This morning, Terry Dean asked the question:

What are the qualifications to being a successful internet entrepreneur?

He lists several important ones: good communication skills (written and/or verbal), good time managements skills, personal motivation, etc. I’ll add a few — but first, I’m going to change the question slightly:

What are the qualifications to being a successful, ethical internet entrepreneur?

If you leave out the “ethical” part, you could get into things like the ability to lie, no concern for the well-being of your customers, and the ability to run fast when the Feds come looking for you.

But let’s ignore that stuff.

The first thing that came to mind was a clear picture of reality, and a willingness to look at it. If you believe that internet marketing success comes through easy buttons, you’ll waste a lot of time and effort looking for the right easy button.

On the other hand, if you understand that success takes hard work, intellectual honesty (eg. recognizing that you have to make a product that people will be willing to pay for, and seriously considering whether the product you’re contemplating making fits that description), understanding your target market, etc., you’ll roll up your sleeves, dig in, and accomplish something.

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The next thing that came to mind is friends in your market. If you try to operate in isolation, it’s going to be orders of magnitude harder to get enough customers to succeed. With a good group of friends who have influence with their followers, your reach expands considerably. Also, your friends can help you spot flaws in your products and marketing and help you correct them.

The last thing I’ll add to the list is a little luck. Of course, luck isn’t random. As Seneca said, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

What else should be added to the list? Share your thoughts here and/or over at Terry’s blog.