Can YOU be a successful entrepreneur? 

Today, we’ll look at the 10 most important entrepreneurship skills you need to sustain a thriving business.

Sounds good? Let’s dive in.

What are entrepreneurial skills?

There are about 31 million entrepreneurs in the US. 

Do you know what most have in common? 

Key entrepreneurial skills.

In other words:

They have characteristics and qualities that help them succeed as entrepreneurs.

Because if you want to create a thriving business, you need more than just a great mindset or a great business idea. 

Business ideas are actually pretty common. 

But it takes more to bring your dream business to life.

Luckily, the idea that entrepreneurial skills are innate is a total myth.

Entrepreneurship is learned.

If you’re willing to work on your skills, you’re more likely to succeed.

Next: 

Let’s talk about the top entrepreneurship skills you should develop if you’re thinking of  starting a business.

Top 10 skills successful entrepreneurs have 

So what are the most important entrepreneurship skills you need to have? 

Read on to learn more. 

1. Resilience 

Resilience is your ability to bounce back when things get tough. 

And the truth is, running a business can get tough sometimes, especially in the beginning when you’re figuring things out.

Sometimes, it’s your own fears and doubts that get in the way. 

Everyone has them. 

The difference is that entrepreneurs know that having fears and doubts is part of the process.

In other words: 

They change their perspective from “will this work for me?” to “how can this work for me?”. 

Ultimately, resilience helps you shift into a growth mindset and focus on what you can control.

That way, you’ll be able to face any setback or challenge that comes your way. 

2. Consistency

Successful entrepreneurs show up consistently – even when they don’t feel like it. 

When I started my business, I had a six-figure job in a tech startup. 

It was stressful and consuming (you can probably relate). All I wanted to do when I got home was watch Netflix. 

But I knew I wouldn’t fulfill my dream of becoming an entrepreneur by watching TV. So every evening, tired as I was, I got to work.

Bottom line: Running a business is NOT a hobby. 

You have to step into the mindset of a professional CEO. 

That means using discipline, not motivation, to show up and serve your clients. 

This is even more important when you’re transitioning from employee to entrepreneur. 

You might only have 20 minutes per day to work on your business. 

It’s up to you to make that time count. 

3. Courage

There are so many real fears you can face when starting a business.

You might fear…

• Success
• Failure
• Rejection
• Not having an idea (or not having the right idea)
• Being judged
• Going broke

And trust me, all entrepreneurs go through these fears at some point.

But there’s a saying:

“Feel the fear and do it anyway.”

This is the attitude you need to be a successful entrepreneur. 

I recommend practicing facing your fears with two simple reframes. 

First:

Remember that when you’re starting out, not many people are watching you. 

No one will notice the small imperfection that you notice.

Second:

Stop overthinking. 

Take action as soon as the inspiration and motivation hits so your fears don’t take over. 

The more you push past your fears, the braver you’ll get.

4. Growth mindset

Research by Carol Dweck shows that people generally fall into two camps: 

• Fixed mindset: The belief that your skills and talents are innate and you can’t change them.
• Growth mindset: The belief that you improve your skills can be developed through hard work, feedback, and practice.

Now, it takes effort to develop a growth mindset. 

When you’re struggling to learn something or trying to do something you’ve never done before, it’s natural to have a fixed mindset by default. 

For example:

When I started my business, I thought I was terrible at sales. 

I saw other coaches selling in a very specific way that didn’t work for my personality. 

But by shifting into a growth mindset, I learned the skills I needed to sell authentically. 

And now my business makes over seven figures. 

Tip: Write a list of skills you have and you don’t have. Then identify ways that you can grow the skills on both lists. Understanding that your talents can shift and change is key to developing a growth mindset.

5. Communication and listening

To become a great communicator, you need to develop these skills:

• Listening: Active listening means really taking in what others say and asking questions if you want more clarity.
• Empathy: When communicating, try to put yourself in the other person’s shoes. That will make them feel understood and make communication smoother.
• Remaining calm: It’s hard to stay calm in tough situations, but it’s essential for making clear decisions. If you react from an emotional place, you might make the situation worse.

6. Branding and marketing

So what is your “brand” as an entrepreneur? 

Let’s do a quick experiment. 

Think about Elon Musk and Oprah Winfrey. 

You probably know exactly what they do and how they do it. 

That is their brand. 

Successful entrepreneurs use their unique identities to help them differentiate themselves and attract their dream clients. 

But you can’t stop there. Knowing how to market your brand is just as important.  

By that, I mean having a solid strategy to put your services out there and reliably bring in clients.

Marketing skills take practice. 

As you understand your audience better, you’ll learn the most effective marketing strategies for your niche. (Check out this blog on marketing to learn more.) 

