As an entrepreneur, I make sure to educate other ladypreneurs about the importance of investing in themselves.
While investing in yourself and business might cost you a lot of money, it gives you long-term benefits such as the advantage of building valuable skills that would benefit your business and improving your strengths over time.
Let’s face the truth- the business world has changed from the way it was operated 20 years ago. Running a business on just sheer instinct isn’t enough anymore.
You have to stay on top of growing trends if you want your business to survive and succeed.
And that’s why I have put together this list of business skills and resources that every business owner needs to boost their business.
1. Relationship Building
Building great relationships especially with customers/clients is one of the ways to differentiate your business from competitors.
As a business owner, your relationships will take various forms, as you’ll meet different people; and need to wear different hats to maintain a good relationship.
I’d advise that the major categories of relationships you need to build are with:
- Customers/Clients;
- Business connections/ fellow entrepreneurs who can grow and support your business; and
- Mentors
2. Storytelling
Let’s face it! Everyone loves stories, no matter the age or economic status.
Incorporating storytelling into your business infuses a human touch customers can’t resist. It helps customers establish a human connection with your business.
Some of the advantages of using storytelling for your business include:
- It captivates your customers;
- It makes your business relatable and approachable; and
- It makes your business credible and trust-worthy.
3. Content Creation
Content is king! Yes, that might sound cliché, but it’s true.
Please note that content doesn’t have to be restricted to words alone. It could come in other forms such as videos, infographics, pictures, podcasts, whitepapers, case studies, etc.
Don’t just display the products or services you’re offering. Go a step ahead by also offering value to your customers.
For example, do you sell fashion items? Spice up your brand by posting style inspirations, care of the items you sell, how to rock that item for different occasions, etc.
By providing good content, you not only let your customers know that you have their best interests at heart but also assert that buying from your business is the best decision they could ever make.
4. Customer Service
How many of you never returned to buy from a brand just because of poor customer experience? Lots of you, right?
The same principle applies to your customers too. As business owners, you have to realize that your customers are king, and so, must be treated like royalty.
Providing excellent customer experience is one of the easiest ways to make your business stand out from other businesses.
It’s also one of the easiest ways to retain customers and get referrals. Therefore, ensure you develop your customer skills and treat your customers with respect.
5. Financial Literacy/Management
This means having an understanding of how much you can spend and how you should spend it.
Every cent you spend and generate must be accounted for. If you don’t know how to calculate your expenditure and revenue, it’s definitely time to become financially literate.
6. Management
When your business begins to grow, it will require expansion. And expansion translates to hiring more people to support you.
Once you do this, you need to ensure that the people on your team are doing what they are supposed to do and that they’re are doing it efficiently. Therefore, don’t be just a business owner.
7. Leadership
A good business owner needs to have good leadership skills to run a team of other people.
When you are a good leader, it becomes easy to motivate and inspire greatness in your employees.
With proper leadership, employees, contractors, and even customers will respect you.
Please note that to be a leader isn’t to be bossy to inspire fear. Rather, a good leader brings the best out of people, listens to other people, shows them respect and showing them that you’re capable of leading them to achieve victory.
8. Hiring
I see a lot of business owners make the mistake of hiring the first person that shows an interest in working with/for them or has the qualifications they are looking for.
Unfortunately, that isn’t enough.
While hiring a person with an exemplary portfolio and good work history is good, you have to consider other variables such as their personality, beliefs and whether they are a perfect fit for your business’ culture.
Running a business is very demanding. Identify your weaknesses and invest in skills that that will provide your business with solid foundations.