One of the most empowering experiences for a professional involves building a company from the ground up. As an entrepreneur, you have the ability to contribute to your local economy, provide value to the marketplace and develop a significant amount of wealth for your family. If you opt to take the entrepreneurial route, know that it involves its fair share of sacrifice and grit. It also involves the following ten skills.
1. Time Management
It’s often said that time is extremely precious. There’s nothing you can do to earn more time. When you’ve wasted it, you can’t get it back. This is why it’s essential to learn how to manage your time wisely. Create a schedule that works for you, your company, and your lifestyle. Track your time by creating lists, using schedules, and planning monthly check-in meetings.
2. Delegation
When you’re an entrepreneur, you’re going to have a million things to do at any given time. In order to avoid burnout, you’ll need to take tasks off of your plate. Be intentional about hiring qualified people, teaching them what the roles entail, and letting them soar. Don’t micromanage people either. If you don’t have the financial margin to hire a part-time or full-time employee yet, start with a bot for menial tasks or a virtual assistant.
3. Emotional Intelligence
When you’re an entrepreneur, a major aspect of your job involves dealing with people. Whether you’re dealing with employees, contractors, or customers, you have to know how to deal with people, speak to them and engage with them according to where they are. When you’re able to develop a sense of discernment about people, you’ll benefit from excellent relationships, partnerships, and repeat customers.
4. Technologically Savvy
With everything moving to digital, you will want to keep up with the trends and need to develop a working understanding of computer skills like word processing, spreadsheet, communication, presentation tools, and data analytics just to name a few. Luckily, you can find helpful online resources. For instance, Learning about online IDE is easy to access through teaching platforms at your own time and convenience. Take advantage of the education and access by methodically building your technical skillset.
5. Money Management
It doesn’t really matter how much money your company brings in if you don’t know how to manage it. Money mismanagement will lead to financial loss. A huge part of money management involves sitting down with an accountant in order to learn more about the tax code and how it’s set up for entrepreneurs. Furthermore, maintaining a business bank account, keeping your costs low, and investing a portion of your profits are a few of the habits you’ll want to actively practice.
6. Trend Forecasting
Every entrepreneur needs to keep a pulse on what’s happening in the marketplace. So many major companies miss the mark when they assume that their business model will always remain in style. A prime example is Blockbuster. They never dreamed that streaming services like Disney+ and Netflix would dominate the way they do. It’s always important to learn how to see trends coming.
7. Pivoting
Once you see a trend coming down the pike, review your business model, practices, and offerings in order to see how you fit into the coming changes. If it’s not lining up, learn to pivot. Learning how to quickly pivot will save your company from being left behind. It’s okay to take a day to be upset about potential changes. However, don’t stay down. Quickly learn how to bounce and discover better solutions.
8. Resourcefulness
The main skill behind resourcefulness is learning how to use what’s in your possession. While it’s nice to wish and want for different things, use what you have in order to take you to the next level. A great entrepreneur is resourceful with finances, talent, and time.
9. Leadership
When you’re running a company, sound leadership will take you far. When you’re a great leader who understands the needs of the employees, it’s much easier for people to follow. This is especially true if you’re looking to retain excellent talent. Between competitive wages, a healthy work environment, and excellent conflict resolution practices, your leadership will be pivotal in keeping you in business.
10. Sales
There’s a popular joke that a good salesman can sell ice to an Eskimo. The meaning behind it is that you need to learn the art of closing the sale. If you’re using digital means to sell products, make sure the item looks enticing enough to buy. Make sure it’s photographed in great light. If you’re selling a program, learn how to use enticing language to communicate its importance in the life of the potential customer.
Conclusion
If you have some of these skills under your belt, use them to your advantage. If you don’t possess them, don’t be discouraged. You’ll need to become intentional about finding ways to cultivate them. Read books, take courses and learn from others. Be open to feedback (from the right sources) in order to stretch yourself and learn. Also, know that some skills won’t be built overnight. You’ll make mistakes as you learn but grow from each mistake as you progress to becoming an excellent entrepreneur.
Tracie Johnson is a New Jersey native and an alum of Penn State University. She is passionate about writing, reading, and living a healthy lifestyle. She feels happiest when around a campfire surrounded by friends, family, and her Dachshund named Rufus.
No Comments
Leave a comment Cancel