Starting a business now isn’t like it was 20 years ago. 20 years ago, to start a business you needed money, an idea, and connections. You needed a substantial investment to get started, and plenty of help to keep going. In many ways, starting a business in 2018 is much easier. More companies are starting every day, and the internet means that most of these can start up with very little cash invested.
But, this also means that you need different skills. 20 years ago, even new businesses hired HR staff, accountants, marketing teams and lawyers. There was no way for them to do these things themselves, so a large portion of their capital went on hiring. Nowadays, new businesses often try to cut costs by doing as much as they can themselves. Even sole-traders and brand-new entrepreneurs can do their own accounting and put together a marketing plan. If you want to do well as a startup in 2018, here’s a look at some of the skills that you might need.
HR
If you work alone, HR might not be something that you need to worry about, and you certainly won’t need the skills of Yvonne Yancy. But, if you ever hope to employ staff in the future, HR is a skill that you should have. A HR department traditionally looks after recruitment, placing personnel, employee relations, and sometimes payroll and training. They are primarily there to look after your staff, and most large companies have an entire HR team keeping staff happy. If you are hoping to look after HR yourself, you’ll need to be an excellent problem solver, approachable, good with people and calm under pressure.
Accounting
Even if you use an accountant, it’s a good idea to have some basic accounting skills yourself. These can help you to save money throughout the year, make your tax return much easier to handle and give you the skills that you need to prepare business plans and financial forecasts and hold your own in meetings with banks and investors.
Marketing
Marketing is perhaps one of the industries that the internet and its growth has changed the most. Traditional advertising like newspapers, TV, and radio are still important, but online marketing is huge. The great thing about this is that you don’t need to hire an expensive team, you can take care of your online marketing yourself. You’ll need to be great at social media, able to build relationships with influencers and maybe even run your own blog.
Time Management
Time management is essential to running any business. Especially in the beginning when you might be trying to do so much for yourself. Being able to manage and organize your time is essential if you want to do well.
Leadership
Leadership is one of those skills that most people think that they have until they need to use it. Managing a team isn’t always as easy as you might think. A good leader can delegate, motivate, inspire and challenge.
Recent Comments