Top 11 Skills for Business Owners and Entrepreneurs

If you’re thinking of buying a business, you need to be prepared for this new journey. Contrary
to what you might think, there are many skills involved in running a business, and ensuring
you’ve got all of them is the first step to knowing you’re ready to run your own business.
 

This article is going to take a look at some of the most essential skills that any business owner
or entrepreneur needs to have to be successful. Take a look now to learn more.

1. Financial Management Skills
Being able to manage your finances is absolutely integral to being able to run a business. And
while we have named this as one skill, it actually encompasses many. If you have had previous
experience managing or running a business, you will know that you need to be able to forecast
sales and cash flow as well as be able to project and monitor profit and loss. All of your income,
including profits and deductibles, needs to be reported to the Australian Tax Office, so having
some knowledge of how this system works is also critical.
While you can usually take people on who have this kind of business savvy, in the initial stages
of opening or taking over a business, you may have to do a lot of it yourself.

2. Marketing
Promoting your products, attracting new customers/users, and being able to retain customer
loyalty are ways you’re actually going to make money from a business. As such, marketing is an
entirely necessary skill to have.
You don’t need to be an expert in marketing, and once things get off the ground, it is likely you
will employ either an in-house or an external marketing team. However, as with finances, you
will probably have to do some parts of this yourself at the beginning!

3. Customer Service
Another key skill is good customer service skills. If you’re looking into opening a retail business,
this is absolutely imperative, but even for non-retail scenarios, you need to be able to
communicate effectively with your clientele.
 

Unlike the other skills mentioned previously, you’re unlikely to be able to get out of doing this
yourself, no matter how many people you have under you. This is because, as the owner, you
may still need to communicate with customers when things go wrong.

4. Communication
This skill is an extension of customer service and extends to your entire company. Good
communication is the backbone of all good business relationships, and as such, it is a huge part
of running a business. If you can’t communicate effectively, staff will get frustrated, suppliers will
miss out on essential details, and things will go wrong.
 

Communication extends to both verbal and written communication too. So, if you’re great in
person but often forget follow-up emails and check-in calls, you’ll need to get this in order before
you take your first steps into the world of business ownership.

5. Negotiation
Another skill that involves communication ,but is likely only going to develop through experience
in the business world, is negotiation. Whether it's the price of goods or delivery charges, at
some point you’re going to find yourself negotiating with someone.
If you’re new to the business world, this is the kind of skill you could learn from a mentor or
trusted colleague. Being able to negotiate well will undoubtedly save you money and help you to
get what you need more often.

6. Leadership
Leadership is going to be an incredibly useful skill in an ownership role. You need to be able to
inspire your staff, boost productivity, and ensure you get the best out of them at all times. Your
communication skills will come in really handy here, as well as mentoring skills and negotiation
skills.

7. Project Management
Whether you’re starting a business or you’re taking over an already established business, you’re
going to have a lot of balls in the air in the first couple of months and years. Project planning
and management are going to be crucial to making sure you meet all of your deadlines.
 

From website building to finding and decorating your premises to finding the right team to run it,
there is going to be a lot to do. Project management covers a range of things, including time
management, financial management, and good communication.

8. Time Management
As an extension of the previous skill, time management is not just a useful skill for project
management–it is crucial for everything, including getting your taxes done on time, negotiating
with suppliers, timely marketing, and more.

Being able to efficiently manage your time is crucial to your success, to your organisation, and
to a happy workforce. No one is going to like a boss who never has things ready for them to do
on time!

9. Delegation
A good boss knows when to delegate tasks and they know who to delegate them to. There is no
point in taking on everything yourself. You will burn out and not be able to do the things that
need to be done to the best of your ability. As such, knowing when to give up control is a very
important skill to have.

Delegation comes from knowing your people and knowing who can take on the work you need
to do. If you know your staff well, you’ll be able to pick the best people for the job and things will
get done properly and in a timely manner.

10. Problem-Solving
In the first stages of opening or taking over a business, you’re definitely going to run into
problems that need to be solved. As such, good problem-solving is a very important skill to
have. It is important to remain calm when things go wrong, otherwise, you may make rash
decisions and create more problems for yourself.

It is worth noting that if you’re taking over a business, you will probably encounter much fewer
problems than if you’re starting a business from the ground up. This is because already-
established businesses have had time to work out the kinks and to put procedures in place to
stop them from happening again. It is one of the benefits of choosing to take over a business
rather than start one yourself.

11. Networking
Everyone’s favourite and the last on our list. Networking is crucial to running a business. You
may hate it and find it difficult, but it’s going to help you to build better business relationships
and learn from those in your industry.

If you struggle with networking, as many people do, there are tons of blogs and articles
available to learn how to get better at it. It is a skill that is really worth investing in if you’re trying
to succeed in the world of business.

Final Thoughts
Starting a business or buying another business is always going to be a challenge, so it is
important to make sure that you are as prepared for it as you can be before doing it. This list
only focuses on the skills you’ll need, but there are many other things to consider too, including
the financial means. Weigh up all aspects of business ownership thoroughly.

If you’re looking to buy a business, then why not get on Eden Exchange? As a buying and
selling platform for businesses and franchises, we have an entire network of active sellers that
you can benefit from. Get in touch to find out more about how we work today.

Who we are

Eden Exchange is an integrated multi-channel platform, simplifying business buying and selling. We match, refer and connect business buyers, sellers & brokers in an ecosystem that facilitates frictionless franchise, business and finance transactions. Visit www.EdenExchange.com and connect with our engaged and multidimensional transaction network today.