Whether you have aspirations to run a huge company or a small business, you need the entrepreneurial skills, training, and specialized knowledge to ensure you, your business, and your employees are successful.
As a business owner, you must constantly and consistently evaluate, reevaluate, and evolve your business. You must also mitigate risk and rely on sound strategy and leadership skills to confidently bring your ideas to the economic market.
So, how does one acquire great entrepreneurial skills? Business school is a prevalent option for aspiring entrepreneurs as it provides training in both the hard and soft skills needed to run a business successfully.
Let’s take a look at the 10 skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur and how business programs help students gain and develop these entrepreneurship skills.
What is an Entrepreneur?
An entrepreneur is a skilled individual who starts or operates a business. They are the brainpower behind the idea for the business as well as the one in charge of securing the necessary funding and resources, hiring team members, and overseeing the overall and day-to-day operations of the business.
Entrepreneurs come in all shapes and sizes, and one of the few careers where age, race, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or upbringing won’t stop you from pursuing this career path as long as you have the dedication, drive, and skill sets.
This career path can be fascinating as well as lucrative, especially if one’s business is doing well, as they will enjoy a great deal of the profits due to their high amount of equity stake in their business. However, they also take on a great deal of risk, which is why many turn to business and entrepreneurship programs to ensure they have the skills, network, training, and resources needed to navigate the highs and lows of business ownership.
Download our Business Administration Get Started Guide to explore Goodwin’s business programs and discover which is the best path for your future as an entrepreneur!
10 Entrepreneurial Skills to Learn in Business School
In order to succeed in business and achieve your goals, you need the right tools, training, and knowledge. Let’s explore 10 entrepreneurial skills you should master to be the leading innovator of your future company.
1. Communication
First and foremost, entrepreneurs need to be great communicators to explain and ensure others understand your company’s value.
You’ll likely be the “face” of your company. As such, you need the confidence to speak, present, and write comfortably, whether you are pitching, nurturing connections and partnerships at networking events, or closing sales.
Entrepreneurs must also be able and comfortable communicating with everyone, including employees, investors, customers, creditors, peers, and mentors, in one-on-one conversations, in-person meetings, group settings, written communication, and even email and online messages.
2. Time Management
Being efficient or inefficient with time can make or break your business, especially in the early stages. Resources and staff will likely be in limited supply, making it imperative that you are as productive and efficient with your time as possible.
Thus, entrepreneurs need strong planning, organization, and time management skills to organize objectives, manage assignments, prioritize tasks, eliminate distractions, and meet deadlines.
And don’t forget to set aside time to avoid burnout and focus on your business goals. Schedule breaks to eat and exercise, and make sure you are getting enough sleep.
3. Networking
Along with being an effective communicator, successful entrepreneurs are also great networkers. These skills enable them to meet and connect with like-minded professionals, build their future team, get feedback on ideas, connect to funding opportunities, and stay informed on their industry’s pulse.
It’s extremely common for candidates to develop and strengthen their networking skills through Business Entrepreneurship programs, which are full of motivated and hard-working individuals and experienced professionals in the faculty and staff. Students benefit from both these relationships that carry over into their professional lives long after graduation
4. Branding and Marketing
A business’s branding portrays its identity and image to the public through images, logos, brand vision statements, and buyer personas.
Pairing a solid branding message with an equally strong and successful marketing campaign will be highly beneficial in grabbing consumers’ attention and encouraging them to buy your product or service.
Thus, entrepreneurs need to acquire storytelling, story-selling, fonts, color schemes, and copywriting knowledge to convert people into loyal and lifelong customers.
5. Budgeting
Successful entrepreneurs aren’t just the “idea” people dreaming big dreams. They also need to understand basic accounting and finance principles to ensure their business stays financially afloat.
Entrepreneurs should track all the money going into and out of their business, maintain accurate financial records at all times, and review them at the end of each quarter.
Strong budgeting and financial planning skills also help business owners calculate quarterly costs and financial projections and, in turn, have the data to back up their business decisions.
6. Data Analysis
Data analytics and analysis will allow you digital insight into potential customers’ habits and preferences, which enables entrepreneurs to use their branding and marketing skills to create meaningful campaigns and convert traffic into sales.
Additionally, being able to analyze data and recognize patterns means you can build a more robust and significant presence and make bolder business predictions through:
- Online advertising
- Pay-per-click advertising
- E-mail marketing strategies and campaigns
- Mobile marketing
- Web public relations
- Social media operations
7. User Experience
The saying, “the customer is always right,” has stuck around for a reason. The customer and their experience are paramount, especially when a business starts.
Entrepreneurs with knowledge and training in user experience design can optimize interactions with their customers and products or services. This includes ensuring your communication, websites, and mobile applications are accessible, easy to use, and effective.
8. Planning, Development, and Business Management
As business owners, entrepreneurs need to have a vision and a plan for achieving that vision. Business planning and development techniques like five-year plans, financial proposals, and long-term objectives and strategies are all needed to set a business up for profitability.
Not to mention that you want to ensure your employees and customers are happy, so creating an inviting environment, presenting ideas for employee productivity, providing transparency of business practices, and addressing any issues will keep your business successful and sustainable.
9. Accepting Feedback
No one is perfect, and it’s almost guaranteed that you will hit bumps in your entrepreneurial journey. However, the mistake is not as important as how you handle the mistake.
Entrepreneurs must be eager and ready to receive feedback and act on it, regardless of their personal feelings. Stay humble and be open to your team or customer’s ideas or perspectives, especially if your product or service is not reaching its intended audience.
10. Leadership
While this feels like a no-brainer, many entrepreneurs fail to cultivate their leadership skills. Those who do, however, gain the ability to influence and empower others toward personal and professional growth.
To reach one’s personal and professional goals, entrepreneurs must be:
- Adaptable to all situations and adversity
- Accountable
- Passionate
- Persistent
- Resilient
Start Your Journey as an Entrepreneur at Goodwin University
There are various business-focused degree programs that will build upon the fundamentals of business planning, leadership, and development for graduates to be successful entrepreneurs running start-ups, small businesses, nonprofit organizations, and more.
These programs help students develop and strengthen their confidence in managing people, accessing resources, and processing information in all kinds of business situations.
Every college and university will vary in terms of what types of programs they offer. At Goodwin University, we help create successful entrepreneurs through our associate Entrepreneurship concentration as part of our degrees in Business Administration.
No matter your goals, a Business Administration degree at Goodwin University can prepare you to achieve them. Find out more information or apply today.
We’re ready when you are!