What does it take to be successful starting your
own small business? Here are the 8 skills every successful entrepreneur has in
common:
1. Resiliency. The
ability to weather the ups and downs of any business since it never goes
exactly the way the business plan described it. This skill enables the
entrepreneur to keep going when the outlook is bleak.
2. Focus. After
setting a long term vision, knowing how to “laser focus” on the very next step
to get closer to the ultimate goal. There are so many distracting forces when
trying to build a business that this skill is not easy to master.
3. Invest
for the long-term. Most Entrepreneurs are not patient and focus only on
what comes next, rather than where the company needs to go. Overnight success
may take 7 to 10 years. Entrepreneurs need to stop, pause and plan on a
quarterly basis.
4. Find and
manage people. Only by learning to leverage employees, vendors and other
resources will an entrepreneur build a scalable company. They need to learn to
network to meet the right people. Entrepreneurs strive to guarantee they will
get honest and timely feedback from all these sources.
5. Sell. Every
entrepreneur is a sales person whether they want to be or not. They are either
selling their ideas, products or services to customers, investors or employees.
They work to be there when customers are ready to buy. Alternately, they know
how to let go and move on when they are not.
6. Learn.
Successful entrepreneurs realize they don’t know everything and the market is
constantly changing. They stay up to date on new systems, technology, and
industry trends.
7. Self-reflection. Allow
downtime to reflect on the past and plan for the future. Always working only
leads to burnout physically and emotionally.
8. Self-reliance: While
there is a lot of help for the entrepreneur, in the end, they need to be
resourceful enough to depend on themselves.
What do you think it takes to be a successful
entrepreneur?
