27 Skills Every Entrepreneur Needs Now
You've read every business book recommended of how to become an entrepreneur and is involved in entrepreneurial circles online & off. BUT you'll never come across a more comprehensive list of skills you need to grow your empire, as this one. So take notes (I used the #18 skill in my intro).
1. How To Run Your Business From a Smartphone
What a world we live in when we can shop, make reservations, book a flight and watch the whole season of Breaking Bad from our devices. What a magical existence, it is.
It also means we can be anywhere, still connect and cash in on our genius through smartphone apps.
READ: 14 Biz Apps Cheat Sheet, Hustle Smarter.
2. How To Make More Time For Yourself
This is crucial to your sanity. YOU. ARE. YOUR. BUSINESS.
Make it a priority.
I recently posted in a private FB group about booking a hotel room for 2 days to escape from my responsibilities and to get some work done. There was an onslaught of cheers, WHOO-RAs and “Do it!” of support from my peers. They understood the need to zone out to zone in.
Knocking work off my plate creates MY sanity because then I can be fully present on my down times with family.
3. How To Be A Mentor
Nobody gets to where they want to be in life on their own.
If someone has helped you along the way, pay it forward. This is how a world of heart-centred entrepreneurs is formed. Follow those 2 steps ahead. Help those 2 steps behind.
4. How To Hire Superstar Staff
Teamwork makes the dream work.
Referrals will save you the headache and knowing exactly what you want to outsource will too.
READ: 132 Things Small Business Owners Can Delegate.
5. How To Maintain A Partnership
Collaboration excels your success. Expediates it, really.
This web designer (that did my site) talked about her explosive growth after partnering up with fellow website designers.
Now, let’s stop there.
Usually, in business, we look at anybody who is in the same industry as competition but Alyssa looked at it as an opportunity to grow her business while simultaneously growing her peers. #PartnershipGoals
To learn more about this creative web designer, go here.
6. How To Hack Your Body
Your body can be your best friend or your worst enemy.
I’ve experienced both.
Let’s start with the bad. In the past, I would ignore the warning signs of over exhaustion and getting sick like clockwork (I knew every 6 weeks I’d catch a cold). Until I got extremely ill and it stayed that way for about 2 months. I’ll spare you the gory details, but I was reliant on my partner to spoon feed me.
I vowed I would never let that happen again. I now include working out at least 3-4 times a week in my work schedule. It’s non-negotiable. It gives me an unsubstantial amount of energy and I always get an idea of a better way to do something in my business after each session.
What’s your hack?
7. How To Take Risks
Being in business for yourself is a risk.
Every morning you getting up to put one foot in front of the other is a risk. Fcuk it, being an entrepreneur is a risk. There are no guarantees in life.
You just go out there and leave everything you got on the floor. And you have to be ok with that!
Definition of leaving it on the floor.
8. How To Prioritize Your Day
Throw that freakin’ to do list out the window. Do you even get through it?
You gotta do better and I’m here to help you. Decide on your Most Important Tasks (I stick to 3), then I go do them.
Don’t overwhelm yourself thinking you’re superwoman. You have a lot more other responsibilities on your plate aside from business (being a mother, friend, partner, keeping your house in order, etc.).
Don’t allow the most important tasks you can do today, spill into tomorrow. You’re better than that!
9. How To Say No
“The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.” Warren Buffett
10. How To Say Yes
“When you learn to say yes to yourself, you will learn how to say no to others, with love.” Alan Cohen
11. How To Price Your Work Without Feeling Sleazy About It
This most definitely is a hard one!
You don’t want to price too high in fear of nobody buying.
You don’t want to price too low in fear of not making any profit.
What to do? What to do?
Change the way you feel about money, own your worth, spell out how someone benefits after working with you and set prices just a little above what you’re comfortable with. Over time you’ll grow into confidently pricing. Practice and be patient with yourself.
After you’ve locked down a few clients at your starter rate --you’ll figure out fast if you’ve underpriced yourself, promise!
READ: When You're Comfortable With Your Prices It's Time to Start Charging More
12. How To Get Inspired
Find it. I wrote a whole blog post on this...actually.
