Before starting a business, you must know the core skills entrepreneurs need to get a startup moving.
Business founders are a diverse bunch and operate across a whole range of sectors, which of course requires different skillsets. Yet, as you’ll see from most accomplished entrepreneur resume examples, there are a some abilities that are universal across the board.
What are these abilities, though? Let’s examine the 6 top skills entrepreneurs should always have on their resume.
1. Solid Communication Skills.
There’s no doubt whatsoever that 9 tenths of being an entrepreneur is possessing sharp communication skills. Businesses don’t get off the ground if their owners don’t have the ability to explain their vision to both internal and external stakeholders of the company.
This also matters as there are likely to be many differing stakeholders too who will need to be reached in varying ways. Therefore your speaking skills need to be tip top whether you’re pitching to another investor, presenting in front of an audience or writing an email or letter.
2. A Good Handle On Finances.
Another top skill that all entrepreneurs need to have before going into business is a good grasp of finance. This goes for budgeting, forecasting, and being able to manage financial statements.
You don’t need to necessarily be an expert in these things, naturally you can hire help for that. Nevertheless, you need to understand at least the basics of understanding the principals of:
- Balance sheets
- Cash flow statements
- Securing finance
- Tax reporting
As many of you can guess, the financial health of a new company is vital especially in those first few years. Having a good grip on this is something any entrepreneur should be able to show when they’re starting out.
Banks and investors especially are going to want to see that you understand this before they take a chance on your venture.
3. The Ability to Bounce Back from Mistakes.
You’ve got to be flexible and willing to take learnings from mistakes onboard to successfully start a business. There’s lots to learn and fast. Therefore, knowing how to bounce back from setbacks is essential for entrepreneurs to keep growing a startup.
Not only this, you should also seek out feedback wherever possible to understand where you’re going right and where you’re going wrong. Being able to grow from any errors and quickly finding out where your strengths lie is invaluable to steer things in the correct direction.
4. A Solid Background of Education or Training.
In this case the level of training or education you have ultimately doesn’t matter too much as long as you have demonstrable proof you’ve got it. What counts more is what you’ve specialized in.
As an entrepreneur, you’re going to need to show that you’ve got a suitable background in the specific sector you’re aiming to enter. For example, you wouldn’t open an IT startup if you hadn’t at least worked closely with company systems at some point.
Of course, by having the right credentials, you’ll do a much better job of building a business. More importantly, it’ll be much easier securing finance from investors if you can use your experience, education and training to your advantage.
5. Laser-Like Focus.
Focus is another essential trait that all entrepreneurs will usually possess. This means the ability to clearly set goals and follow them through successfully.
This counts even more than usual in your professional life if you’re starting a business. You have to be prepared to react when the going gets tough and to strive towards the targets you set for yourself.
If you want to lead the people in your company successfully and keep other stakeholders onside, this is something you need to excel in.
6. Business Strategy Expertise.
Like finance, having a basic idea of business strategy is essential with a new startup. You don’t need a Masters in Business Management from Harvard for this but you will at the very least need some practice or training in this discipline.
This is where founders bring all the previously mentioned skills in the points above together and make them work effectively to help the running of the business.
Knowing what direction to take and how to organize your team will be important to help you understand what is needed to keep everything running smoothly and to keep the company growing.
There are a lot of skills you need to bring together as an entrepreneur of a new business. However, as long as you can show that you possess the 6 abilities addressed above, you should be able to easily manage the running of your startup and get the key investment you need.
