Starting and running a new start-up enterprise is an art and quite demanding. Without appropriate business skills and resources needed, it can easily crumble down in the first year of operation. It is worthwhile as an entrepreneur who wants to succeed to carry out maximum research on the idea of the business before implementing it. The current world is flooded with very competitive markets, and for a new start-up to overcome that pressure, the prerequisite skills and resources have to be thoroughly evaluated. Having an idea is one thing, and implementation is another thing. The most difficult part is neither having the idea nor implementing it. What makes it count is that after implementation, can the business run smoothly? This paper aims to evaluate a number of key skills and resources needed to enable a new start-up enterprise to run smoothly and effectively towards success.
Skills Needed for New Start-up Enterprise to Succeed
The idea of if business people are born or made is still a point of concern for a very long time now (FutureLearn, 2022). Despite the fact that some entrepreneurial skills are inherited, they can also be acquired through proper education. Like any other subject, entrepreneurship can be learned; thus, in the current century, education has been key for development in business (FutureLearn, 2022). With adequate and proper training, relevant skills can be acquired valuable enough to make a start-up grow rapidly and command superfluous proceeds (FutureLearn, 2022). It is important to acknowledge that many entrepreneurs come into the field with a variety of skills, and as such, different plans are needed to build their skills to avoid succumbing to the competitive pressure in the market (FutureLearn, 2022). Furthermore, developing skills should be qualitative rather than quantitative to command progressive transformation in a business person. Three skills are fundamental for the success of new start-up enterprises, including entrepreneurship skills, technical skills, and management skills (FutureLearn, 2022).
Entrepreneurship Skills
These skills are associated with entrepreneurs. Despite the numerous research on the topic, a particular definition is yet to be implemented (Cooney, 2022). This type of skill likely includes personal characteristics, interpersonal skills, critical and creative thinking skills, and practical skills and knowledge (Cooney, 2022). For a successful start-up, the entrepreneurs must have the above abilities. Though it does not guarantee immediate success, they must be ready for ups and downs as the path to success is never swift as imagined (Cooney, 2022). An entrepreneur’s characteristics include optimism, initiative, persistence, risk-taker, and resilience (Cooney, 2022). Even if things take a different twist, the entrepreneur cannot back off at any point; instead, they opt to learn from the mistakes made and develop a suitable way to handle the problem. They must also understand what the market wants and do things differently from their competitors (Cooney, 2022). Furthermore, an entrepreneur must work closely with their team to build good relationships; hence, there is a need for entrepreneurial interpersonal skills (Cooney, 2022). Such skills include motivating others, good communication skills, listening and buying ideas of their team members, having good personal relationships, and making negotiations to attract a broader market and investors. Above all, entrepreneurs must also have ethics to lead (Cooney, 2022). Lastly, an entrepreneur needs practical entrepreneurial skills and knowledge to increase the rate of production of goods and services and the start-up to run smoothly. Such skills include setting measurable, achievable, relevant, and long-lasting goals (Cooney, 2022). Also, they must be well in planning and organizing to coordinate their teams and come up with excellent and coherent business plans and reliable financial forecasts. In addition, one must be good at making proper decisions with good information evidence and weighing up the potential risks (Mindtools.com, 2009).
Technical Skills
These skills are key to the success of any new start-up enterprise. It is essential to train such skills either physically or in online training (McGarry, 2022). Choosing the right LMS helps teach technical skills; hence, there is a need to consider finding one that fits the business (McGarry, 2022). Features to keep in mind include the LMS model’s hidden costs, reliability, and pricing. Also, its customer support quality must be taken into consideration (McGarry, 2022). After implementing technical skills training for the employees, it is key to give them support through engaging them and making them enthusiastic about learning (McGarry, 2022). Examples of technical skills needed for a start-up include database management, company software proficiency, IT security, corporate communications, customer service system, and social media management (McGarry, 2022). The skills enable the business to grow faster, enhance customer satisfaction, enable the goals of the enterprise to be accomplished timely, and enhance employee happiness (McGarry, 2022).
Management skills
These skills are fundamental for the start-up staff in order to accomplish the tasks in time (Corporate Finance Institute, 2019). Such tasks include carrying out executive duties to avoid critical situations and solve problems when they arise (Corporate Finance Institute, 2019). They can be acquired through learning and experience as managers. It enables leaders to interact with their subjects and know how to deal with them hence the smooth flow of activities in the business (Corporate Finance Institute, 2019). For the start-up to grow spontaneously towards success, there is a need for good management skills. A competitive manager will work tirelessly to foster reliable management skills so as to enhance the mission and the vision of the new firm with fewer hurdles and objections from the subordinate staff (Corporate Finance Institute, 2019). The skills help the firm plan, make decisions, solve problems, enhance communication, and help manage time (Corporate Finance Institute, 2019). Furthermore, the skills enable the manager to ensure that every part of the business runs smoothly (Corporate Finance Institute, 2019).
Resources needed for a start-up enterprise to succeed.
This part focuses on the resources that new start-up enterprise owners need to explore, start, maintain and develop their business towards their set targets (OpenStax, 2022). Unfortunately, new entrepreneurs rush into commencing a business without extensive research and identifying the resources needed to start their operation and facilitate its continuous running (OpenStax, 2022). Furthermore, adequate research enables business owners to understand how to acquire and allocate those resources. The following are resources needed; intangible, tangible, and financial (OpenStax, 2022).
