Starting a business or being an entrepreneur has it highs and lows. It’s an emotional rollercoaster and an ongoing learning curve.
More often than not, there are soft and hard skills you did not realize you needed, and some of those skills can make or break your trajectory.
I’ve been an entrepreneur for over two decades now, and as I reflect on my journey, I’ve identified the skills that have been most important in helping me achieve my goals.
Most skills can be taught to each individual. Some might have a more natural ability to comprehend or understand something faster, or are extremely gifted.
However, it doesn’t mean that you or anyone else can’t excel in those essential skills when pursuing entrepreneurship.
Any form of business implies high variance and no guarantees of success at all. But those who learn the skills mentioned below can create a significant edge.
- Bravery
- Resilience
- Consistency
- Discipline
- Leadership
- Bulletproof
Bravery
Making bold choices as an entrepreneur and in your journey requires some bravery. You’re often stepping into unknown territory, and that means stepping out of your comfort zone more than once.
Taking risks and having the ability to remain confident isn’t as easy as it looks. Especially when a single wrong decision can set you back for days, or even weeks.
Resilience
If I have to emphasize a skill, then being resilient is my number one pick. I’ve seen more founders crash and burn because they weren’t willing to adapt, respond in crisis situations, or make transformations when the market demands.
Sometimes, no matter how well prepared you are, there are often variables out of your control.
Your job and focus should be identifying those risks, adapting, and responding on time.
Consistency
Most startups aren’t born overnight. And there were times I wasn’t consistent enough or slipped up. I had no regular routines, and I was postponing tasks that led to procrastination.
Before I knew it, I lost control of my life and business, which resulted in failures.
You need to find a routine that will work for you. A routine that helps you remain consistent. It’s not because someone sits 12 hours per day at their desk, they’re more productive.
I would rather see entrepreneurs work 2 hours per day on their business with hyper-focus, instead of people who go fast one week, but then underperform the next week.
You’re the business, and being consistent helps you move the needle one step at a time.
Discipline
Discipline and consistency go hand in hand. When you’re consistent, you learn to remain disciplined in your efforts.
Schedule your time, block out areas in your agenda when you don’t want to work, and learn how to eliminate noise or distractions such as social media, email, or chats.
Implementing digital minimalism helped me achieve this.
Being disciplined is harder than it looks. We’re often so tempted to respond, or open our phones “to quickly check” feeds or messages.
The problem with that?
Once you lose focus or get distracted from deep work, it can take up to 30 minutes to regain it.
Leadership
Millions of startups fail because of mismanagement and bad leadership.
Leadership means something. People who work with you, or for you, often admire you for who you are and what you do.
It’s your job to motivate them, be responsive, and delegate where necessary.
You need to learn to make the right decisions for the business and the team during hardship, and that’s not an easy task.
Be Bulletproof
If I could count and list every hit or bad beat I’ve taken over the years, there wouldn’t be enough paper in the world to print it.
The startup scene can be brutal and competitive. Some can be vicious to the point that their sole purpose is to annihilate your business or even your mental game.
What founders need is to become bulletproof or at least develop a kevlar (thick skin) that doesn’t make them irrational or make bad impulse decisions.
Some examples I experienced are:
- Financial losses
- Loss of clients
- Bad reviews
- Developers not meeting deadlines
- Competition that’s stealing your ideas and clients on top
- Staff leaving all of a sudden
You need to learn how to shrug off setbacks and prepare yourself at all times with exit strategies.
Final Word
When you’re new to entrepreneurship, you will have to experiment a lot, including trying and learning new skills.
Each skill in entrepreneurship can be taught, and you will need to dive into the trenches for days, weeks, and years.
Looking back. A lot of things I used to spend hours or days on, I can now solve in minutes.
I strongly believe that resilience is the most undervalued skill, but you should put in a lot of study and time into that one.
Starting a business is not a lifestyle. It’s hard work that comes with more responsibilities than raising a toddler.