READ:
Do You Constantly Tumble Down The Social Media Rabbit Hole? (It’s killing your creativity)
Why You Shouldn’t Wait to Be Inspired to write for your biz
13. How To Feel Confident When You Don’t
Not every day is #beastmode or do we knock out our MITs (Most Important Tasks) before lunch.
Some days we just want to crawl into bed, covers over our head and forget why we even started our business. Even, for a split second fantasize about being content with a job we can clock out of and live a “normal life”. I’ll be the first to admit it.
Those days are completely ok to have, actually, it makes you human. It reminds us every day will not be perfect and there is no need to beat ourselves about it. Just like the sun rising on a new day, so will we.
14. How To Mind Your Business
What if I told you, your biggest competitor is you. Would you believe me?
We play out thoughts of not being good enough or not having as much experience as the next gal or thinking our slow growth is a permanent thing.
You know what’s happening here? You’re catching comparisonitis. Comparing yourself to others while building a business, making you resent how “far behind” you are and then you beat yourself up about it.
Cut that sh!t out.
15. How To Market Yourself
Step 1: Be yourself
Step 2: Refer to step one
16. How To Operate From Your Strength & Outsource The Rest
I was listening to an interview with the Founder of Curlbox, (a subscription box service of curated natural hair products) Myleik Teele. And she was speaking on someone asking her how does she do everything so impeccably.
She gave the most real answer ever: “I do only the things I'm good at.”
Flat out, that’s her secret.
Steal it.
17. How To Pivot When Sh!t is Not Working
You got to know, what’s not for you so you waste no more time chasing it.
When I was building a SAAS (Software as a Service) I thought, this was it! I’ve found the way I was going to kill it in business and make beaucoup money. I was wrong.
A year and a half later and $10,000 in debt wrong.
I knew it.
During my head banging on the wall period of trying to build something that wasn’t for me. My heart wasn’t in it. I was in it to get rich and I went broke instead.
Learn from me, if you don’t feel it...leave it alone.
18. How to Be Your Biggest Raving Fan
Oh, this is an easy one!
Love everything you put out and know your stuff is better than anybody else’s. Because you’ve put your heart into it.
19. How To Grow Your Mind to Grow Your Money
You will either fail or lose money if you don’t get your mind right. Do the work.
If you keep hesitating to hire a coach because you think they're all B.S. or falling into the trap of not having enough time to work on you and your underlying blocks (you don’t know you have) it will manifest into something really ugly in your business.
Take the time to constantly grow yourself, so you can authentically grow your biz.
20. How To Speak Your Client’s Language
This is the backbone of your business.
Once a client feels like you really get them, it’s only a matter of time before they want you. Quora.com is a great place to know the questions your ideal client is asking and answer them.
21. How To Be Loved or Needed
Determine which one you care about the most before your audience puts you in their own category.
To be loved by your readers is to give them hope and inspire them to be their best self. People pay for that. To be needed by your readers is to fill an essential need in their lives which is invaluable. People pay for that. To be both -- is legendary.
22. How To Fail Like a Boss
Learn from your mistakes and don’t make them again.
23. How To Be Honest About Your Goals
As entrepreneurs we have big dreams, nobody gets into this planning to fail. But we also need to be realistic about what we can manage and take on.
24. How To Go All In
Quite frankly, having a backup plan is like signing a prenup.
You’re sooo in love and planning on forever but “Just in case this doesn’t work out...could you sign this?”. Hey, I get it! You want to protect your assets and it’s a bit of security, just in case… it doesn’t work out.
Let me ask you this, would you work x10 harder if you knew it had to work out? Just a question.
25. How To Be Yourself
People really struggle with this.
Especially the ones freshly out of a corporate job. Still programmed to speak professionally and lack a personality. Being yourself is as simple as being authentic by saying the things you really want to say.
People will either hate or love the stuff you put out, regardless, of who you decide to be. So why not, be yourself.
26. How To Build Your Business Backwards
We have this dream, right? To go out into the world, do what we love and people buy it, but in order to make money...people need to BUY into it. Bummer, I know. Why can't they just think everything we create is genius and hand over the cash.
Anyway, when you build with the client's benefit in mind, the exact solution that will create feelings of liberation. It becomes impossible to not build magic.
Start with the end in mind. - Stephen R. Covey
27. How To Think Big
There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living. - Nelson Mandela
— Ms. Cooper (@TennileCooper) October 2, 2015