Tangible Resources
These resources are very key in the operation of any business. They are all assets that can be seen, stored, and touched (OpenStax, 2022). The assets vary from product and service-based firms (OpenStax, 2022). Product-based businesses use them to produce goods made available for sale, including raw materials, facilities, land, machinery, buildings, vehicles, supplies, and computers (OpenStax, 2022). On the other hand, service-based enterprises include buildings like an office of a doctor, a retail store, a recreational park, and banks (OpenStax, 2022). Furthermore, a new start-up firm to run effectively and smoothly requires resources like computers, furniture, equipment, and technological resources (OpenStax, 2022).
The business requires operation depending on the products and services it aims to offer to its clients. Depending on the estimated budget, a suitable location can only be identified (OpenStax, 2022). It is recommendable for a start-up to allocate a reasonable percentage of the sales made on purchases or lease instead of using industry averages as guidelines. (OpenStax, 2022) There are numerous factors to consider choosing the place of operation, which include the location, probability of being accessed by customers, the number of customers on foot, the condition of the building, the cost of maintaining the building may need in the future, the time the business is intended to stay in the identified location, the insurance, tax on the property, and the cost of renovating or building a new building (OpenStax, 2022). They can also evaluate their sales per square foot and compare them with similar firms’ sales in the market by using data from local commercial retailers or local associations (OpenStax, 2022).
In addition, there is a need for machinery and equipment as they are vital assets in launching a new start-up enterprise (OpenStax, 2022). Their cost depends on the type of enterprise intended to be opened (OpenStax, 2022). Consider business-like print shops and restaurants; their assets are very expensive hence need a good amount of capital to run the business (OpenStax, 2022). Due to the increased emergence of reseller markets of a variety of equipment that can still be used, there is a need to report the current asset value of the used equipment and get an accountant to assess their useful life for financial statements and tax returns (OpenStax, 2022).
The firm also must invest in technology to boost its activities (Henderson, 2019). The assets under this topic are: computers to run activities like processing calculation very fast to make operations effective and efficient; internet that is reliable and strong to ensure connectivity of computers; printers that for printing documents, forms and marketing materials; servers to store and retrieve data like emails, customer profiles, and sales information; software such as accounting and billing software, customer management tools, word processing and spreadsheets like Microsoft word and excel, presentation software such MS PowerPoint(Henderson, 2019). Other tangible resources include supplies such as paper, files, toner, staplers, licenses, and permits to enable the smooth running of the business (Henderson, 2019).
Intangible resources
Such resources can neither be felt, seen, nor touched. They include intellectual possessions such as imaginative creations like brands, inventions, designs, and formulas (Henderson, 2019). Others are patents, copyrights, and trademarks that protect the firm’s intellectual property. For intellectual property to be accorded the patent right, the method in question ought to be new and never exited before and must include any technology or equipment to certify its validity (Henderson, 2019). For instance, any invented application should show how it works with the technology and must entail real-world application and not just an idea (Henderson, 2019). If the start-up has invented a new product that is going to offer to the market, it has to get a design patent, and if it has designed a new plant that never existed before and wants to use it in its operations, it ought to acquire a plant patent (Henderson, 2019). All this must be nonobvious and innovative to be patented.
Financial resources
These are funding resources required to enable the new start-up enterprise to start and run smoothly (Henderson, 2019). They are usually monetary and usually are the most significant challenges a business faces, and if not taken seriously, they can easily cause a business to fail terribly (Henderson, 2019). In the absence of adequate finances, the business may not access essential resources like raw materials hence making production hard. They may also fail to recruit employees, purchase goods, and secure operation space (Henderson, 2019). For the start-up to commence well, it must have a reliable flow of income. Its sources must be reliable and convenient (Henderson, 2019). The following are ways through which such resources can be acquired:
First, Personal Saving is very fundamental in every start-up enterprise. Many business owners will work extra hours in other jobs to save the money they intend to start their business (Henderson, 2019). The savings are only helpful if the business requires little money, such as professional services like accountants and business consultants. With its cash at hand, it can facilitate funding of basic business requirements (Henderson, 2019). Second, bootstrapping by starting small until revenue is earned to reinvest; for instance, a business owner may opt to work from home to save rental income and utilities or develop a website and marketing materials themselves and use social media for advertising their products (Henderson, 2019). After a reasonable number of customers turn up, the entrepreneurs may relocate to a much bigger space to expand their operations (Henderson, 2019). The third option is financial institutions such as banks to acquire loans which are usually helpful for expansion. Even if they may be tough to access, local banks and large banks provide loans to start-ups (Henderson, 2019). The money attained is mainly used for purchasing assets like land. The loan limit usually increases after the previous debt is settled (Henderson, 2019).
References
Cooney, T., 2022. [online] Oecd.org. Available at: https://www.oecd.org/cfe/leed/cooney_entrepreneurship_skills_HGF.pdf [Accessed 22 January 2022].
Corporate Finance Institute (2019). Management Skills – Types and Examples of Management Skills. [online] Corporate Finance Institute. Available at: https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/careers/soft-skills/management-skills/ [Accessed 22 January 2022].
FutureLearn, 2022. Business skills for startups | Skills for guaranteed success – FutureLearn. [online] FutureLearn. Available at: https://www.futurelearn.com/info/blog/business-skills-for-startups [Accessed 22 January 2022].
Henderson, K., 2019. 5 Resources You Need to Succeed to Start a Business. [online] Small Business – Chron.com. Available at: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/5-resources-need-succeed-start-business-23.html [Accessed 22 January 2022].
McGarry, O., 2022. Technical Skills: Why They’re Important for Your Business. [online] LearnUpon. Available at: https://www.learnupon.com/blog/technical-skills-training/ [Accessed 22 January 2022].
OpenStax, 2022. 14.1 Types of Resources – Entrepreneurship | OpenStax. [online] Available at: https://openstax.org/books/entrepreneurship/pages/14-1-types-of-resources [Accessed 22 January 2022].
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