The following answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only nonprofit organization comprised of the world's most promising young entrepreneurs. The YEC recently published #FixYoungAmerica: How to Rebuild Our Economy and Put Young Americans Back to Work (for Good), a book of 30+ proven solutions to help end youth unemployment.
1. Perseverance
Cash will run low, clients won't close, team members will leave, the product will have bugs, and the roof will fall on your head. There will be times when you seriously consider quitting. I've been there. But perseverance and dumbfounded self-confidence pushed me forward. Without perseverance, you'll never reach success.
– Jun Loayza, RewardMe
2. Vision Communication
First, an entrepreneur must have the vision, and then he or she must be able to communicate it. The communication will be to their team and employees, to their customers and clients, and even to outside sources like potential investors, sponsors, and collaborators.
– Nathalie Lussier, Nathalie Lussier Media
3. Persistence
Entrepreneurs, by definition, fail; it's the ones that fail the least that are the most successful. The ones that never give up and are fueled by defeat are the entrepreneurs that succeed the next time around.
- Logan Lenz, Endagon
4. Sales Skills
Entrepreneurs need to know how to sell. Everything they do in their business revolves around selling and persuasion: you are selling your company to investors and new hires, selling your product to buyers, selling and persuading your team to perform at a high level, selling yourself and your dreams to the media. If you can't sell, you will not succeed as an entrepreneur.
– Greg Rollett, The ProductPros
5. Asking Abilities
Entrepreneurs wishing to succeed in life need to understand their progress will be limited by not learning to ask for what they want. Whether it is mentorship, funding, an explanation or more, the answer is always "no" unless you ask. The sooner an entrepreneur understands this key lesson, the sooner they'll experience all that the journey has to offer.
– Jeff Slobotski, Silicon Prairie News
6. Selective Focus
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his answer comes from personal experience, both my successes and struggles and those of other entrepreneurs I know. Definitely the top skill is the ability to focus on the "right" things. Once we get the freedom that comes with being an entrepreneur, it's way too easy to work on a bunch of different things, which leads to mediocre results on everything. Focus on one thing and kick butt with it.
- Trevor Mauch, Automize, LLC
7. Passion Is a Skill!
The one skill an entrepreneur must possess is passion. If you are truly passionate about what you do, everything else will come naturally. You will persevere when times are rough, in order to protect your business. You will never give up, because you will know it is your calling. And money won't be the sole focus of your efforts, allowing for your authenticity to shine through.
– Steven Le Vine, grapevine pr
8. Love for the Hustle
I think the ability to hustle embodies a few qualities that are integral to surviving and succeeding as an entrepreneur. To me, hustle is a special blend of motivation, persistence, passion, and persuasive powers that serve entrepreneurs well as they navigate markets, investors, team building, and the various challenges they face as they seek success.
– Derek Shanahan, Foodtree
9. Solve the Problems!
As an entrepreneur, you're going to be faced with problem after problem, and you're going to need to be able to find creative solutions that keep you moving forward. Without the ability to problem solve, you'll be stuck from the get go.
– Tim Jahn, Entrepreneurs Unpluggd
10. Be Tenacious
Whether you're looking to recruit a superstar new team member or starting to make a sale, the #1 skill you need as an entrepreneur is tenacity. There will be so many times that people say "no" or "maybe later," and you need the fire in your belly to stay persuasive, smart and tenacious. If you have that quality, you will succeed at anything to which you put your mind and energy.
- Doreen Bloch, Poshly Inc.
11. A Story Worth Telling
Entrepreneurs are literally creating something out of nothing. In order to inspire, motivate, and attract others to your vision, you need to be able to tell a compelling story. Frame the context. Set the stakes. Make it meaningful. Everyone from customers to employees and investors — they all want a story to believe in.
– Michael Margolis, Get Storied
12. Flexibility
As an entrepreneur, it’s essential to be flexible in all aspects of your business. If something isn’t working, you often need to change direction quickly or else your company might not last much longer.
– Heather Huhman, Come Recommended
13. Execution
Ideation and strategy are important. However, they're worthless without the ability to tactically execute on them. Execution is the most important skill that an entrepreneur can possess. Not only will it impact your success rate, but iteration will eliminate fear and set you up for success. Like most successful entrepreneurs I find that "the harder you work, the luckier you get."
– Erica Nicole, YFS Magazine: Young, Fabulous & Self Employed
14. Resilience
Resilience! You’re going to get knocked down often building and running a startup. The ability to bounce back and do so quickly is important for any entrepreneur, and one that has been essential to my own success.
– Lauren Perkins, Perks Consulting
15. Innovation
The playing field is always changing and evolving. Things will be possible tomorrow that are not possible today. In order to innovate, entrepreneurs must possess open eyes, open ears, and most importantly, an open mind.
– David Gardner, ColorJar
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