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Here at Business Sheffield, we are always looking at ways in which we can improve our service and make sure that we are helping as many people as possible realise their dream of owning and running their own business. As part of this service, we are now creating useful online blog articles that will help you get started more quickly, allowing you to learn from our trusted team of advisors. Sean Clarke (Start-Up Business Advisor) is a complete convert to ‘Transferable Skills’ and here’s why he thinks they are so important…
Transferable Skills
The thought of running your own business can be an electrifying idea for many people, but equally it can fill others with overwhelming dread! Here at Business Sheffield, we often find that many people convince themselves that running a business is a whole new world, full of language and skills that are out of reach and unattainable.
We tend to disagree!
Alright, if you’re Deborah Meaden or Sir Alan Sugar, you probably do need a fair degree of very specialist knowledge, but if you’re reading this sat at home or on the bus with a new business idea running through your head, you probably know a lot more about running a business than you give yourself credit for!
Finance & Accounts: Let’s face it, from the first day we get our first wage we become uber experts at juggling our own finances to make sure we can afford that little black dress, that brand new I-Phone or have enough funds to celebrate a festival or birthday. At many stages throughout life we’re also faced with making decisions about borrowing money, working out if we can afford to take a mortgage, can we afford that shiny new car or perhaps we’re borrowing £20 from mum and hoping she forgets about it next week on pay day! Managing money in business uses all those same skills, calculating, saving, borrowing, spending & persuading, all from a bank account in the normal way!
Perhaps you have got some finance knowledge & experience after all!
Marketing: Are you good at getting you own way, gently encouraging others to agree with you? Can you easily persuade the kids that brushing their teeth is the very best idea in the world? Can you persuade a friend to spend money they haven’t got to make sure you have a top night at the cinema? How about that Sunday morning run, are you good at selling the idea to yourself, making sure you leave your cosy bed to run as hard as you can in the pouring rain? If you’re good at selling ideas, if you’re good at persuading others, then marketing your own business might just come very naturally to you!
Recruitment: Throughout life most of us spend plenty of time reflecting on other people, sussing out what they’re good at, working out how others can help us. That mate with the car is the perfect taxi friend, that auntie who makes a killer Chocolate Brownie is the perfect sweet relation, that cousin who’s a wizz at all things computers, one quick phone call to them and your laptop is working again! We’re all good at working out who we can trust and who we can’t, recruiting new staff for your business is just the same. Same judgement skills, same outcomes – forget the Chocolate Brownie for now, but if you can find an amazing admin expert for your business, your life just got so much sweeter!
Legal: Did you drive at 33mph in a 30pmh zone this morning? Did you park on double yellows just so you could nip in the corner shop for a can of Fanta? Did you try a bottle of cider before you were 18 years old? We’re all good at understand the rules, we all normally know when we are breaking the laws, and we all know what the consequences will be if we get caught. The same applies for business, licensing laws, food hygiene laws, planning permissions, sales contracts, terms and conditions, these are all things we come across regularly in our day to day lives. Knowing a little bit about a law is an excellent start, there’s plenty of help out there too from legal experts as and when required, don’t be put off a great business idea by thinking you don’t have enough knowledge about laws and regulations, you can do this!
Decision Making
Can you quickly decide what you fancy for lunch? How about deciding which film to go and watch or which album you need to download? Do you have the confidence to turn left when everyone else is turning right? Decision making is such a vital skill for any business owner and if you have a natural ability to make good decision for the right reasons, then you will be a superstar. What time should your opening hours be? What colour and design might your uniforms be? Do you use TikTok or not to promote your business, which of the three shortlisted candidates will be the perfect addition to your team? Decision, decisions, decisions – you’ll make them every day and most of them will be vital to your business’s success, if you can make your mind up successfully in day-to-day life, then doing that when running your own business will be so much easier!
Learning
Do you love to learn? Are you a hungry user of all things Google? What was the name of that bar you loved in Paris, what are the ingredients you’d need to bake a luscious & indulgent chocolate cake? If you love to learn, if you always want to know more, then running your own business might just be perfect for you. Every day is a learning day! How did that latest Facebook promo work out, what do you need to do to improve your window display, how can you motivate your team, will the latest government decision have a positive or negative impact on your business? Running a business is such a fantastic learning process, constantly reflecting on what you have done in search of continuous improvements and if you’re a natural day to day leaner then you’ll never stop improving your business. Reach for the sky and grab it – make running your own business the thing you learn to do next!
You can learn more about this by attending our free workshop. Register here: