Brian Colpak Explains: 5 Critical Skills All Entrepreneurs Should Have
The beauty of freedom and capitalism is that literally, anyone can chart their own path in life.
Just about anyone with an idea can start a business. And if they work hard, make sound decisions, and have a little luck on their side, they can become wildly successful, too.
Of course, this is a very simplified view of being a successful entrepreneur. There are skills that all entrepreneurs need to have, as small businesses just can’t succeed without a skilled entrepreneur at the helm.
Fortunately, anyone can learn these required skills. Tech entrepreneur Brian Colpak lays out the five critical skills all entrepreneurs should have.
1. Curiosity and Passion
These two skills are lumped into one because they go hand-in-hand.
All great entrepreneurs have some level of curiosity within themselves. After all, if they weren’t looking for solutions to problems, they wouldn’t be so encouraged to try to find new ways to solve them.
At the same time, all great entrepreneurs have to be passionate about the things they are curious about. Simply wondering how something works or how something can be done better isn’t enough to be successful in business. You have to be passionate about the topic so you can be driven to come up with the solution.
2. Strategy
Many entrepreneurs are very creative thinkers, but the best ones know how to think strategically, too. They aren’t just off somewhere dreaming about something new; they come up with plans to put into action.
Thinking strategically means being able to not only identify a problem in the world but also breaking it down piece by piece to see why it’s a problem at its core. This, in turn, will help you discover a possible opportunity.
As you’re running your business, strategic thinking will help you do everything from creating new products to building an in-depth budget to solving problems.
3. Resilience
All entrepreneurs are going to be knocked down at some point on their journey. What defines them is how they’re able to bounce back when they are knocked down.
Successful entrepreneurs need to learn how to take on challenges and not let them bog them down. You are certainly going to be facing a lot of stress, times where you lack focus, potential slow progress on an idea, burnout, and rejection.
Being able to work through those challenges, and being willing to put in the work to do so, is essential if you want to build a viable business for the long term.
4. Money Management
You can’t run a successful business if you don’t know how to handle the money. This doesn’t mean you should always be responsible for the day-to-day finances of your business, but it does mean you need to have a strong handle on what everything is and what everything means.
You can have the best idea on the planet and a strategy to execute it, but if you can’t manage your money properly, you’re bound to fail.
Learn the basics of money management as it relates to running a business, and it’ll make everything else you do be much smoother.
5. Communication
It’s nearly impossible for an entrepreneur to go it alone. You will always need help in varying degrees — from both inside and outside the company.
When others are in the mix, communication skills quickly become essential. The four skills above are can all be done on your own — at least at first. This one intricately involves others.
A good entrepreneur will learn how to communicate in concise and clear ways. They will learn that communication is a generic term, but it can’t be a generic approach.
In other words, how you communicate with some employees may be slightly different than how you communicate with others. How you communicate with peers, clients, partners, vendors, and prospects may all be different.
Brian Colpak says it’s about learning basic skills to be an effective communicator, and then tailoring that communication to the various recipients.
About Brian Colpak
Brian Colpak is a tech entrepreneur and the founder of Continental Global. After spending most of his career in managerial positions, he founded and led a company that was recognized as one of the top 100 fastest growing companies in Massachusetts before starting his current company. These days his main focus is on an upcoming project in Dubai.