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Amen to our sister over at Designerly Magazine, founder and editor, Eleanor Hecks. The Founding Moms is a community for mom entrepreneurs. We share a wonderful – yet hectic – life of dreams & goals. We know we thrive better together. We’re a community of learners and motivators. And we want you! Check out TFM for free.
Qualifying Skills That Make A Successful Entrepreneur
As a female entrepreneur, you’ve taken a huge step in deciding to be on your own. After all, being in charge of your own business comes with excitement, but the work is challenging.
As you commit to thinking of ways to get your business started, first, you must ask yourself what skills a woman entrepreneur should have to guarantee success.
Possessing a series of entrepreneurial skills is necessary to develop, grow and remain competitive in a saturated market. However, it’s ok if you don’t have all the skills on hand just yet.
You have time to develop new skills and polish them as you become more experienced in entrepreneurship. Below are a set of qualifying skills that make up a successful entrepreneur today.
Consider identifying the ones you should focus on to assist you in achieving your dream goals. 1. Time ManagementMany entrepreneurs struggle with the concept of time management. This can be especially true for women managing a good work-life balance.
Developing time management skills are crucial. It can maximize your productivity and enhance your work’s effectiveness. Time management skills are especially important at the start of a new business. It sets the tone for how well your company will perform in the future.
Consider using a planner or task organizer software to help prioritize your tasks for the day. For example, you can use these components for tasks by levels of urgency. This reduces time while you get your most important work done first.
Another way to manage your time efficiently is by eliminating distractions. Whether you have an office or work from home, distractions are everywhere. So it would help if you learned how to stay focused and manage to hit your deadlines.
2. Marketing and SalesWithout marketing and sales, a business wouldn’t survive. Therefore, these are the two most essential skills female entrepreneurs should possess.
Marketing and sales are the foundation for how profitable your business becomes. In essence, you need a customer base to help you achieve this long-term goal.
To acquire new customers, you must be able to market your offerings. Once you have leads in your business, knowing how to close the sale is the key to driving revenue.
Consider how you can reach your target audience. These are the people that will require your product or service. Once you understand marketing concepts, you can use tools to automate your efforts and gather real results.
However, it helps to understand your audience, what they struggle with and how you can solve their problems. Start by focusing on a marketing strategy to guide your tactics and foster business growth.
3. Financial ManagementThe point of being in business for yourself is to ensure you’re receiving revenue. Therefore, one of the most important skills female entrepreneurs should harness is the ability to manage their money well.
Suppose you’re not highly skilled in this area. In that case, you can always speak with an accountant and legal consultant to understand your business’s financial and legal aspects.
Having financial knowledge is essential for spending limited capital strategically. That way, you ensure you’re only spending what you need and staying on the right track.
Knowing how to make better financial decisions helps you manage your cash flow significantly and keeps your business thriving in the long run.
4. Goal Setting
Most entrepreneurs fail to realize that the path to success is setting business goals. Without goals, how will you know what to do to ensure your businss achieves long-term success?
Goal-setting is one of the most important entrepreneurship skills. It keeps you motivated — and helps you stay committed to achieving your goals.
When working on setting goals, they should be clear, achievable and realistic. That way, you keep moving forward in the right direction.
An unclear goal would look like this example — “I want to increase sales.” Instead, a clear plan should be “I want to increase sales by 20% within the next six months.” Establishing a clear goal like this helps you map out your decisions and gain a sense of purpose.
Ensure you’re making a viable plan to achieve your goals by establishing deadlines. That way, you’re reaching your targets promptly.
5. NegotiationWomen are less likely to negotiate the terms of their contracts when it comes to business dealings. In fact, research shows that 20% of women haven’t negotiated at all.
However, knowing how to negotiate is an extremely important skill when working with vendors and clients. It’s useful in securing investment capital and higher-paid business contracts.
While negotiating may make you uncomfortable, the first step is to develop a certain level of comfort and style to maintain higher confidence. For instance, maybe you’re more comfortable with being submissive or the aggressor.
Or, you feel more at ease being cooperative and would rather reach a win-win solution. Either way, it helps when you set your expectations beforehand. And if the negotiation isn’t working in your favor, you should always expect to say “no” and avoid being afraid to walk away.
Remember, negotiations aren’t personal — it’s business. Therefore, you must put your emotions aside before you start making a deal. And if, at first, you don’t succeed, keep practicing to ensure you get it right.
Run the World of EntrepreneurshipStarting a new business is no easy feat, even if you possess the proper background and skills. However, mastering these skills gives you the advantage of starting your business on the right foot. If you need to work on these areas, use this list to guide you on where to get started (and consider signing up for a Founding Moms membership). The Founding Moms has two levels of membership – Launch It for the more green and Grow It for the more experienced. Choose your path then dig into the vast library of branding, marketing, sales resources they have. What Jill Salzman, founder of #TFM, calls “the rest” is actually a robust category too! You’ll find finance bootcamps, a goal setting feature in their live chat that goes on throughout the month, and so much more.
Start by working on one area at a time to help you hone your skills. Once you have mastered this set, you’ll have a better chance of seeing your business succeed.
Eleanor Hecks is the founder and managing editor of Designerly Magazine. She’s also a web design consultant with a focus on customer experience and user interface. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and dogs, Bear and Lucy. Connect with her about marketing, design and/or tea on LinkedIn!
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