It’s easy to feel underqualified when you’re about to start a new business. It’s a huge undertaking!
But the fact is that more people than ever seem to be taking the leap. In 2022, according to a new Yelp study, new business listings on the consumer review platform hit an all-time high.
Indeed, there are so many factors that play into whether or not your business will succeed.
And, while not every factor has to do with your performance as a business owner, some of the most essential skills for starting and running a business in 2023 and beyond are within your control or achievable.
Business startup
First of all, let’s unpick exactly what a startup is. While it may conjure up images of a small group of friends in a dingy basement who are trying to turn their hobby into a career, businesses that have been running for 5 years can still be described as a startup.
Startups are young businesses that aim to develop a particular product or service and make it irresistible to the consumer. They effectively work just like any other company – a group of employees work together to create a product that customers will buy.
However, startups differ in how they go about that.
Other companies often try to duplicate what has been done before, working from an existing template of how a business should work. Startups address the deficiencies of these existing templates and products, or they create an entirely new product.
They’re rooted in innovation, and, if done properly, can completely disrupt entrenched ways of thinking as done by larger, established companies.
This is why sometimes these big companies refer to them as ‘disruptors’. They also have a focus on speed and growth and look to build on ideas really quickly – a process known as iteration.
To find out how these skills and others can help you run a successful business, keep reading
Financial literacy
In order to start a business and stay in business, you’ll need to experience financial growth at some point. You don’t need to have the skills of a financial planner to start a business, but you do need to have a good working knowledge of finances and financial management.
As you grow your business, you may hire someone with a better understanding of finances to handle that aspect of the business. But you still need a good working knowledge of all things money.
You should be able to budget effectively and report your financial performance. You should also be able to find what areas are affecting your revenue.
Effective marketing skills
No matter what kind of business you want to start, you’re going to have to do a lot of marketing. You must be a successful marketer to gain clients or customers and keep your business growing. Convincing someone that they need your products or services is a special skill.
In addition to growing your customer base, you need marketing skills to hire employees and grow your team. You have to market your business, and if you’re just starting out, that can be especially challenging.
But when you employ the right marketing techniques, you can sell yourself, your business and your products or services to anyone!
Tech-savviness
The modern entrepreneur’s most essential tools are arguably a computer and a smartphone. Staying on top of the latest tech trends these days can feel nearly impossible. But if you want to start a business, it’s worth taking the extra time to get to know new technology as it hits the market.
When you’re able to wield the power of technology in your business, a lot of areas become easier. For example, when you know how to use the best financial software, doing payroll and keeping track of revenue becomes simpler.
Knowing social media will help you market your business and even attract employees. You’ll probably have to use Excel and Microsoft Word a lot. Be prepared to always adapt to new and improved technologies!
Curiosity
Real innovation comes from thinking outside the box. Curiosity can often get overlooked, but when it comes to your startup, learning, exploring, and thinking are essential to finding the best solution to any problems you might face.
Being curious about the world around you can trigger other people to follow suit and express their own curiosity as well. New businesses thrive on ideas. By developing curiosity you can help to drive innovation and change in your startup.
Creativity
All startups must try and be different from what has come before. If your product or service is the same as other things in the market, why would anyone want your product or service? This is where creativity steps in.
Improving your creativity will mean you become more innovative, as you’ll create new ideas and consider new and novel ways of improving and developing your product.
Strong communication skills
Good communication is of the most useful skills that anyone can have, especially in the workplace. But strong communication skills are absolutely essential for entrepreneurs.
When you start a business, you’ll be communicating with employees, clients, customers and vendors.
You must be able to communicate clearly and concisely, no matter what medium you’re using: email, phone, video chatting, etc. Possessing this skill is even more essential when face-to-face communication is limited.
Good communication will also help ensure you have strong relationships with all of the people mentioned above.
Being an entrepreneur doesn’t necessarily mean you need to be an extrovert, but it does mean you need to be a good communicator when it counts. Miscommunication in the business world often spells losses.
Web development
It is likely that a customer’s first interaction with your startup will be via your website.
In addition, the events of 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic have forced companies to focus on their online presence, and as a result, reliance on web development has taken the lead. This new tech-driven world is set to stay, so having some technical knowledge is vital.
It is worth familiarizing yourself with what the different coding and programming languages are used for, as well as getting to grips with CSS and HTML which will give you the building blocks necessary to create an engaging and intuitive website.
You can even take this a step further and consider the uses of UX and UI in your web design, for a really slick visitor experience.
The ability to have a positive attitude even when things are stressful
There are going to be times when nothing seems to be going your way. There will be plenty of times when you aren’t profiting the way you have in the past or the way you think you should. There will be times when you need to make difficult decisions like letting staff go or raising prices.
