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Anyone working from home as a freelancer, or embarking on their own entrepreneurial venture, needs to be aware that a major part of career success, both in the present moment and in the future, lies in constantly being able to acquire new skills.
On one hand, learning new skills shows potential employers and clients that you’re adaptive, proactive and committed to staying on the cutting edge of your craft.
On the other, learning new skills simply gives you a vastly greater degree of flexibility with regards to the fields you’re able to work in, and how self-sufficient you can be in any business venture. Even if you’re not going to be using a skillset in the course of your normal business life, simply having it makes you much better equipped to interface with professionals in that area as needed.
Without further ado, here are some essential skillsets that every home-based worker should develop.
Learn new languages
Whether it’s learning Spanish or just staying abreast of the best ESL tips, knowing multiple languages is by far one of the best ways of making a positive impression on any future employer, as well as being one of the best ways of opening up shop to the whole world.
Being multilingual allows you to easily do business with companies and individuals from around the world, it allows you stay fully informed about the different developments in your field, globally, and it makes you an asset to any team which requires a high degree of communication and cultural awareness.
In addition to the business specific benefits, research has shown that learning new languages stimulates growth and activity in the brain, and might make it easier to learn future skills going forward.
Learn basic coding
We’re well and truly living in the digital age, and it’s almost become the case that it’s impossible for a business to break even, much less grow and dominate their niche, without a strong and well-focused web presence.
Web experts are in major demand, and those business owners who have an understanding of coding are already well ahead of the competition in the battle for online dominance.
A good basic understanding of web coding is the kind of feather you can put in your cap which will impress virtually all employers. It’ll also give you an access point to working in one of the most lucrative industries currently going, or even just allow you to cut costs with the creation of your own website.
Learn about SEO
If an understanding of coding is a great asset in the digital age, a good working knowledge of SEO is all but essential. For the most part, the ultimate aim of every businesses’ online presence is to rank well on Google and to draw the attention of potential customers. For purely online businesses and services — such as those often provided by solo entrepreneurs — this step is even more vital.
SEO is, for better or worse, the name of the game, and the different SEO techniques out there include everything from knowing how to craft content for the web, to how to research the perfect keywords, appease Google’s algorithm, and deal with your own website’s backlinks and metadata.
