What is one skill you wish you’d cultivated before starting your business?
The following answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched StartupCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.
1. Attention to Detail
“I’ve moved on from the note-taker role, but never realized how my eye for detail would impact the rest of my career and help me see how all of the small parts played a part in building a successful business. By first understanding the small elements that make a business function properly, I’m now able to fill in the blanks when it comes to what makes a higher level strategy work or fail.”
– Brian Honigman, BrianHonigman.com
2. Proofreading
“I move fast and try to get a lot done in a short period of time, which is necessary for successful entrepreneurs. But this can lead to sloppy mistakes. It’s embarrassing to send emails that have spelling mistakes, so this is something I try to work on.”
– John Berkowitz, Yodle
3. Basic Accounting
“It took a lot of time and energy for me to learn basic accounting “on the job” when I started my business. I wanted to have a rudimentary understanding of it so that when I handed things off to my bookkeeper or accountant, I had an idea of what was going on and could keep a birds eye view on it.”
– Darrah Brustein, Network Under 40 / Finance Whiz Kids
4. Public Speaking
“I am great with individuals and small groups, but in front of a large audience it’s different. I’ve gotten more accustomed to it, but I wish I had that skill coming out of the gate. That would have allowed me to speak at conferences and in front of other large groups of industry peers much sooner.”
– Brooke Bergman, Allied Business Network Inc.
5. Programming
“We’re all thinking it. I don’t want to do it but I wish I knew it! I wish I knew more about programming. In the past two years I’ve taken three courses and can code up basic applications. It’s helped my business grow because now I know how to build and scale our applications 10 times better and I can explain how to go about doing it. I recommend it to every business owner.”
– John Rampton, Host
6. Communication
“Communication is probably the most important skill to have as an entrepreneur. A major part of communication is non-verbal — it is not what you say but how you say it. Your communication style is a representation of your own personal ego and self-perception. Partners, investors, employees and customers will pick up on these non-verbal cues and your ability to communicate your ideas.”
– Joseph DiTomaso, AllTheRooms
7. Web Development
“If I could go back, I’d definitely learn the basics of web development, both front- and back-end systems. I wouldn’t be as dependent on others to bring my vision to life.”
– Daniel Wesley, DebtConsolidation.com
Photo Credits
Gabriel Rojas Hruska | StartupCollective