had with consulting.
One day I’d be cramming my brain with everything I could find out about credit management for a global bank, the next it could be refreshing my knowledge on the client journey to talk to the Customer Relations director of a global cellphone company; but the fear that I would some day be “found out” nagged at me in the background and overshadowed the challenge and thrill of all that learning.
These days, running my own business and writing my own blogs, presentations and marketing materials, I only write about and sell what I know - the things I’ve got experience in and what I’ve actually done successfully myself.
I live safe in the knowledge that my skills are usually good enough, that the depth of knowledge is sound and that I can basically deliver what I promise to deliver. That can’t be said of everyone sadly.
But this isn’t another rant about how some bloggers blag with the best of them and advise others on things they’ve never done (which irks me something chronic too), it is a post about the essential skills I believe you need if you’re aiming to become location independent by running a business of some sort…and how you can skill up if you find yourself lacking.
Here they are…
Computer skills
Picture this…you’re halfway round the world on a remote island with no internet cafe, computer shop or anything resembling technical support and you can’t figure out how to uninstall and reinstall an application that’s stopped working. Or you’re trying to put together a client proposal but word isn’t playing nice and you can’t seem to format the page how you want it to look.
Who you gonna call? It might sound funny to many of you but there are still a huge number of people out there who just can’t work their own computers. If you’re one of them and you want to become location independent, then learn…and learn fast!
Become a power user of your own computer:
Free Resources & Tech Support:
Writing, Blogging & Copywriting
Once again, if you’re looking to run your own location independent business you are going to need to write all manner of marketing materials to help communicate your message.
Honing your writing skills will stand you in good stead for everything - from emails to blog posts to articles to press releases and more (and if you’re really no good, check out the service offered by Gramlee).
Writing Tips & Resources:
5 Ways To Get Your Business In The Papers
Copywriting 101: An Introduction to Copywriting
Coaching & NLP
Coaching and consulting are great skills to have as a location independent professional; but what it’s really all about is communication which is why NLP (neuro linguistic programming) is something I thoroughly recommend. It’s only since I became an NLP Practitioner a couple of years ago that I realised quite how important the words we choose to use and the way we deliver them can have such an impact on the message we’re trying to convey.
Whilst you may not need nor want a coaching or NLP qualification, skilling up on some of the basics can help you become an infinitely more skilled communicator - a vital skill whether you’re communicating face to face or from half way round the world.
NLP & Coaching Resources:
Coach U (life coaching course)
Coachville (life coaching course)
Website & Blog Design
I became a website and blog designer by mistake; I’ve always been a closet techy and had to do ‘proper’ coding at Accenture and use Dreamweaver to create ‘best of breed’ elearning applications; but it’s only since running my own business that I’ve really connected the dots and skilled up when it comes to html-based web design and CSS-based blog design.
If any of the above terminology sounds like a completely foreign language to you, then you’ve got some skilling up to do! I’m not suggesting that you skill up to the level where you’re creating websites and blogs for people like we do, but if you’re going to run an internet-based business then the chances are high that you’ll need a website and/or a blog.
There may come a time when your needs outweigh your own skill and your time becomes too valuable to be updating your own sites - and if you’ve got the cash, then definitely outsource your web/blog development - but until you do, knowing how to create your own professional-looking sites will save you money and time at the beginning. If you’ve got at least a basic knowledge, when the time comes for you to outsource this task, you’ll also know what you’re looking for and talking about.
Resources for Beginners:
Start A Wordpress Blog Tutorials
Resources for Intermediate Users:
HTML, CSS, PHP and More Cheat Sheets
How To Be A Rockstar Wordpresser (not yet released)
Resources for More Advanced Users:
Online Marketing & Social Networking
Last but not least - marketing yourself online is something you are going to have to master if you want to become location independent. Marketing yourself online is essentially not hugely different from marketing yourself offline - if you follow the basic process of:
Define your market > Define your solution > Define your message > Communicate with your target market > Network & build relationships > Follow up with interested prospects > ‘Sell’ Your Solution.
It’s simply that you have different tools online and some slightly different rules for using them to market yourself effectively.
Getting Started Tips:
A Beginner’s Guide To Social New Sites
Entrepreneur’s Journey Online Marketing articles
Michael Neill, renowned success coach said: Financial security does not come from the amount of money you currently have - it comes from your belief in your ability to get more of it whenever you want.
Many other sites encourage you to become an expert in one of these skills: blogging or online marketing or freelance writing or software development or website design or blog consulting.
From personal experience, I recommend a slightly different approach: I believe that if you have basic to intermediate skills in all of these areas you have all the skills you need to start, manage and grow a location independent business, as many times as you want and your ability to secure your financial security increases remarkably.
Once you’ve skilled up though…keep learning! Don’t rest on your laurels and think you’re ‘there’ - constant learning is what will set you apart from others and enable you to grow, expand and increase your business success.
If you’d like our help improving your technology skills, check out what we offer for Technology Support - and don’t forget, we can help you build a website or blog too!
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Comments
Great list of resources Lea, thanks for compiling, sharing and including mine!
I love learning new stuff too and I’m just astonished by how much I love mastering some of the technical skills I’d have considered ‘beyond’ me when I worked in the corporate world.
I spent the weekend sorting things like comment feed and drop down boxes for my archives (thanks to typepad hacks) and I couldn’t believe how much fun it was! I hadn’t realised this stuff could be so creative - so much an expression of what you’re trying to achieve. Having control of the tools to do it yourself rather than relying on an (inept) IT department is brilliant.
Joanna
Thank you for posting such wonderful info about home based business. I found your blog seaching at google. Keep up the good work.
@Chris Moran - thank you…and welcome to the blog!
@James Chartrand - you’re welcome; I enjoyed the article on your blog and it’s something I can get quite riled up about too (and have done on my personal blog) if I let myself. Enjoy your poking around!!
@Joanna - I couldn’t include resources about how to write better (more confidently) without including you now, could I? 
Careful…it sounds like you’ve unleashed your inner techy demon!!
@KKausar - you’re welcome - glad you enjoyed the post.
@Maria - thanks Maria - glad you found it useful…def time to ‘tool’ up again for me!
Where is the link to prevent and control information overload from learning to much to fast ? 
Thats always been my problem. Great post!
Hi Lea
I took my new, weeks old business, location free for the weekend. I even made money whilst sitting on the beach at Cocoa.
Tops!
Having done a weekend, a week is next I believe…. (Tiny acorns, giant oak trees and all that!)
http://vrbooker.com/2008/03/31/location-independent-vrbooker/
Thanks for being part of the inspiration.
No, it was surprisingly simple.
If there was an issue it was that I use my Iphone with ANother carrier and the Edge connection on the beach was not very fast. It took ages to log onto PayPal to look at the money coming in!
Also if I weigh up money coming in against money going out (On body boards, ice cream, drinks, more ice cream etc. etc.) I am not sure if I made any profit.
Oh well, onwards and upwards!
@Mike - LOL!!! That is a hazard of LIP life…there’s so much you want to do in each place that you have to work twice as hard to earn the money to do it!!
Nice writing style. Looking forward to reading more from you.
Chris Moran