Entrepreneurs will maximize a lean budget by using entrepreneurial skills that pay back right away. Master these skills early on and get yourself out of the red and profiting as soon as possible. Pairing the skills you need to run a successful business with your entrepreneurial spirit and effort will further motivate you and create momentum.
Whether you are a young entrepreneur or a seasoned pro maximizing funds during other lean years, early on, you want to focus on building the essential skills that pay back.
When launching your own business, you wear every hat. In addition to possessing and honing the business skills to make your product or create service there are certain skills that pay back right away.
At Envisionary Me, we differentiate between habits of successful people and skills.
Depending on how you choose to define them, there can be overlaps and that’s okay. But in addition to embracing change and keeping your growth mindset, continuing doing the following:
maximize leadership ** maintain your strong sense of self-awareness **
stay out of your comfort zone ** maintain your habit of setting goals ** and take responsibility.
Becoming a new entrepreneur can be daunting. Startups are a lot of work, right? Worth it, but becoming an entrepreneur is not for the faint of heart!
When you start a business you need to be able to balance self-confidence with over-confidence and make assumptions to move you forward without making assumptions that lead to being unproductive.
Many entrepreneurs find running a business means opening doors for themselves and running through them!
Sometimes it’s a tough call but part of being an entrepreneur is how you learn and how you manage change. These 8 entrepreneurship skills help you do both.
- Self-motivation
- Critical Thinking
- Risk optimization
- basic financial accounting
- Marketing
- Time management
- Communication
- Networking
1.) Entrepreneurs need SELF-MOTIVATION.
Self-motivation is critical for an entrepreneur starting a new business.
No. Getting out of bed is not a goal. No, getting out of bed is not an achievement to celebrate. However, using an alarm is still fine!
Needing to determine what to do first or next is normal and manageable. Sleeping all day and continual procrastination will more than trip you up. Learn your triggers, know what distracts you and head it off with plans.
Focus on:
- Set goals.
- Create a weekly plan.
- Take 5 minutes and create a daily plan.
- Track progress.
- Following the 8:8:8 rule.
Your business plan should be an incredibly motivating to you. Your daily plan is based upon weekly goals that move you toward your business goals. Every motivated step you take is derived from your business plan.
Read how How Entrepreneurs Write A Business Plan: 10 Simple Steps (envisionaryme.com)
2.) You need to master CRITICAL THINKING.
Critical thinking is like your ability to steer your boat. It takes your motivation and channels it into strategic activities that help you tackle opportunities while tackling hurdles.
Critical thinking is at the top of your “skills to develop” list!
Focus on:
- Observing
- Track your KPI’s.
- Recognize success.
- Problem solving
- Becoming a quick change artist
Determining your daily priorities, based upon real life factors affecting your business plan leads you in the right direction.
Critical thinking helps you notice and capitalize upon trends and what’s working. By focusing on what’s working, you are thereby NOT focusing on what’s not working. See how that works?!
You have limited time, so relevance matters.
3.) Entrepreneurship requires RISK OPTIMIZATION.
The first step in optimizing your risk exposure is to identify your risks. It sounds trite and basic, but I’m not being sarcastic.
We get so busy with day to day tasks that sometimes we don’t include risk assessments into our planning.
We make assumptions which lead to misappropriating our time and not-so-great business decisions. (You know the old saying about assumptions?)
You need to consider risks associated with new opportunities, and also changes in your market or environment that can lead to potential threats to your business.
Focus on:
- Keep your industry knowledge up to date.
- Follow a risk management process.
- Whiteboard your opportunities. (+/-)
- Use a SWOT analysis.
- Increase productive assessments using Six Thinking Hats.
Risk optimization doesn’t need to be painful. It’s merely using information to make an informed decision.
Plan to consider your risk, using a simple process you are comfortable with, then plan to offset your risk as you reviewing results and update your goals.
4.) Successful entrepreneurs understand BASIC FINANCES.
You don’t need a degree in accounting to understand and practice money smart practices.
Even a small business will require fiscal responsibility on your part. As you start your own business, plan to spend smart, budget appropriately and have basic documentation in place for tax purposes.
The most difficult part of business finances is putting the requirements and best practices in actual practice.
Focus on:
- Understanding and following money smart practices
- Maintain a hardcopy or digital filing system for financials.
