Asides from building a business around a product or a service to meet a need that you have recognized, running a productive business is largely dependent on whom you are and the skills you intentionally put to work.
Here are 5 top soft skills you should have as a business owner:
- Communication
How you communicate with others determines how smoothly a business runs. Internally, communication with employees and team members sets the tone for a company’s culture.
Communication is also important from a business-to-business standpoint, as a business owner, you often need to communicate with suppliers, vendors and potential investors.
- Negotiation
You engage in negotiation daily, whether you realize it or not. Most times these negotiations happen informally, such as discussing what to have for dinner or where to go on the next family vacation.
However, formal negotiation skills are critical for success in your business and involve reaching consensus, compromising, cooperating, strategizing and effectively communicating. Being able to negotiate with also customers is key to making sales.
- Leadership
Leadership skills are important for a business owner who wants to succeed in a business environment. Leadership is focused on people more than processes.
You need to be strong leader to build a productive and amenable work environment, and this can happen by using interpersonal skills to help foster collaboration and effective communication.
- Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence, or EQ, is the ability to understand both your and other people’s emotions and how those feelings influence a situation.
As a business owner having a high EQ would involve the use self-awareness, self-regulation and social skills to improve the level of productivity in your business.
- Organization
Organizational skills mean more than just keeping your desk tidy, although that can be a component. On a broader scale, organization means the ability to define and prioritize goals, then create a plan to accomplish them.
Strong organizational skill tends to make you more productive. You are also likely to be a better time manager and be less inclined to procrastinate. All of this, is key to be able to run your business like a pro.