More and more people are exchanging the traditional nine-to-five for going it alone and starting a business.
The government has forecast that the vast majority of UK start-ups in 2019 will be micro businesses – those that consist of nine people or fewer. While it is the current estimate is that that 40% of employed people are running a side hustle business.
Everyone starting a business – whether full time or as a side hustle, and those already running a business, need well-developed business skills.
And, with all the will in the world, they need to acknowledge that they can’t do it all on their own!
As an experienced business mentor, who specialises in working with micro and side hustle businesses, I can tell you, if you’re thinking about taking the plunge into business, your timing couldn’t be better!
You’ve got a fantastic idea, and you’re ready to work hard to make it succeed. Surely, that’s all you need?
Well, it’s a good start. But going it alone in business is about so much more than handing in your notice to work long and hard on a great idea.
Whether you’re a start-up or an established business, if you really want to succeed, you’ll have to sit down and do some planning first. Planning is what will take that fantastic idea of yours from passion to profit.
Luckily, this is a lot easier than it sounds!
That’s because it all starts with YOU.
How?
Begin by asking yourself three very important questions.
- What skills and experience am I bringing into my business?
- What skills will I need to develop?
- What skills will I need to buy in?
The reason for asking these questions is simple: you are not superhuman. No one person can do absolutely everything it takes to set up and run a successful business, all by themselves.
Note: you will never hear a top entrepreneur say they do everything by themselves (if you ever do hear anybody claiming this, be very suspicious!) In fact, one of the best pieces of advice I ever heard (and now use constantly) is…
DO WHAT YOU DO BEST AND OUTSOURCE THE REST!
We need a range of skills in business, and you will gain a vital edge if you analyse yours right from the beginning. Rather than exhausting yourself before you reach your goals, you’ll be prepared for those times when you need someone else to take over a task you don’t like, have no interest in, or have no idea how to do.
When Assessing Your Skills, Honesty is the Best Policy
As you analyse your own skills and experience, it’s crucial to be honest. For example: you don’t enjoy balancing the books? That’s fine! It’s not an admission of failure – all it means is that you’ll need to find someone else who does.
This, in essence, is what keeps our economy ticking over.
Don’t forget to analyse your ‘soft’ skills along with those obviously functional, business-related ones. If you’re a friendly person who puts others immediately at their ease, that could mean you are best placed as the ‘face’ of your business, while you outsource some of that behind-the-scenes work.
Developing New Skills, Which Ones are a Must for Your Business?
If some of the skills you need for success include those you don’t currently have, you’ll need to decide whether you want to learn them, or find someone else to take them on for you.
Again, it’s very important to be honest. While it can be useful to challenge yourself, if you’ve got no interest in a particular skill, it will naturally make its way to the bottom of your ‘to-do’ list.
Plus, if you do something begrudgingly, you probably won’t be as good as somebody else who really enjoys it.
So ask yourself truthfully: are these skills you actually want to learn?
The Business Skills You Haven’t Got, Don’t Wait Too Long to Call in the Experts
Here comes an important insight: a successful business makes money, but it also costs money.
While buying in skills may seem like extravagance at first, consider how much more it might cost for you to learn them instead. Even worse – do them badly or not at all!
Time is money too, so if you’re spending hours on learning design skills, or keeping yourself awake at night because you’re worried about those monthly accounts, are you really benefiting your business?
Think about how much more soundly you might sleep, and how much time you’ll free up for all those things you most enjoy, if you had a friendly team of experts around you, ready to take on the tasks you hate!
The good news is that outsourcing doesn’t have to cost the earth. Freelancing sites such as Upwork or Fiverr can be very helpful in discovering the right people for your business, at the right cost.
(Do think carefully before you engage a friend or family member to provide you with expert help. It may be a lot more difficult to give them feedback if you’re not happy with the results!)
Want to Analyse Your Skills?
If you’re confused about where to begin your business skills audit, a good start would be to get hold of my Skills Analysis Template. Click here to email me and I will send you a copy.
It includes a simple grid for you to complete, along with some further explanation and insight about those essential business skills.
In the meantime, have you got any stories to share about outsourcing or skill development in your business? Post them below – you may be able to help others in the same situation.