- Keep on top of your cost analysis and profitability factors.
- Include budgets in your business plan as appropriate.
- Further develop your financial literacy.
Basic finances do not need to be overwhelming. Relax. People get nervous for no reason. You need to develop these basic skills.
The more you know, the more empowered you are.
READ or get expert advice. Understand your tax liabilities and where you must remain compliant and how.
As a great business owner, you DO want to know every cost and what affects your profitability. Then make smart decisions geared toward making your business more profitable in the future. These are the dollars that are going into YOUR pocket to pay your bills, to buy your eggs, to pay for future help. Keep track of your details.
5.) MARKETING is necessary to succeed in business.
Even the greatest business ideas need a way to attract and maintain customers. That’s where marketing comes in.
Entrepreneurship requires an understanding of what marketing channels are appropriate for your business and how to leverage a blend of paid advertising and organic content to achieve growth. Specific skills include:
Focus on:
- Know your target market.
- Know the expected and unexpected competitive landscape.
- Know the trends, and include them in your risk management process.
- Be your own brand ambassador.
- Budget wisely, knowing your goal and the ROI.
Ever hear of the QBQ – question behind the question?
Knowing your customer isn’t just who you think they are. It’s much more than even who just purchased. It’s your whole prospective market, and why, where, and how they buy.
Why should they choose you? Why WILL they choose you? Or, why not?
6.) TIME MANAGEMENT is a key entrepreneurial skill!
The days of the messy desk and not following up because you are oh so busy are gone. If that’s your approach, you’ll watch your customers and business partners be oh so busy as well.
Manage your tasks and your personal satisfaction, stress levels and health through proper time management.
Focus on:
- Set immediate goals and objectives that align with your business plan.
- Follow the 8:8:8 plan with a 40 hour weekly plan.
- Set boundaries, ensuring the 8 hours of work are focused and productive
- Prioritize your day through time blocking.
- Use time management apps and automated assistants.
You are focused on the most important business skills.
Breathe. You got this. You DO.
7.) Skills you need to succeed include COMMUNICATION.
Of course communication skills are important to entrepreneurs – especially aspiring entrepreneurs! Even if you work alone or think you’ll be working mostly alone, you’re going to need people! You certainly aren’t working in a vacuum!
You depend on people more when you aren’t paying them to communicate back or act in a certain way.
You Want to be a good partner. You Want to be that person in their network they can count on. You Want your customers to engage and come back.
Focus on:
- Wear your sales hat while providing responsive customer service.
- Practice active listening.
- Develop your interpersonal skills and understanding of non-verbal cues.
- Be gracious as you learn and embrace change.
- Share your appreciation of internal and external customers.
As a business owner, communication is huge. Do understand how you recharge, but the skills are the same. Do not get caught up on being an introvert or extrovert. Tweak your approach, but introverted owners must sell.
8.) NETWORKING is a skill all entrepreneurs need.
Maintaining a healthy network of mentors, current and former colleagues, classmates, neighborhood friends and those from local affiliations can be helpful as you start your business and also as you grow.
You’ll appreciate your network and the possibilities of an extended network through referrals and introductions as you look for marketing partners and guidance as you travel along your path.
Focus on:
- Build your network through speaking, active listening, and collaboration.
- Stay connected through social media if not in person.
- Build rapport by also sharing your expertise and desire to partner.
- Learn through industry events and group participation.
- Act as a resource through mentoring, writing, and offering commentary.
They need to know who you are and how to help – and they’ll want to know how you can help them too.
You’ve got a lot to do. Allow the 8:8:8 process to keep you from over-extending yourself. Know how to make your product or service and become the best that you can be with that process and put effort into these skills as part of your day.
For example, planning to review your competition gets the job done, uses risk optimization and allows you to adjust your marketing plans while you embrace change and continually learn. It becomes natural behavior.
You don’t eliminate threats and hurdles, but you manage them and strengthen you and your business. It’s incredibly positive and Will lead you to become a successful entrepreneur.
Then your focus on these skills to help get you from start up or set back (or just franking floundering) to flourishing.
You got this.
Read more on entrepreneurship:
HOW TO SET SMART GOALS: For Successful Entrepreneurs (envisionaryme.com)
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