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7 Essential skills self-made millionaires have in common.

Who wants to become a millionaire? Not one single person will say ‘no thank you.’ A lot dream about this, but few succeed. Jim Rohn explains it best in his quote: “Set a goal to become a millionaire for what it makes of you to achieve it. Do it for the skills you have to learn and the person you have to become.”

According to data released by SARS in 2017, there are 48266 millionaires in South Africa, the biggest portion being between the R1-2mil range brackets. There are also 6 South African billionaires that represent our country on the 2017 Hurun Global Rich List. Now some were born into the wealth while some are self-made. Self-made millionaires are the ones with the advice and the skills worth paying attention to.

There is no such thing as ‘overnight success’ for a self-made millionaire. Entrepreneurs are sprouting up everywhere. But new ideas and a passion for what you do are not the only things you need to succeed and be profitable. Apart from dedication, commitment persistence and sheer determination, if you measure your success by dollar signs, flexibility and the freedom of choices, you also need very important business soft skills to aid you along the way.

Billionaire Warren Buffett said that “risks come from not knowing what you’re doing.” The good news is that you too can learn and master skills that millionaires obtained from their mentors and just plain experience. You just need to be self-motivated and invest in developing your skills:

  1. Leadership is a given skillset in every millionaire. You can’t be a millionaire without being a leader. They themselves obtained leadership lessons and learned skills by following great leaders. Millionaires know that they are only as strong as the people who support them and thus continuously align and inspire.
  2. Emotional Intelligence is a skillset a millionaire can’t do without. If you are self-aware and in touch with your own being and emotions, you will understand empathy and will be able to comprehend others and what they are going through.
  3. Planning and goal orientated. If you have a goal and a well-defined plan to get you there, you are prepared and can grab the opportunities with open arms.
  4. Make networking work for you. Millionaires understand that they need skills of others to contribute to their success. Being able to build a network of people with different skill sets will pay off in the end. It was Mother Teresa that said: “I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot, and together we can do great things.”
  5. Time and stress management are skills every entrepreneur battle with. It is all about balancing priorities and managing outcomes. Learn skills and techniques that utilize your time efficiently and your stress will automatically be less. Don’t try to do everything yourself. Learn to delegate and let go.
  6. Communications is a vital part of becoming and staying a millionaire. If you can’t listen and communicate you won’t know where the needs are. You will not be able to find out how customers will react or you won’t be able to build your brand. Jim Rohn said: “Effective communication is 20% what you know and 80% how you feel about what you know.”
  7. Sales and marketing are mentioned here last but not the least. If no one knows your brand, product or what you do, you can expect people to buy or use your service. How you build your reputation and brand becomes the foundation of your success. Skills in sales and marketing are unnegotiable. Millionaires have a winning sales mindset and understand that in order to prosper growth and expansion is needed.

There is a quote on Pinterest by Kushandwizdom that reads ‘to change your life, you have to change yourself. To change yourself, you have to change your mindset.’ Everyone would love to become a millionaire and a lot of people dream about it, but it merely stays a dream or they don’t follow through. The reality is that no one obtains this overnight without being self-motivated and investing in his or her skillsets. You will never be able to become a self-made millionaire or even billionaire without acquiring business skills.