Business Skills for entrepreneurs to adapt and thrive during a pandemic
Most entrepreneurs I have interacted with during this period often rely on their business skills to manage and run their businesses. Examples of such business skills include building up your ability to multitask, delegate responsibilities to subordinates and make decisions regarding their current business model, the health and profitability of their business.
Every entrepreneur must be able to effectively communicate (verbal and nonverbal), sell, focus, learn and strategize. It is part of the entrepreneurial journey to have a continuous learning approach to be able to grow and develop strategies that are sustainable for the business.
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A current unofficial interview I conducted with some collapsed startups reveals lack of innovation, inadequate financial management, lack of marketing strategies, and overambitious expansion plans as some of the reasons that contributed to their demise.
I will advise entrepreneurs to develop the ability to multi-task and have the needed technical skills to undertake initiatives on their own which include undertaking online courses and webinars, networking, mentoring, and coaching and reading can help them acquire some skills needed to support the growth of the businesses. Some of these business skills include:
New Media Marketing Skills: Every business in products or services must develop an effective marketing strategy to enable them to develop successful sales strategies which will help them to segment their customers and develop products and services which will identify the target market and positioned their brand. New media has provided vast opportunities for small business owners to develop digital marketing outreach as well as using some traditional tools. It will be strategic for SMEs owners to understand the key basic elements of running an online business especially in developing content for their Facebook and Instagram marketing strategies. This new media marketing opportunity will help in leveraging these social media platforms to easily reach their target market's new tastes and preferences. I think that understanding sales strategies is one of the most critical skills for entrepreneurs.
Market Research Skills: Every small business owner must appreciate the fact that undertaking marketing research is not just important before the launch of the business but it is an inseparable part of running a business. It helps the business by providing the right market and consumer information and knowledge especially the competitors' activities, customer profile, and industry trends. The ability of your business to survive the current pandemic will require an understanding of the current market environment and the changing needs and preferences of the consumers. Entrepreneurs must further learn the skills of making sense of the numerous data generated through the research in developing targeted selling strategies and the current surge in the use of digital selling platforms. Understanding the current information generated online can help entrepreneurs make data-driven decisions resulting in improving product offerings and reshaping their business models.
Entrepreneurial Finance Skills: It is important for business owners not to consider entrepreneurial finance as a way of avoiding overspending. There are a lot of financial decisions that play a critical role in defining the financial operations of a business and this includes how to borrow wisely, making the right investment decisions, considering your return on investment, developing a spending plan, minimizing operational costs, etc. Small business owners should develop the skill of understanding how to invest part of their profits and strengthen their businesses especially due to the miscalculations about the use of funds and unhealthy spending habits. Entrepreneurs in the initial stage of business must endeavor to develop a financial strategy for their business by not mixing their personal and business finance. There is also online financial software that can be used to enhance their productivity. This includes QuickBooks Online, Xero, Freshbooks, and Wave.
Problem Solving Skills: Entrepreneurs need to quickly identify the underlying issue especially about their operations, customers, partners, etc., and implement a solution. Problem-solving skills help to determine why an issue is happening and how to resolve it. This is normally considered a softs skill and can have improved by familiarizing with common issues in their specific industry and environment and learning from more experienced entrepreneurs, mentors, competitors, and their business coaches. The five primary steps in problem-solving that can be considered are: analyzing the contributing factors, generating interventions to achieve your end goal, evaluating solutions, implementing a plan, and assessing the effectiveness of the solution.
Andrews Ayiku
Lecturer, University of Professional Studies, Accra
[email protected]
