8 skills you never knew you needed to run a business
Whether you’re starting a business from scratch, investing in an existing business, or buying a franchise, you will be surprised at just how many skills you will need to successfully run a business.
Not only will you need to understand the ins and outs of the whole business, but certain personality and behavioural traits will also be very important.
Here are 8 skills you never knew you needed to run a business.
- Passion for the business area
If you’re not particularly interested in food or cooking, starting a bakery or restaurant might not be the best idea. If you’re starting a business, wanting to make money is likely to sit in 1 of the top 5 reasons. But you also need to have a passion and plenty of knowledge around the business area that you’re going to be operating in.
- Patience
Starting and growing a business is usually a slow and gradual process. If you rush things without careful planning, it’s likely your plans won’t work out as you’d hoped.
“Slowly is the fastest way to get to where you want to be.” – André De Shields.
- Learning not to take things personally
We don’t learn from our successes, we learn from our mistakes. Running a business involves a lot of trial and error, planning and changing plans, and trying and failing till you find the right formula.
- Optimism
When running your own business, it’s important to be an optimist.
By having a wide range of skills – many of which you will learn along the way – rather than specialising in just one aspect of your business, you will be better placed to succeed. Should problems and challenges occur in any aspect of your business you need to be able to understand them, but in the future you can hire someone with the specific skills and expertise to fix them.
- Know how to delegate
Looking at the last point – every good leader will know how to delegate effectively. Once you grow your business you won’t be able to do everything. Learn to delegate and appreciate the skills of those you’ve employed.
- Know how to organise yourself and your plans
A scattergun approach to working can only work for so long. Before you even start your business you should know your end goal and how you plan on getting there. Plan ahead and be organised in how you manage your time and implement your ideas.
- Understand the nature of sales
No matter what type of business you are running you need to have the capabilities of selling your product or service, with the confidence in doing so. This also means you need to be able to handle rejection and listen to any constructive feedback you’re given.
- Always get back to people
Whether it’s an employee, a customer or a supplier, always get back to people. Ensuring you have healthy relationships with every stakeholder related to your business is the foundation of it.