6 skills to make your business a success

1. Commercial awareness
Commercial awareness mostly comes from experience. Are you from a commercial background? Have you been closely involved in the runnings of a profitable business? Do you understand the realities of making a profit? If the answer to any of these questions is 'no' then you may need some help or training before you start up.

2. Dynamism
A noticeable trait among entrepreneurs is that they tend to want to get things done. Some entrepreneurs argue that perfectionism is the enemy, as the last 20 per cent of time spent on perfecting a product or service is the most costly. The trick to success is to get your product out into the marketplace and start getting feedback quickly so your product can be perfected by the early adopters.

3. People skills
To be successful in business you have got to be able to deal with people effectively. You need to have the social skills to make people like you enough to remember you and want to do business with you again. The qualities of the engaging manager may be summed up as "the personal touch" connecting and showing an interest in people. These soft skills are as invaluable to the selling process as they are in managing staff.

4. Negotiation
The skills you need to cut deals with suppliers will make all the difference to your bottom line. Recent research shows that 70 per cent of small business owners view themselves as strong negotiators. Negotiation is not a born ability but a skill that anyone can learn.

5. Story-telling ability

All great entrepreneurs have a simple personal story about their success and how they overcome failures along the way. The ability to tell a great story is a priceless skill if you want free advertising known as public relations. The good news is that everyone has a story to tell, but you may need help to identify and develop it.

6.  Self-belief and self-confidence
If you don't have this on your side then most aspects of running a business are going to be a struggle. Your creative ideas may be brilliant but if you don't believe in your ability to deliver them, then you will get no response from potential funders.

Source: Business Link