17 Entrepreneurial Skills For Extra Cash — You Can Start Today
If you're on your way to becoming an entrepreneur or simply starting a side hustle, there's no way around it: some skills need to be mastered and refined. No worries, though! Many Founders are here to help.
Flexibility and readiness to always learn something new is your guarantee that you're staying relevant and competitive in the modern ever-developing world. That's why you've come to the right place. In this article, we'll share what are the 17 main entrepreneurial skills needed in 2024. Read on to develop the skills of a successful entrepreneur, starting today!
1. Financial Management
Any entrepreneur must understand financial management: budgeting, forecasting, and efficient cash flow management. This is a must-have high income skill for any aspiring entrepreneurs who want to make sure that their business is financially healthy. So take an online course on financial management or use tools like QuickBooks to get a grasp on budgeting and accounting.
These financial podcasts should be a good start for you:
2. Marketing and Sales
One of the more basic entrepreneurial skills is being able to market your product and close a sale. This is one of the most important important skills of entrepreneurs looking to increase their customer base and revenue.
What can you do today to start? Learn the very basic of digital marketing from platforms like HubSpot Academy or Google Digital Garage.
Closing a sale is an art in itself, but you can become good at it if you utilize this pro advice:
3. Leadership
You know this one, of course: strong leadership skills help you manage teams, make strategic decisions, and inspire others. This is a one of the key interpersonal skills in entrepreneurship where you lead a team or manage multiple projects.
But how can you become better at leadership today? It's simple: read leadership books like Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek, or attend any leadership workshop.
If you want to see some real leadership action, read how Marie Forleo inspires millions of her followers:
4. Communication
Effective communication for negotiating deals, networking, and managing relationships is a skill that every entrepreneur who interacts with clients, employees, and stakeholders in general should learn. Active listening and public speaking courses from Toastmasters will help you out here.
5. Time Management
Effective time management enables one to have the ability to do things according to priority and beat deadlines. This skill is a must to have for all the time-crunched entrepreneurs handling several responsibilities. Tools like Trello or Asana, mindfulness practices, and productivity techniques such as the Pomodoro Technique will help you become more organized.
Ali Abdaal is surely the king of productivity and time management. Read about his ventures and net worth here:
6. Problem-Solving
Problem-solving skills let you sail through challenges to efficient solutions. So the entrepreneurs facing daily operational issues should really look into it, do some brain training games and play out scenarios, or take courses in Critical thinking and Problem Solving.
Problems are endless stimuli for progress. Remember that Facebook, for example, was created because there was a problem: students couldn't find and connect with their friends online. What problem will your business solve?
7. Networking
Building a strong network unlocks new opportunities and partnerships – that's no secret for anyone in business. That's why the entrepreneurs looking to grow their professional network should definitely go to local networking events, join professional groups on LinkedIn, or attend industry conferences.
There are hacks even to networking. Watch this video to learn how to connect with people for business better:
8. Adaptability
Adaptability, flexibility, quick thinking – call it what you want, but the virtue of this skill lies in not being afraid to change your strategy and embracing new circumstances effectively. This is a skill that every entrepreneur in a fast-changing industry.
How can you learn to be adaptive? The answer is, embrace change. Try out new strategies. Read about market trends and keep update on industry shifts.
9. Customer Service
Attention to great customer service is what retains clients and builds brand loyalty.
So the entrepreneurs who directly interact with their customers will find that it's one of the main skills of a successful entrepreneur. A pro tip here is to take any feedback into consideration to make changes in your service.
10. Negotiation
Where would we be if we didn't take each other's opinions into consideration? Through negotiation, everyone in business – entrepreneurs, salespeople, partners, and contract agreement holders – can secure better deals with better terms.
And you can do it, too! One of the ways to learn this skill is study effective negotiation strategies and practice by role-playing.
If you need lots of people's perspectives in one place, TikTok is what you need. And you'll be surprised but it's a great place to find some business advice:
11. Technical Skills
technology entrepreneurs or digital entrepreneurs know firsthand that technical skills could be instrumental in the development and running of products depending on your sector. So take coding boot camps or technical courses relevant for your industry – and don't stay behind!
No-code, for example, is a goldmine is you know how to handle it. Read a story about a man turning his no-code skills into a fortune:
12. Strategic Planning
Long-term goal setting and knowing which tactics will or wont work are integral parts of the skill of strategic planning. This is a great skill for any entrepreneur looking to scale his/her business sustainably.
To start mastering this skill, you can try creating a business plan and set SMART goals; regularly review them and change them when appropriate.
If you're unsure how to set SMART goals, watch this:
13. Creativity
The skill of creativity is what pushes us forward, gives us the power to innovate, be creative, and make your products or services stand out from the crowd. Businessmen and businesswomen who work in a competitive market (and would like to be outstanding) must be creative, that's a fact.
So you can do some brainstorming exercises, engage in creative exercises, or take courses in design thinking to develop this money-earning, essential skill.
Creativity can lead you into the strangest of places – and you'll find money there! For example, Sam Cox AKA Mr Doodle applied his unusual vision and talent of drawing endless black and white doodles and made an entire brand out of it.
14. Financial Literacy
Hands down, an ability to understand financial statements, investments, and market trends is a pillar of your future success. So if you're an entrepreneur who often has to make financial decisions, we suggest to check out books such as Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki or take some online courses in financial literacy.
Tune in to these financial podcasts if you want to get started without too much effort:
15. Resilience
Resilience helps you in persisting and moving on in the case of setbacks and failures. You may think that this skill is the opposite of adaptivity, but these two really work together and allow you to stick to your ideas while being flexible.
Every entrepreneur facing ups and downs in business should be resilient, so you should definitely master some of the mindfulness and stress management techniques.
16. Analytical Thinking
You will be helped by the analytical thinking to make data-driven decisions and always stay one step ahead of the rivals in your marketplace. If you decide to develop this skill, strategic decisions are your best friends.
To become better at analytical thinking, try to utilize analytical tools such as Google Analytics, and take courses related to data analysis.
Coursera Staff
17. Innovation
Innovation is going to keep you moving and your business relevant. So all entrepreneurs who would like to disrupt an industry or bring new products to market should foster innovation in their team. Keep an eye on developing technologies and methodologies not to be left behind!
Tori Dunlap is your example of being innovative in business: she managed to locate and fill the untapped niche of women's financial literacy. Read about this here:
Developing entrepreneurial skills is paramount for any person aiming to make an extra coin or establish a successful business. That's why these 17 skills are the stepping stones you need to navigate through the entrepreneurship environment. Just start small, focusing on one or two areas, and build upon these skills step-by-step.
By investing your time and effort in learning these 17 high-income skills, you are not only going to boost your entrepreneurial capabilities but also ensure long-term success and sustainability. And that's your goal, isn't that right? We hope we can help you turn your entrepreneurial dreams turn into reality with these money-making skills for a successful business.
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