Learning how to succeed in business was, once upon a time, about having one skill and being amazing at it. If you are savvy when it comes to managing your finances, it is certainly something that will serve you well, but now we live in an age where skills are numerous and varied. It’s driving trends in employment and how we view the job of being an entrepreneur. Being dynamic and adaptable are far more beneficial skills than learning one-note approaches to building up a company. This is where an entrepreneur needs to have a roster of resources at their disposal, but also possess crucial skills, such as the following…
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Fostering Connections
Something that many companies wear on their sleeve is their ability to network with third parties. While it used to be the case that being a big fish in a small pond was a sure-fire way to success, now it is about creating partnerships to ensure that you and the other entity thrives. It’s not necessarily about partnering up with another company, but it can be about using external resources to prop up your knowledge. Take the case of Pilkington Shaw Solicitors, a law firm that provides significant resources to businesses. We can’t expect to have a wide variety of legal knowledge but this is where fostering connections with the right legal people doesn’t just create a good working relationship, but it can get you out of trouble. Legal hot water is something that many companies can find themselves in and it’s never an easy thing to get out of. It can be anxiety-inducing for any entrepreneur because the law is such an alien concept. This is where it’s not just crucial to get legal help at the outset but ensure that you have legal advice, when and where you need it.
Savviness With the Digital World
Every company is online these days, and if you have no knowledge of expanding your reach in this arena or you are a Luddite, you may struggle to maintain a sense of relevance in an evolving world. This is why we, as entrepreneurs, need to learn how to adapt to new technologies. The most recent example is that, in light of the pandemic, many businesses had to find ways to communicate online with an even wider scope. Look back on the year 2020 and the word “Zoom” will no doubt be forged in many people’s minds. And this is just one component of a burgeoning and dynamic business. Being digitally savvy isn’t just about hosting your website and developing the brand, but it’s also about ensuring that you are discoverable online. Reputation will always precede you. And it’s crucial to remember that while you get an increase in search engine traffic, it doesn’t equate to sales and revenue. But it is a vital starting point.
The Power of Pitching
Having to stand out from a broad range of entrepreneurs is difficult. It is not necessarily about shouting louder but it’s about having the right pitch in the right environment. Pitch correctly and you will have a wealth of support from partners, advisors, and peers which will only help to bolster your confidence in the business. Delivering an elevator pitch is one of those skills that needs fine-tuning. This is where learning how to distil everything to its bare basics is a crucial skill that should be practised regularly. When you are in charge of a business, you don’t have the time, which means that you need to get to the point right away. You’ve got to think about your business’s key selling points and what makes it strong but then turn it into a persuasive narrative.
Being a Dynamic Manager
Part of what makes an entrepreneur successful isn’t just the deals they make, it’s about the relationships they foster. When you manage a team of conflicting personalities and diverse attitudes, it is imperative to choose the right people but you also need to remember that, when managing people, they will all require different levels of communication. A perfect example is the proportion of millennials in the workforce right now. And with this, comes a slew of unfair generalizations, that they are “snowflakes” or workshy. And learning how to become a dynamic manager, regardless of their or your age, is about encouraging open communication with professional boundaries between those in charge and those underneath. In addition, nurturing people by providing constructive criticism also helps to create a level playing field. Being constructive with feedback is crucial because it gives the employees the points they need to improve on while also providing a culture for improvement.
Working Smart Over Working Hard
Creating a roster of resources is vital in this arena. But also having the ability to develop approaches to working better, that drive results while avoiding cutting corners is a fine balance. Creating ways to speed up working processes such as automating can increase efficiency in so many ways. This is nothing new, as many businesses are taking advantage of it. But there are some that focus purely on the honest nature of hard work. Unfortunately, to get ahead it requires people to be savvy with their workload. Finding ways to cut corners while still developing the right results can be as simple as incorporating speech recognition programs so copywriters can write blogs instead of typing, giving them the ability to multitask in other ways. There are also other approaches like the Pomodoro method that can help workers to manage their workload while still having adequate downtime. And this is something that any entrepreneur needs to have in their back pocket. When they know how to manage their workload but also find ways to be more efficient they will get the results without exhausting themselves by Friday evening.
Knowledge is power, and this makes the most of the wealth of resources out there. It is not a one-skill industry anymore. If you want to get ahead, it is vital to have a multitude of skills, and these are but a handful.
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