Starting a business is a dream of every individual. We all possess a wishful conjecture to start a business, build an empire, make money, and gain freedom. However, only a few people are cut out to handle the responsibilities that tag along with the throne. Why? Because becoming a successful business owner is not about being smart; it’s about mastering the skillset that assists you in becoming triumphant.
Business is a competitive sport; you will be wiped out if you can’t handle the stress and compete with everyone. A competent business person has multiple skills; in this post, you will discover the major ones:
#1: Ability To Handle Stress
You may have seen business mentors emphasizing the importance of stressful situations. Some teach you to tackle stress, while others advise you to neglect it. However, nobody denies the fact that stress is inevitable. Regardless of the industry you serve, every business will come with its fair share of stress.
If you wish to be among the top players, you need to be among the individuals who can carefully handle themselves during stressful situations. The stress game is directly proportional to the level of success you obtain. Upon self-analyzing, if you are not the type of person who thrives in stress, you may not be ready to start a business yet.
There is a saying that fits the situation well, “A diamond is just a piece of charcoal that handled the stress exceptionally well.”(1) The same is true for entrepreneurs as well. The good news is that you can teach yourself to be in control of your decisions under stressful situations; it won’t be easy, but it can be done.
Be ruthlessly critical about your mental state during hard times, and scrutinize how you behave, what you say, and how you act. For some people, it comes naturally, but you could attain the same level through sheer will and practice.
#2: Communication
Communication skill is by far the most rewarding skill anyone could master. Most people neglect communication skills because they believe it’s similar to speaking English. Well, it’s not; it’s about understanding what to say and how. When you comprehend the concept of Communication, the art of explaining what you think to someone else without a glitch or misunderstanding, that’s when you unlock this skill.
In a business environment, you will have to use Communication more often than ever. It could be while assigning tasks to your employees, presenting an idea to your peers, or enticing investors to lend you money. When you are a master Communicator, you can easily tackle most of the daily business obstacles.
Tony Robbins is a billionaire philanthropist and an infamous mentor; he said, “Communication is power. Those who have mastered its effective use can change their experience of the world and the world’s experience of them. All behavior and feelings find their original roots in some form of Communication.”(2) When you harness this skill, you will improve your business and enhance every other aspect of your life, like relationships, spirituality, health, and more.
#3: Leadership
Leadership is not merely a skill; it is a quality. Every entrepreneur must be in a position of leadership. If you cannot lead, you cannot grow exponentially. Most people try to do everything, which is a phenomenal phase; however, you will hire people at some point, and when you do, you should be able to lead them.
Leadership is an effective strategy for growth and expansion. You should be a leader that is respected and followed across your empire. There are various ways to lead; nevertheless, one of the adequate ways is through example. There is a difference between being a boss and a leader. A boss is someone who assigns tasks to his employees. A leader has a vision and inspires people to get on board and battle with them. Here’s a short story that signifies leadership incredibly well.
John owned a business that houses multiple employees. He was always there for his people, helping them every step of the way. He took really good care of them when the business was going through a terrible situation. The only way to sustain the company was to undercut his employees’ salaries. Everybody told him to deduct his employee’s wages and keep the business running. However, John refused and decided to sustain the salaries. He sacrificed his own paycheck and even emptied his bank accounts to fund the business.
Everyone appreciated him for making a choice, but later, during the pandemic, he was out of funds and had no way to offer the same salary to his employees. He gave them the option to leave because there was no other way. However, this time, nobody left. They all chose to stay and work for free. They even contributed funds to take care of the daily expenses. The business kept going, and they all survived the bankruptcy.
A true leader has to be comfortable with making difficult decisions. He should think about his people and his vision because he understands that, in the end, they are the ones who will help him reach his goal. When you take care of your employees, they will take care of your business. (3)
#4: Creativity
The business world has all its perks delivered to those who can creatively deliver products/services. There are millions of businesses across the globe, and for you to get noticed, you should be highly creative. There is a good chance that someone else is offering the same types of products and services as you. In that case, how do you stand out? There are only so many tactics that you could use; how do you attract customers? By being creative.
Business is a game of sustained creativity. Keep your audience engaged and constantly captivate others to join in. Change your marketing styles, platforms, message, etc. One of the recent examples of marketing genius is Emirates Airlines. They shared a video of their A-380 aircraft being steered by raindeers. They captioned the video as, “Captain Claus requesting permission to take off.” The video went viral and received more than 1.3 million likes within two days. The more creative you can be, the better.
#5: Efficiency
It is clear that there are businesses constantly trying to take everything you have, and the best way to win is to be as efficient as possible. Being efficient is a hard-to-come-by skill. You have to be thoroughly organized in your operation. Suppose two people are trying to reach the top of the mountain; who wins? The one who can be more efficient with his steps and carefully works smart by considering the environment to stay ahead.
If you take one hour to produce a particular outcome, evaluate if you could produce similar results within 30 minutes or less. If you can, you will notice that you are now 50% more efficient. Use tools and techniques and build systems and processes that ensure efficiency without degrading the quality.
Mcdonald’s is one of the best examples to study. Everything is systemized from the minute you place the order to the time you receive it. They can pick up anyone at random, give them proper training, and that recruit will be flipping delicious burgers within minutes. The genius is not the person but the systems and processes that make things ultra-efficient; it’s the same reason they expanded so quickly and became a company worth almost $200 billion.
If you can master the five skills listed above, you will be in a far better position to sustain and grow your business.
Which skill will you master first?
Resources:
- A diamond is just a piece of coal that handled stress exceptionally …. https://tony-evans.com/2013/04/25/a-diamond-is-just-a-piece-of-coal-that-handled-stress-exceptionally-well/
- 45+ Best team communication quotes – Knowledge hub. https://pumble.com/learn/communication/team-communication-quotes/
- Putting Employees Ahead of Customers – Jon S Rennie. https://jonsrennie.com/2017/10/05/putting-employees-ahead-of-customers/
