Most Important Skills for a Founder at Coach Lauren Wong

I think the word that really comes up for me is "self-starter." Whether you're a freelancer, working on your own time, or running your own business, you need to be a self-starter and be very disciplined.

This is something I luckily have. You need to be able to say, "I'm going to do this today," because no one is watching you. As long as you deliver for a freelancer, no one is there to tell you exactly what to do.

On that note, time management is also really important. I schedule everything a little bit. In the morning, I have all these calls scheduled. You need to be good at managing your time.

Besides that, I'm working with clients, so customer management is key. Always make sure you're in touch with them, they're satisfied, and they feel like they can contact you. Communication skills are essential.

When it comes to communication, being empathetic is important. I'm helping them with a big chapter in their life, and there are a lot of emotions involved. People might think, "I'm not good enough. What if I get rejected?" So, being empathetic to the process is important.

Working with clients directly means you're also working on yourself. My time isn't managed by anyone else. It's really important to be curious and willing to try new things and be proactive.

Always look at what else you can be doing to improve your business. Business development also becomes really important here. You learn to develop your own business.

There aren't a lot of resources out there, though some exist. This is almost why I would suggest a mentor sometimes helps, but it's really up to you to figure out what to do. Be willing to try new things and be curious about how you can expand your business.

Marketing helps. I'll be honest, I'm not exactly great at that, but it's important to know when to consult other people. Knowing yourself and then knowing when to ask for help is also crucial.