As you all have known if you are a regular reader of this blog, I run a conventional brick and mortar business with my partners. Whenever we clinch a new project, we will employ freelancers or part time workers to help out. However sometimes, these freelancers or part time workers simply do not deliver or worse still do not come to work at all leaving us shorthanded and running out of time to complete the project on hand.

When this happens, my partners and I will simply roll up our sleeves and get to work. This is the time when you really need to know what you are doing. We may not be as fast or quick as the workers we engage but at the very least we can help out and complete the projects on time. That’s why it is always important to have a good working knowledge of anything you do, especially in business when issues like above happens all the time. The same thing applies to any online business, you must learn the basics first and when time is ripe then you outsource your work so you can concentrate your energy and time on the more important aspects of your business.

As with conventional business the most 2 most important skills and knowledge that you need to master is sales and marketing. If you don’t understand what I mean here, that’s means you still have a lot of things to learn my friend. In any business, marketing and sales are the 2 most important departments in the business. Marketing create awareness and branding for the business which in turn lead to more leads or what we call potential customers. When these customers are interested in whatever products or services that your business is offering, this is the time when your selling skills is tested.

I have compiled a list of skills and knowledge that you need to learn and in some case master them. By doing so, you will ensure that your internet business is on the right track for success. Go through the list and make sure if you are seriously lacking in them, try to improve. There is no need for you to master everything but at the very least you should be proficient enough to set up a website from scratch. In short you need to be a jack of all trade and also a master of a few core skills especially in copywriting and marketing. Have fun!

1. Master copywriting so that you can write great sales copy.

2. Master marketing so that you can know how to market and promote all your products and services.

3. Master communication skills so that you can easily build rapport and trust with your customers.

4. Web design language such as HTML, CSS Stylesheet.

5. Programming language like PHP, JavaScript, etc.

6. Graphics design software such as PhotoShop, FireWorks, etc.

7. Web designing software such as Dreamweaver, FrontPage, etc.

8. Build web sites using CMS platform like Joomla, Drupal, WordPress etc

9. Others. Go figure out yourself!