Sammie Ellard-King
I’m Sammie, a money expert and business owner passionate about helping you take control of your wallet. My mission with Up the Gains is to create a safe space to help improve your finances, cut your costs and make you feel good while doing it.
There is a particular skill, ambition and mindset that many entrepreneurs have. A successful entrepreneur is seen as being strong willed, relentless, having great communication skills, but equally unbelievably smart individuals.Â
Whilst this might be true in some cases often the skills needed to be an entrepreneur can be found at all levels of business.Â
If looking at entrepreneurship as the sole word, then the person who runs a craft business from home is no different from the tech tycoon in a fancy office developing the new Uber. You’re both entrepreneurs!
Essentially entrepreneurship is the ability to focus solely on your own idea. How you make that happen is the journey. Starting it makes you the entrepreneur.
If you would love this lifestyle and way of working, you need to look at the required skills for an entrepreneur and if you have those in you.
- Have you got an idea or a side hustle business?
- Bored of the same old routine, mind-numbing commute and dull day 9-5?Â
- Stuck in the rat race with no way out?
- Have you ever thought about being an entrepreneur?Â
- Have you got faith in yourself to make things work?Â
Table of Contents
Podcast Episode - LaSean Smith
Join us with serial entrepreneur LaSean Smith to discuss his rise from the inside of Microsoft, Amazon and Deloitte to starting his own private equity firm CAGR.Â
La Sean invests in budding entrepreneurs and helps them develop the skills needed to be an entrepreneur.
Listen the full episode while you read this article just below or via the full episode on The Money Gains Podcast page.
What is an entrepreneur?
An aspiring entrepreneur is someone who creates a new business. It sounds pretty simple. However, the individual bears most of the risk and, on the flip side, enjoys most of the rewards.
There can be high risks with new ventures, but those who take the risk also enjoy profits, growth and sometimes fame.Â
An entrepreneur is often seen as having a font of new ideas, reinventing services and procedures, applying innovation and doing things differently.
Of course, just as businesses can thrive, they can also fail. This could potentially ruin the financial state and motivation of an individual. However, you will see that many entrepreneurs dust themselves off and try again.Â
Do you have entrepreneurial skills? Can you develop them?Â
Let’s look at what essential skills you would require.
Top skills for an entrepreneur to have
The top entrepreneurial skills are debated constantly by successful businessmen and women, journalists, philosophers and everyone alike.
Entrepreneurs are ambitious for sure. However, they still only have the same amount of hours in their week as the rest of us.Â
How do they fit everything into their time? How do they keep going in times of hardship and stress?Â
There are some critical skills required for entrepreneurs to have, but from first hand experience most of it is brute force, determination and resilience!
Vision and belief
Vision is a key entrpreneurial skill, in fact, for me, it’s THE most important. A vision for the initial business idea and a dream to see it through, of course, but also how to use leverage and scale that idea.
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A successful business owner will have this mental plan, often transferred onto paper, about how to get from the birth of an idea to the opening of the business.Â
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Along with vision is belief. A belief in yourself is essential but also in the idea. Entrepreneurs must also believe in the decisions that they make. If you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will!Â
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You can also factor in the skill of curiosity in this area. Many entrepreneurs look at certain aspects of the world and wonder why they are done in one way when they could potentially be done in another.Â
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This is where curiosity can drive someone to dream up new ideas, ways of working and ultimately, new business which drives overall business success.
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A work ethic and focus
Next on our list of skills for an entrepreneur is hard graft. The ability to focus is essential when you are an entrepreneur but is also a very valuable life skill.Â
There are many things to do, but concentrating on the task and working through your list of items will allow you to progress quickly.Â
A strong work ethic is a must, as these behaviours will shape the business, future employees and the overall company culture.
An entrepreneurial person would include determination here too. A sheer grit to get to where you want to be and succeed.Â
The willingness to learn
Figuring things out through being hands-on as well as taking time to study, put yourself through courses and improve your education is going to help individuals grow.
Its about not just having practical skills, but the ability to consistently add new ones and build on the skills you have.
