If you want to succeed as an independent business owner, these seven steps will help you achieve your goals by minimizing risk and maximizing your earning potential.

One of the surest ways to achieve success is to position yourself for success.

By that I mean organizing your life and daily activities so that you have time to be there when the window of success opens.

Look, the truth is that opportunity rarely seeks you out and knocks on your door.

In the real world, you must learn to position yourself to be where (and when) opportunity unfolds. And beyond that, you have the time, tools, and skills to seize that opportunity.

Here are seven steps I take to position myself for success:

1. assign time – Success demands that you have time to dedicate to working towards success, every day. For most people, finding the time to really work to be successful is the most difficult step in achieving success as an independent business owner. If you can’t find the time in your schedule to dedicate a few hours each day to your goal, you need to reorganize your schedule (and your life) or forget about being an independent business owner.
2. Live a low overhead lifestyle – Living a low overhead lifestyle gives you the ‘freedom to fail’. Low overhead means that not every project you undertake has to be a big winner. A low overhead means that even small winners can cover all their expenses. For me, the fastest way to reduce overhead has been to move to an area with low housing costs, low taxes, and few spending opportunities (distractions). If you can organize your life so that you only need to make $800 a month to live on, you’ll have the freedom to fail, which will take the pressure off of developing the next project. Living on low overhead also means that when you produce a successful project, the resulting income can go a long way.
3. Have a safety net – If you have a spouse or children, it is absolutely necessary that you have an income safety net to cover the necessities of life. This includes rent, utilities, food, transportation, school, and health care expenses. Your safety net may be a part-time job, a working spouse, or a military or government pension. It doesn’t matter what your safety net is, as long as it provides enough to keep you and your family afloat during tough times.
4. Have the right tools for the job. – Success usually requires you to have tools, and today these tools are often computer related. At a minimum, you need a computer, an Internet connection, a cell phone, a printer, a digital camera, a fax machine, and various computer accessories. You will also need product creation and management software i.e. video editing software, word processing software, website management software, etc.
5. Develop the skills to use the tools. – In addition to having the right tools for the job, you must acquire the skills to use those tools to get the job done. Acquiring these skills generally takes time; see point 1 above. If you don’t have time, it may mean you don’t have time to acquire the skills. And that is why time appears at the top of this list.
6. Be able to accept payments – To be successful, you must be able to accept payments for your products and services. Accepting payments means having a checking account, a business ID, and a way to process credit card payments.
7. Being able to communicate effectively – To be successful, you must develop the ability to communicate effectively with potential customers, existing customers, business partners, subcontractors, bankers, accountants, and your employees. Must be able to write easily understandable messages, sales materials and customer correspondence (queries, complaints, etc.). And you must also be able to carry on a verbal conversation with customers, customers and others. If you can’t communicate what you have for sale, you may never be able to sell it.

Positioning yourself for success

As you look at the list of steps above, assess yourself how well you’ve positioned yourself for success.

Find out the areas where you might be failing and commit to improving that area.

Doing so could help you achieve the success you desire.