How do you think you’ll be able to handle all of these things? If you’re equipped for running a business, you’ll still stay strong against the pressure.
Project planning and strategizing
Starting your own business will mean you have to juggle multiple different projects simultaneously.
Knowing the fundamentals of project planning, and then going on to successfully manage them, is a really important skill to have when starting a new business. Delegating different tasks to others will get the job done much quicker as well.
Strategizing these projects is closely linked to the planning stage. You’ll want to obtain the best possible results – therefore, choosing the right problem to solve and optimizing your resources will give you the desired outcome.
By writing a business plan, you’ll be able to transition to business strategy and achieve your goals in a clear and organized fashion.
Digital marketing
Growing your startup is one of the main goals, and the most effective way of doing this is by focusing your efforts on digital marketing.
Before taking the plunge into the world of digital marketing, you’ll want to make sure you have an understanding of marketing basics as well. This will introduce you to more traditional marketing methods, which can be applied to digital marketing as well.
Marketing not only pits you against your competitors, but it helps to reach out to an audience and make you seem like a more compelling option for them.
This can generate significant revenue, so having a marketing strategy in place will facilitate this process. Digital marketing can also help you hire new employees as well, which will grow your team and put your strategy into action.
Managerial and leadership experience
Leadership and properly managing people is one of the most important skills required for your startup to be a success.
Good leaders can have a huge impact on business, so knowing what makes a good leader is vital. . Motivating your teammates and coworkers will help them achieve their goals and therefore improve the success of your startup.
Delegation is also important when you start a new business, and a successful leader will know and mobilize their staff. People management skills often have to be learnt and honed over time.
We have a range of relevant courses such as one looking at leadership theory, or one where you can dive into the world of international leadership and see how managerial roles have evolved. These courses will give you a well-rounded understanding of what a good leader is.
Networking
Building good relationships with others will help your business get the support it needs and encourage growth too. Networking is the best method of doing this.
Effective networking can help you share knowledge, grab new opportunities, and build your reputation as well. You can also meet other small businesses and startups, and help each other out.
Networking can often get overlooked when you’re setting up a startup – after all, you’ll find yourself with a thousand and one different things to do simultaneously.
But building professional networks is so important and well worth the time and effort. You’ll end up with more knowledge, and you’ll also build on your confidence by speaking and networking with people.
Smart employee delegation
You can’t run a business alone. In the beginning, you might be doing everything yourself, but if you scale, you’re not going to be able to do it all alone. You’re going to have to start hiring employees.
A good entrepreneur is able to let go of micromanaging everything for the good of their business. You should also be able to recognize the skills of different employees and give them the opportunities they need to shine.
Effective leadership
Delegation won’t be enough if you aren’t a strong leader. Being a good leader always means pushing your employees to do their best. You should strike the right balance between motivating and critiquing when necessary.
Fortunately, leadership is a learned skill, not something that you have to necessarily be born with. There are lots of resources and online education options that will help make you a better leader.
Strong time management
No matter what industry you’re in, starting a new business comes with a seemingly endless to-do list. Sometimes it might feel like you have to be a superhero to get it all done. But you don’t! You just have to be good at time management.
You need to create a schedule and stick with it, and that includes meeting deadlines. The more effectively you manage your time, the more opportunities you’ll have to grow your business. Your time is valuable, and when you’re using your time effectively, your business will benefit.
The ability to negotiate for the good of your business
Money is going to be tight when you first start your business. You want to save money in as many areas as you can, and negotiation can help you in that department.
You can negotiate with vendors for the best prices on the items you need. Being able to effectively negotiate isn’t just about money. It’s also about time. Unhappy with a deadline from a client? Good negotiation skills will help you get a more desirable deadline.
Negotiation goes hand in hand with communication. Whether you’re talking to someone over the phone, or over email, you should always be prepared for a negotiation.
It will also help you when someone else starts a negotiation with you. If a customer or client is unhappy about a timeline or a price, negotiating gives you the confidence to stand firm!
Why business skills are important
Making money is the crux of any business. Whatever industry you choose your startup to be in, your main aim will be turning a profit. Even if you know your chosen industry inside out, if you don’t have the necessary business skills, it will be tricky for you to succeed.
Many of the skills will have a dedicated and professional workforce who focus on those areas alone, and down the line, it will certainly be beneficial to consider making new hirings.
However, when you are starting out with your startup, you may not have the funds to be in a position to hire new employees. By learning these business skills yourself, you’ll set up your startup for success.
Side notes
So there you have it – a full guide to some of the most useful business skills that you might need for your startup. There will be additional business skills that are industry-specific, but the ones that we have outlined here can be applied to any industry.