The more you understand, the better you can improve things for the world around you. That knowledge can be used for good, and you will often see entrepreneurs reading, taking in opinions and information like a sponge.Â
Without being constantly fed, we are stagnant. Without the desire to frame our minds and learn, there is no growth.Â
Getting buy-in
You might have the best business idea in the world, but getting it to market is going to take buy-in. If you have seen Dragons Den, that is kind of what you need to do.Â
Have so much confidence in your idea that you can stand in front of people and convince them that not only will it work, but that it’s worth buying into. This could be investment or actually purchasing the products or services.Â
Selling what your business offers is essential. You might meet with a supermarket to stock what you produce. You need to convince people that your product or service is the best.Â
Top-notch communication
You will find that a lot of entrepreneurs listen more than they speak. The ability to take on board other people’s opinions and comments can help shift your business into the right area.Â
Effective communication skills means there’s no bottleneck and the business can operate seamlessly throughout departments.
However, communication is two-way, and you need to be confident at getting your own points across.Â
The inability to communicate will stop a business dead in its tracks. Potential customers will switch off, deals can fail, and the wheels can fall off any progression.Â
Entrepreneurs can passionately detail where they want their business to go, what they need people to do, and the input they require from suppliers.Â
Without top-notch communication, entrepreneurs will soon find themselves lost at sea.Â
Bonus skills of an entrepreneur
Key bonus skills for an entrepreneur include being opportunistic and recognising and capitalising on business trends and opportunities quickly.
Passion and energy are vital, not just personally but in inspiring others as well. It’s about embodying an infectious enthusiasm that motivates and influences those around you.
Resilience in the face of failure is another essential trait. Entrepreneurs must have the ability to recover from setbacks and maintain momentum. It’s about how effectively you can bounce back and keep moving forward.
Lastly, maintaining a healthy work-life balance is crucial. Remember, the objective is to work to live, not live to work.Â
Balancing professional commitments with family, friends, and hobbies is key to ensuring you stay refreshed and rejuvenated. Hard work is important, but so is thriving in other aspects of life.
Pros and cons of being an entrepreneur
Along with key skills for an entrepreneur, there are also pros and cons of the entrepreneurial life.Â
What are the good parts of it that you just can’t believe? How about those negative things that are just hard to handle?Â
Let’s pick two of each.
Pros
- Flexibility – There is a tremendous amount of flexibility when you work for yourself, both in terms of where you do your work and when you do your work. Not a great morning person? Have a lay-in and work during the afternoon and evening instead. Want to go on holiday? Take your laptop with you and work for a few hours from the hotel balcony.
- Fulfilling – Staring your own business is exciting, and when you see something develop and blossom from an idea that you had, it is fulfilling. There is a purpose to your job, which you maybe didn’t have working for someone else
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Cons
- All the hats – When you start out, you will do every job with that business you want to start. You’ll be the CEO and the cleaner. You wear all the hats until other people come on board, and you can begin to delegate.
- Heightened personal stress – Entrepreneurs get stressed. From pitching to hitting deadlines, there is a lot to do and not enough hours. However, stress management can help you in the long run. Putting tactics in place will lessen the impact of stress on your decision-making, creativity and energy.
Make sure to plot out your table of pros and cons of stepping into an entrepreneurial role.Â
Can anyone be an entrepreneur?
Yes, absolutely. Becoming an entrepreneur doesn’t require specific prerequisites, but success varies for each individual.
Success itself is subjective – for some, it’s earning millions, while for others, it’s simply being self-employed and supporting their family.
Business ideas can range vastly, and not all will yield high profits. Entrepreneurs experience different levels of success; some businesses may fail, others thrive, and many make modest earnings.
Age isn’t a barrier either; young entrepreneurs can make millions, and the internet enables anyone to start a business online with dedication and commitment.
However, this path demands motivation, education, and determination. It’s about taking an idea and nurturing it to its potential, sometimes juggling multiple ventures.
It requires considerable effort, which might be overwhelming for some.
If you want to read more then check out our top 10 reading list for business and entrepreneur books.
Finally, is it for you?
So is it for you? Sometimes an idea simply isn’t enough.
- Do you have those much-needed skills for an entrepreneur to succeed?
- Have you got that mindset to keep going, even on the darkest of days?
- Can you see yourself without perhaps the security of an employed job?
- Or would you love the excitement of creating your own security?
Take some time, work on that objective, and if it all feels right, take that step with faith and belief.
Disclaimer: Content on this page is for informational purposes and does not constitute financial advice. Always do your own research before making a financially related decision.
