“Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”
— Winston Churchill
What sets entrepreneurs apart from people who work for someone else (even in high positions) is the fact that entrepreneurs will invest in themselves, meaning they strive to learn valuable skills. Entrepreneurs will focus solely on these skills (a unique skill set). When they form their businesses, they will hire others who have the skills that aren’t in their wheelhouse.
If you are going to become an entrepreneur, you should educate yourself on what exactly entrepreneurship is and find those who excel at it. In your research, you will learn the top entrepreneurship skills to become successful. Below are a few to start with.
- Be effective communicator. As an entrepreneur, you can’t stay in the background. You will be the spokesperson for your brand. Effective communication is not just about providing clear instructions or using the right words; it’s also being an active listener and reading body language. When there are misunderstandings (written or verbal), a business will experience setbacks, such as the wrong part was ordered or a person implementing the wrong procedure.
- Create an action plan. Every successful business has an action plan (or strategy). It’s the blueprint for taking your business from a startup to an established player in the market. In strategizing, planning is a key skill (e.g. scheduling). Another vital skill is goal setting. This can be overwhelming, so it’s best to create small goals. The more goals you achieve, the more comfortable you will be in setting (and achieving) long-term goals.
- Manage your finances. This skill applies to both business and personal. If you can’t manage the finances for your business, you are setting yourself up for failure. The business will be unsustainable, which means not being able to hire employees and/or going bankrupt. Once you understand your finances, you will be able to reinvest in your company, such as buying equipment or acquiring new office space.
- Cultivate relationships. No successful business person has gotten to where he or she is without creating valuable relationships (i.e. a mentor). Social media is a great tool for communicating a company’s brand and building a network (followers). The same can be said for building relationships offline. This will also increase your network and make the process of meeting people easier.
- Be positive. You are going to fail — and that’s okay. Every failure is a learning experience. Your strength of character will be determined by how you handle failure (and stress). You must move forward and remind yourself that the failure was only a small set back. And by being positive, you will inspire those around you to be positive and/or attract other positive people.