We say that we want to succeed, that we want to do the work but do we have what it really takes? Here are the Top 5 things to have a very firm grasp of in order to know you are on the road to a continued success:

1. Your top strengths
It's essential to know what you are really good at because this is what will take you least time to do and you will do it very well as opposed to performing tasks you are not so good at but still need to be done.  Also, doing things you are naturally talented at adds to having a positive and productive environment.

2. Your shortcomings
It is really good to know what you don't do so good, so that you either learn how to do it better or find a way to enlist somebody else do it for you it it must be done. Moreover, your weaknesses have the erosive power of the water. You may not notice them because their impact on your life can be small or because you are accustomed to having things this way or that way but they may be sabotaging your development and professional or business success big time.

3. Your team
We are not talking about your employees only. Here are included all your supporters – everyone (on your payroll or not) who is  there for you, wishes you good and helps you in a way. Working solo is sometimes mistaken as working alone. Your business success depends on your investment in your business trainings, your partnerships, your associates, even your neighbourhood friends as soon as they pat you in the back and tell you – you're doing a great thing.

4. Your forecasts
My favorite way to run a business is to have every day accounted for 6 months ahead of time. All prior planning saves you from failure later so as boring or Greek as it may sound  to you in the beginning knowing how to plan your time, your expenses, your activities and make projections 6 months ahead is something that needs to be learned. Getting help with it in the beginning is ok, outsourcing this activity to somebody else is also ok. But still, it's good to know as much as possible for your own business.

5. Your strategies
No sales , no profit. I guess you know that. So, the same is with strategies – you need to have a whole set of them. If one doesn't work,  the next one will, if the next one doesn't work – the next and so on until a strategy clicks with the client and he buys. The age old investment principle not to have all eggs into one bag applies as well here. You can't use only one way to market and sell what you offer and leverage your profits.