Core Skills You Need to Start Your Own Business
More people than ever are leaving their jobs to become small business owners. It鈥檚 an exciting 鈥� and daunting 鈥� prospect, but with the right skills, hard work, and dedication owning your own business is one of the most rewarding career paths. 听
In fact,听听report high satisfaction with their career; that tops the list over even high-level and high-paying corporate jobs.听听
There is a myriad of reasons people decide to start their own business, but some of the top reasons include:听听
- They want more flexibility听
- They want to be their own boss听
- They want to do something they are passionate about听
- They want to give back to a community听
While managing your own business听isn鈥檛听for the faint of heart, it can be achieved by听virtually anyone听who has a grasp of听essential business and financial principles and skills.听听
These days,听starting your own business can look like anything from a brick-and-mortar retail shop to an online crafting store. Many people also choose to become freelancers or contractors, but to do this you need more than just your core skills.听You need to understand the basics of running a profitable听and successful听business.听bec
What are Business Skills?
The skills needed to start and run your own business revolve around anything to do with the management of your business, from financial skills like payroll and accounting to听communication skills like听leadership and human resources.听听
While you can hire or outsource specialists who are听experts听in some areas,听it is听important for you to understand the basics of what is needed听in order听to hire the right people and oversee the growth and profitability of your business.听听
In this article,听we will review听six听essential skills needed and explain them in听more听detail, but before we get into听the specific skills,听let鈥檚听discuss the difference between a hard skill and a soft skill.听
The Difference Between Hard Skills and Soft Skills
Hard skills听are abilities that are听quantifiable听and teachable. Hard skills are typically learned in an online or offline classroom setting through training materials and books.听These are skills you typically list on a resume to summarize the body of your knowledge. Examples of hard skills include:听听
- Computer听software听and听hardware听knowledge听
- Bookkeeping听
- Proficiency听in a foreign language听
- Typing Speed听
- Degrees or certificates听
- Machine operation听听
Soft skills听are subjective and harder to quantify. They are sometimes referred to as 鈥渋nterpersonal鈥� or 鈥減eople鈥� skills and they revolve around the way you communicate and interact with others.听It is听difficult to听provide听evidence (other than references) of your soft skills, but they are just as important as hard skills when it comes to running your own business (or any job). Examples of soft skills include:听听
- Leadership听
- Flexibility听
- Motivation听
- Time Management听
- Teamwork听
- Work Ethic听
- Problem-Solving Abilities听
- Communication听
You will see in the summaries below that some of these are only hard skills (like听financial skills), some of them are soft skills (like听communication), and some utilize both hard and soft skills听(strategic planning, marketing, and sales).听听
Core Skills Small Business Owners Need for Success
Strategic Business Planning Skills
It鈥檚 important to have a passion and talent to start your own business, but there is a lot more to running a business than that. If you can make amazing jewelry, for example, and you want to start an online store, making incredible jewelry won鈥檛 be enough.
How are people going to hear about your shop (marketing)?
Where are you going to host your shop (technology)?
What price should you sell your jewelry to make a profit?
How do you know if your business is profitable?
When and how should you be collecting and reporting taxes (all accounting and finance)?
This is where overall strategy comes into play. Before you get going on pursuing your passion,听take time to create a business plan to set听specific听goals听and听determine听when 鈥� and how听鈥� you are going to achieve them. How much jewelry do you need to sell to support yourself? Can you do that alone or do you need to hire people?听Do you need an invoicing and accounting platform, and if so 鈥� what should it be? Where do your business鈥� growth听to be听in 6 months and a year?听听
Mapping out the strategy for your business in advance will help you stay on the course for your short- and long-term听goals and听make needed adjustments听along the听way.听Failing to set听up a strategic plan for their business is a common trap many new business owners fall into. Once your business gets going you will be caught up in day-to-day operations and听it鈥檚听easy to lose sight of the overall picture.听
Financial Management
It is vital听to have the听accounting and bookkeeping skills you need听to听plan, organize, and control听the financial activities that your business听requires.听You need to budget effectively and report your financial performance. You need to understand what areas are affecting your revenue and know how to adjust as needed.听With these skills you can calculate your profit and听loss and听be able to budget wisely.听听
Before investing any money into your business, know where it fits with your business plan and how to incur expenses that听won鈥檛听eat away at your revenue.听听
Even if you outsource for help in these areas, without an understanding of how and why听financial decisions听impact听your business you cannot oversee the performance of anyone you听retain听or hire.听
Recommended for you
-
Business and Accounting
抖阴视频鈥檚 Business & Accounting program is 100% online, making it ideal for those with additional professional and personal responsibilities.
Marketing and Sales Skills
Once听you are听ready to tell the world about your new business, you need to be proficient听in听how to听attract and convert new听customers. Many small business owners lump marketing and sales into one area, as few have the budgets to separate them, but they involve different skills.听听
Marketing听is how you generate interest in your business and approach prospective leads through tools like social media, email marketing, content marketing,听and advertising.听To market effectively you need to understand your target听audience, know how to build a brand around your product or service, and听understand听what your product or service does to help your prospects to build effective brand messaging.听听
Sales听are听how you convert a prospect into a customer from the leads driven your way through your marketing efforts. Many people are more comfortable with marketing than sales, as it takes听key soft skills like听negotiating and persuasiveness听to land a new customer.听听
Take stock of your personality and preferences to听determine听if you have the sales skills to convert a lead into a client. Are you great at getting people interested but struggle听to convert them to customers without resorting to discounts or听special offers? Consider working with a partner or听hiring听a team member who听possesses听these skills if this is an area听where听you struggle.听听
Communication Skills
How you communicate听impacts听every single aspect of your business, from employees to customers. Effective and professional communication skills are needed in everything you do, from听sending an email to handling a customer complaint.听听
Communication comes in both written and oral format, as well. While you may not think about it consciously, everything you say and everything you write听affects听your brand and the potential success of your business.听
There is more to communication than that, though, as听listening skills are equally important to make prospects, customers, vendors, and employees feel heard and valued.听听
Time Management Skills
Time is money, especially when managing your own business. It is imperative to have听exceptional time management skills, be organized, and understand how to best prioritize your time.听听
Especially if you are coming from an environment where you performed the same (or听similar) tasks day in and day out, learning how to be your own boss听and manage your own time听is an invaluable asset.听As your business grows, it is likely you听will听not be able to handle everything on your own.听听
There are time management apps that can be helpful as well.听Plan your days in advance to balance your workload effectively and schedule your time accordingly. Be prepared to hire or outsource when your workload is more than you can manage on your own.听听
Technology Skills
These days it听isn鈥檛听possible to effectively grow a business without understanding technology. It is important to be comfortable using a computer, know how to navigate online to find tools, aps,听and information, and use software applications, like听a Customer Relationship Management system or QuickBooks, to manage the back end of your business.听
If you have a dream of starting your own business but aren鈥檛 computer-savvy, enroll in training courses听that can听teach you everything you need to know to get started.听听
