Most people contemplating to venture into entrepreneurship will hesitate to do so because they are clueless on what to do. Rarely does it occur to potential entrepreneurs that same thing they were doing for their employer would probably be the same thing they will be doing, only this time they will be the ones calling the shots. The fear is that their enough might not be good enough for their business. They fail to realize that what they have been doing for almost all their career is amassing skills which put to good use are sufficient to run a business. So here are some transferable interpersonal skills that can come in handy for entrepreneurship.
Leadership comprises of almost 100% of people in management level. If you have been in employment at a leadership level then you have these skills. You have the ability to come up with a killer idea and getting people to follow you to implement it. If you can transfer your leadership skills to your startup you stand better chances raising it from infancy which is the stage when the business is most vulnerable. Leadership skills entail ability to create a strategic vision, delegation, identifying and talent retaining, delegation among others. These are skills that you will most definitely require in your business.
These skills are important for your business; if you were working in your previous employment as at a managerial post, then you have acquired the necessary skills to manage your own business. If you're starting from scratch, you need to get some kind of leadership training. Mastermind groups and in-house coaching are popular ways to develop management skills. According to Western Governor's University, an increasing number of business people are opting to earn their business management degrees online. This option is ideal for professionals, who can continue to work and earn money while pursuing their degree in their spare time.
Management skills and leadership skills are closely related but not quite the same. Not all managers are leaders so it takes a different set of skills to be a leader than it takes to be a manager. Management skills include resource allocation, contract negotiations, organization, and oversight among others. You can bet that you will require one of these skills somewhere in your business either immediately or later down the line. Having these skills and just transferring them to a specific event when they are required should come effortlessly given you have already put them in practice before.
These are the skills that enable you to communicate with other people, relate to them at a personal level and even show empathy. The truth is these skills you acquired them a long time ago when you were growing up and in a way, you were transferring them in your workplace unconsciously. They include active listening, comforting, and showing empathy, rapport creation, life skills, motivation, sympathy, teamwork among others. These skills in a way define you as a person. They are crucial in your young startup in that you need to be in a position to relate and connect with other people most of whom will be your employees at a personal level. You need to show sympathy when it is needed, show empathy when it is time to do so, motivate when you are called to do so. They form part of the basis a person is regarded as a bad boss while another is a darling of the people.
The transferable skills discussed above are part of a long list of skills that are ideal for your young business. You need to rely on them when making hard decisions regarding your business. Entrepreneurship comes with risk-taking and you have to learn how to trust yourself and your judgment if you are not used to it already. Application of these skills will come to you naturally, all you need is to trust your gut and trust the skills you acquired in your previous employment. Practice to being the final decision maker and before you know it you will become comfortable with your new title.
Rachael Murphey is an entrepreneur and blogger on topics of personal success, fashion, business, marketing, personal finance, and health. She graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder with her Associates in English, and from the University of Colorado Denver with her Bachelors in Business Management. She currently lives in Denver with her dog Charlie.