Being new at something is never easy.

If you are launching your first business, you might worry you don’t have all the necessary skills required.

You may be especially afraid if you are leaving a career path that has nothing to do with your new business idea.

Maybe you feel like you are starting all over again, from zero.

If this is you, think again! 

You are NOT starting from zero, in fact you know more than you think you know.

This is because in the world of business ownership, we can often make the mistake of focusing on hard skills. 

Hard skills are the usual skills we associate with business. They can include knowledge about your product or service, or the general running of your business.

Hard skills are of course very important, but what about soft skills?

Soft skills are interpersonal, relational skills. They are usually associated with personality traits.

Soft skills are very important for a business owner to have, and anyone can learn them. Often, experience is the best teacher, and this experience can come from working in all types of environments and career paths. You can also pick up many soft skills while enjoying hobbies you are passionate about, or being a parent who runs a household.

So, if you think you “wasted” time in the wrong career or job, stop right there. You were probably mastering all types of valuable soft skills during that time, and didn’t even realize it.

Here are 3 important soft skills that every business owner needs, and how to recognize them.

Self-Motivation

If the COVID pandemic taught us one thing about work, it’s that staying motivated with little-to-no supervision is not for everybody.

Without structure, progress meetings, to-do lists, and a supervisor checking in constantly, how many people are really able to stay motivated and focused on the tasks at hand?

Not everyone has the ability to stay focused and self-motivated with little-to-no supervision.

When you are a business owner, it is no one’s job to light a fire under you or remind you how urgent something is.

Everything is all on you.

If you were that employee who got things done, and was able to remain focused and professional no matter what, then you have a very desirable soft skill: self-motivation.

Self-motivation doesn’t always come easily, which is why you also need to find an angle that makes your work purposeful. Being an entrepreneur allows you the freedom to do this.

You need to have a strong reason to get up every morning and put in 100% and it can’t all be about money. It has to be something that resonates with your core values as a human being.

This motivational fire has to burn inside you so you consistently deliver.

And, if you have a team working under you, this fire need to be infectious, and spread to your team.

Communication

So many of the world’s interpersonal problems would be eradicated if people would just learn how to communicate!

Who knows how many wars and breakups could be avoided if everyone just had better soft skills!

If you’ve ever worked at a customer returns desk, or at the counter of a coffee shop, or on the phone as a service representative, trying to understand people, diffusing conflict, and resolving problems were all part of a normal work day.

Maybe you wrote the best emails, or cleared up confusion at meetings, or just got the message across better than anyone else at the office.

If any of this sounds familiar, then guess what? You’re an excellent communicator!

Communication is essential when you want to run a business. As a successful business owner, you need to clearly and concisely communicate your goals and concerns to your suppliers, your clients, and your team. You also need to be a great listener.

Team Management

Have you ever been to a restaurant that seems to work like a well-oiled machine?

The host, the servers, the chefs, the bartenders, all seem to read each other and know where one leaves off and the other picks up.

If you’ve been to a place that has this level of teamwork, you might not even notice just how well everyone is working together — it’s like an invisible magic. The only thing you’ll notice is how much you enjoy dining at this establishment.

When the teamwork is off, you will notice. You’ll see the scowl on a team member’s face when someone drops the ball. You’ll feel the frustration and anxiety, and it will be reflected in the service you get and the food you eat.

Usually at the helm of a great team is a great manager.

The same can be said of a construction project. You can have all the best tradespeople working on a renovation, but if there is no project manager, making sure everyone is working as a team, you will risk having gaps and overlaps in the work.

When you run a business, you need to make sure all the different parts work together. 

You can’t have team members getting frustrated, pointing fingers, or dropping the ball. You need your people to work like a team with a common goal.

It doesn’t matter if your prior experience was in running a factory, a parent-teacher association, or a softball team. If you worked effectively as a team manager, then you possess a valuable soft skill every business owner needs: team management.

If you’re new to owning a business and are worried about not having the right skills, fear not. You are probably more experienced than you realize. Do not overlook all the soft skills you have  mastered while working for other people, enjoying hobbies, or running your household. Self-motivation, communication, and team management are all extremely valuable soft skills that you need as an entrepreneur. Hard skills are important, but do not overlook soft skills!