10 Skills Every Entrepreneur Needs for a Successful Start-Up
Start-ups come in all shapes and sizes, yet they all have the same goal in the competitive market – success. Below are the ten most important skills, we think are necessary for a successful start-up.
1. Networking
Starting out can be daunting without a support network. Immerse yourself in the industry you want to get into, start learning names, and don’t be afraid to do favours as it may benefit you in the future. Platforms such as LinkedIn are ideal for networking due to its professionalism and recommendation features. The IoD 99 is a great starting point for those seeking great opportunities and guidance from those who have spent decades in the industry. Our founders at Studio 14 found their experiences with the IoD extremely beneficial, especially for young digital entrepreneurs looking to get into the tech scene.
2. Technical Proficiency
In order to get yourself out there and appeal to your target audience, you’re going to require some level of technical proficiency, whether it be regarding the content of your start-up or simply the way you present yourself online. Code Academy and Lynda.com are just two of a plethora of websites dedicated to offering free, interactive courses to teach yourself technical necessities including coding, analytics as well as business related skills such as project management and branding.
3. Integrity
Arguably more of an attribute than a skill, integrity is still a vital element for any start-up. Defined as having both strong moral principles and also upholding solidarity of values, integrity is important in upholding your start-up vision. Whilst compromise is sometimes necessary in the business sense, the core principles of any start-up idea should always remain intact as these are the foundations of a much more complex and fluid world.
4. Monitoring and Augmentation
The market continuously fluctuates and changes based on trends, demand and value. Your survival as a start-up depends on your ability to monitor and augment to the changing market. This may mean assessing the way you present and sell yourself, and how this can be improved. It is vital to be open to changes in technology and the fundamental resources that you use to keep your business ticking along. Be a learning organisation, as a founder, when you’re hiring, look for talented individuals who have the ability to learn new skills. They might have the relevant skills needed today, but they must be willing to learn in order to have the skills needed for tomorrow.
5. Target Setting
Starting a business can be very complex, and without any definitive end-goal your ideas and fundamental values may become convoluted. Setting yourself both short and long term goals will keep you plenty occupied and achieving milestones in development will remind you of how far you’ve come.
6. Productivity
It goes without saying, productivity is ultimately what drives any business venture. However, when starting out you may find productivity waning and it can be difficult to be productive if your start-up is struggling to gain traction. However, simple tasks such as teaching yourself new technical skills keep the productivity flow going and ensure that completing more relative work will come much easier.
7. Self-Reflection and Diagnostics
At some point you’re going to need to reflect on which areas of your start-up are achieving and underachieving. As opposed to asking, ‘Where am I going wrong?’ it may be more beneficial to discover an issue, but focus more on finding the solution and ask yourself ‘What have I learnt from this experience?’ It may also be worth seeking an outside help to objectively look for weak spots in your business structure.
8. Leadership
Start-ups often begin between friends, which is in no way detrimental as trust between the team is then usually a given. However, it is also important to set professional boundaries in order to promote fairness and structure within your team. The establishment of a hierarchy nurtures a solid support network between co-workers and gives them the confidence to approach their superior when issues arrive.
9. Digital Marketing
Similar to technical proficiency, but more concerned with the way in which you present yourself and your start-up online. Social Media Today found that 76% of businesses use social media networking in order to reach their marketing objectives and discovered a 133% increase in revenue for businesses who marketed themselves via mobile channels specifically. Startups live and die by their ability to acquire customers, the more you know about digital marketing the better your chance of success.
10. Branding
Before considering the way in which your company represents itself – consider your own position as the head of the company. Potential clientele will be looking at your durability as a leader as representative of the company’s overall stability. How you present and brand yourself must reflect your company’s core values in order to build an authentic and trustworthy reputation. After this has been established, you can then begin working on your company’s own brand and begin considering how the use of slogans and logos can further compliment your company ethos
Those are our top ten skills for a successful start-up. Did we miss out anything? Comment below to let us know your most sought after skill.