Determining what is essential and what’s not essential is key for a successful business. So here is a secret I have not told many.

It wasn’t always this way for me.

I wasn’t born with a magical playbook. I developed my success playbook over years and years of trial and error. I developed systems that work… strategies anyone can put to use.

And it all starts with five essential skills you must master.

At a conference I spoke at in Las Vegas, I had the pleasure of meeting Michael Gerber. So much of what he and I talked about made tremendous sense. And I saw these five factors as some of the essential keys to success.

The 5 Essential Skills Every Mompreneur Must Master for Success

1) Concentration – focusing your attention on where you are and what you are working on at all times. This is the opposite of multi-tasking. I hear working moms brag about how good they are at multi-tasking. It makes me sad. That's because, when you are multi-tasking, nothing gets your full attention. To create extraordinary results, your full attention is needed. Concentration is a skill and it takes practice. Start that practice today.

2) Discrimination – choosing when, where, and how you focus your attention. Most entrepreneurs and business people fail not because they are lazy or because they don’t work. They fail because they work on the wrong things. You need to understand what is important and what’s not. Which tasks, projects, meetings, emails, and phone calls will yield revenue and which will not? Unfortunately, most people work on things they are comfortable and confident doing. That's not often the right thing or the most important thing to be doing.

3) Organization – turning chaos into order. As a working mom you do it all the time in your home. So why don’t you incorporate the same skill and time into your business? You could come to my house and see the kids running around having a grand old time… But when the clock strikes 8:00 it is bedtime. I know it, my husband knows it, and most importantly my kids know it. But guests are always shocked. How did we do this? It is a practice that we have reinforced over the years. The same organization and repetition apply to your business.

4) Innovation – thinking about improvement rather than always thinking about change. If you are doing something now, there is always a better way and there is always a best way. And because we live in an ever-changing world, one day your “best” way will need and should be on its way to “better.”

5) Communication – forming strong relationships with your colleagues, employees, and clients. All relationships, whether business or personal, hinge on our encounters with another person stacked end to end. In survey after survey, those who lack strong interpersonal skills are tagged as less competent, less attractive, and less qualified as leaders. The ability to communicate successfully can turn any product into a franchise.

Once you understand the importance of these skills and practice them on a regular basis, you will be ready to apply hard-core business and marketing skills so you can achieve the life you deserve.

Author's Bio: 

MaryEllen Tribby is the Founder and CEO of WorkingMomsOnly.com and MaryEllenTribby.com. Her mission is to supply the tools that can give EVERY working mom the ability to lead a healthy, wealthy, and more balanced/blended lifestyle. She is a highly sought-after business consultant, speaker, and author. Her first book - which she co-authored with Michael Masterson, is Changing the Channel: 12 Easy Ways to Make Millions For Your Business. Join her on the magnificent journey to lead the life you have always dreamed of, the life you and your family deserve. Sign up for a FREE subscription at http://workingmomsonly.com.