Have you heard the debate about whether successful entrepreneurs are born or made? To succeed in business, whether it’s selling website templates or container shipping, you need a level of skill, or several important skills for that matter.
It does take years of experience to understand some of the more hands-on aspects of trade, but still, for people hoping to make a mark on their respective fields, polishing certain skills will undoubtedly make them better entrepreneurs.
If you want to succeed in business, cultivate these three skills for entrepreneurs and see the difference it makes to your bottom line.
1. Hone your communication skills
Solo entrepreneurs quite often underestimate the value of good communication. Because you lack a traditional throng of noisy staff to handle, you may be tempted to assume that communication is less of a factor.
Even when your team is small, however, it pays to set up clear and effective lines of communication with everyone involved, including clients, both in person and when using other platforms such as phone, social media, and email to conduct business.
If you do have a big staff, it makes even more sense to create an environment that supports easy communication. Studies show that poor communication skills directly cause a slump in productivity with all members of your staff, in addition to causing low morale and setting them up to make more mistakes and fail to understand vital instructions.
How to improve:
Very few people start off as effective communicators but even the most challenged can improve by paying close attention to how their staff responds when directly approached or when given specific instructions.
Do your workers give you puzzled looks when you communicate? It could be an indicator that specific words aren’t getting through to them, or perhaps the accompanying body language doesn’t make sense to them.
It might help to ask whether the person understood what you said, and then allow them the opportunity to ask for clarification.
2. Work on your brand appeal (both personal and business)
Whether you plan to have a business or personal branding, learning how to do so will prepare you to face the challenges that one must face.
In today’s markets, branding begins with being active and influential both in your business circles and more importantly, social media. Content publication should be centered on the idea of creating fun, engaging audiences and eventually turning most of them into potential customers.
Learn how to deliver your content to your audience so it has major impact and expands your networks.
How to improve:
You don’t have to be a gifted writer or have unique skills on social media; start with bite-sized portions and work your way up from there.
One or two blog posts a week is more than sufficient to get your audience interested, and you don’t even have to write them yourself. You can hire a freelance writer for this.
As you learn more about what your customers prefer, adjustments will be made to the content and your method of approach.
3. Strategize, strategize, strategize
At the outset, it’s fairly easy to be consumed with the “right now” element of the business because the results are immediate. However, one should always consider the larger picture or the long-term goals when commissioning new products and marketing campaigns.
When you don’t have your eye constantly fixed on the existing business model and how the average consumer responds to it, some aspects of your business strategy can begin to impair growth.
How to improve:
Allocate enough time to just sit and think about what you’d want your business to look like, and then compare that with consumer data to find out how other people see your business.
As a conscious and well-prepared entrepreneur, you should have a clear picture of what vision you have for the business and where you plan to take it.
Your strategy should be about how you plan to get there from where you are.
Bonus tip: Know how to manage people
The majority of renowned business people only started to realize consistent growth when they learned how to find and manage people. It’s only by starting to leverage your workers and vendors that an entrepreneur can set the foundation for a successful company.
Combine these important skills with a keen effort to expand essential networks in order to meet the right people, and you will soon see your business — whether it’s selling website templates or container shipping, grow.
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Originally published at www.bookmark.com on September 29, 2016.