7. Problem-solving

Being an entrepreneur is not plain sailing. 

You’ll have tricky clients, team conflicts, failed launches, and more. 

It’s all part of learning and growing as a business owner. 

But what matters is what you do next. 

Problem-solving means understanding and strategizing when things aren’t going as planned. 

My advice? Keep things in perspective. 

You might be worried that you aren’t booking any clients right now. 

That’s a valid worry to have. 

But if you shift your mindset to reviewing your marketing process and identifying where you’re going wrong, you’re more likely to fix the problem.

If you’re worried about facing failures, this video might help:

8. Time management

As an entrepreneur, it’s easy to feel like you’re working all of the time – particularly if you’re building a business on the side of your 9-5. 

But a common mistake I see new entrepreneurs make is wasting time on the wrong things. 

Your day-to-day tasks need to make sense for the stage of business you’re at.

In the beginning, there’s a lot to do to get your business off the ground. 

However:

You need to prioritize the tasks that will bring you clients today. 

That means guest hosting on podcasts, interacting with your audience on social media, pitching your services within your network, and so on.

More advanced stuff like building sales funnels and hiring a team comes later. 

By focusing on the right tasks, you’ll be able to maximize your time. 

But that’s just one common pitfall I see my students make.

In this video, I break down the other three ways to improve your time management skills:

9. Motivation

Here’s the surprising truth: 

Motivation is unreliable. 

Let me explain.

Ever tried to build a gym habit purely on motivation? 

If you feel like it, you go. And if you don’t feel like it, you don’t go. 

Is that the best way to get fit? Of course not. 

And it’s the same for building a business. Like I said when we talked about consistency – you have to show up even when you don’t feel like it. 

But if you have no motivation at all to work on your business, you probably won’t get very far either. 

So how do you build self-motivation? 

I have two key tips. 

First:

Don’t base your motivation on external factors. Instead, focus on all the great things you’ve achieved so far to keep you going. 

Second:

Figure out a way you can make working on your business a consistent, enjoyable habit. 

For me, that meant curling up on my cozy couch every evening and working on my business for 30 minutes every day. 

After a while, it became a habit that I looked forward to – and that’s self-motivation.

10. Curiosity

You know one thing I see many of my entrepreneur friends all have in common? 

They are obsessed with learning. 

That could be experimenting with a new marketing channel or developing an online course that their clients will love. 

I was the same when I was starting my business. I wanted to get better at social media and create an online presence. 

So I studied the greats – viral social media influencers, celebrities, and colleagues I admired.

I got curious about what could work for me by experimenting with different formats and aesthetics. 

That curiosity led to a content formula that brings in over seven figures every year. 

And, I’m still experimenting! 

Getting curious about how to grow your own skills leads to a boost in mindset and growth in your business.

Top examples of the most important entrepreneurship skills 

Now you know what the TOP skills are.

But what are some other examples of entrepreneur skills? 

You know:

Skills that entrepreneurs need to master to become successful. 

Here are the top ones: 

• Leadership
• Financial skills
• Business management
• Strategic thinking
• Focus on customers
• Adaptability
• Creativity
• Networking
• Critical thinking
• Empathy
• Collaboration
• Time management
• Decision making
• Resourcefulness
• Delegation
• Salesmanship
• Self-confidence
• Patience
• Conflict resolution
• Negotiation
• Team building
• Public speaking
• Continuous learning

Next, let’s take a look at how to master these skills.

How to develop entrepreneurship skills 

You might be wondering: 

“Luisa, I don’t naturally have these skills. Can I still become an entrepreneur?”

Yes! If you put your mind to it, you can develop and grow these skills. 

How?

First: take action! Great entrepreneurs are action-takers. 

They don’t stay stuck wondering how they’ll reach their goals. They make a plan and get to work. 

Now what should your plan look like? 

Well, start by identifying the skills you want to improve.

Then use multiple sources to help you. 

Think:

• YouTube
• Podcasts
• Blogs
• Books
• Courses

You can even work one-on-one with a coach to help you learn certain skills faster. 

For example, when I started out, I worked with sales coaches, copywriters, and a lot of other experts to learn skills faster. 

(In fact, I spent multiple six figures just on learning.) 

But for an easy place to start, check out these articles: 

• The Most Successful Business Ideas
• How to Become an Entrepreneur Without an Idea
• How to Start an Online Business

Next steps

There you have it! Those are the top entrepreneurship skills you need to succeed as a business owner. 

But working on your skills and mindset is just the beginning. 

There’s much more that goes into being a highly successful business owner.

Want to know what it is? 

Grab my FREE strategy for building a six-figure online business: 

Read more:

What is an entrepreneur?

Entrepreneurial Mindset: How to Think Like a Top Entrepreneur

How to Overcome Your Fear of Starting a Business