Successful entrepreneurs are made, not born. If you want to operate your own business, now is the time to put the wheels in motion. While a strong business sense and understanding of financial terms are necessary, you need many soft skills to be successful. Mastering the following skills will make you a better leader and help you build a great organization.
Study Skills
Never stop learning. Many successful entrepreneurs attribute their success to reading. They read a lot of books. Bill Gates reportedly reads more than 50 books annually. Great leaders learn about things that they do not know. So, don’t focus your reading on books strictly about entrepreneurship, time management, or commercial real estate. Expand your knowledge to other topics, such as the history of running shoes, hyperbolic planes, or automotive repair. Studies have found a correlation between improved problem-solving skills among avid readers. So, when you read, you are simultaneously educating yourself and becoming a better problem solver.
Focus
As an entrepreneur, you need to understand your business goals. The ultimate business goal is to provide a solution to meet a customer’s needs. Once you identify the problem your customer is experiencing, you develop a marketing strategy to communicate your message. Create a buyer persona to help visualize your target audience. Make sure employees understand your marketing strategy.
Communication
Any good manager understands the importance of communication skills – both online and face-to-face. You may need to be able to explain the legalities of commercial real estate contracts and be sensitive to the mental health needs of your staff. Strong communicators master verbal and written communication and understand their benefits and limitations.
Passion
Regardless of the business you are building, make sure it follows your passion. If you dread working on a specific task, you will either push it off until you have to deal with it or get it done quickly. Either way, you probably aren’t enthusiastically embracing the project, and it will show. Consider outsourcing those responsibilities that you do not want to pursue.
Self-Care
Some people say that there is very little work-life balance for a new business owner. While you will spend a lot of time getting your company operating, take time to do other things. Remember, performing enjoyable business-related tasks can help you relieve the stress of a long day. So, if you enjoy negotiating commercial real estate lease agreements, then by all means, take the time to do that.
Being an entrepreneur requires more than just a savvy business sense. Managing these soft skills will help you become a better leader.
Call one of our finance professionals at MAI Capital to get more details about any of our programs. Take advantage of our complimentary consultation and get started with financing your business today.