People who have no experience running a business are often reluctant to start one, even in cases when they are sure that it will be a success. Unfortunately, a good idea isn't the only factor that needs to be satisfied in order to pull the whole thing off. The whole thing needs to function without a hitch on the organizational level and more times than you would like to believe – businesses go under as a direct consequence of bad organization. The “boss” needs to have certain skills under wrap so he can manage all the things that are crucial for the well-being of the entire project.

If you are unsure what skills are necessary for a business owner and you would like to start a business of your own, I’m going to talk about some crucial skills you need to possess so you keep things tightly under control.

Knowing your niche

I’m assuming that, if you have concluded that your idea is viable, you have great insight into the state of the market you are trying to break into. If not, then it’s back to the old drawing board. Most overconfident business attempts are actually fueled by the lack of familiarity with the current state of the market and the popular trends within it. After all, ignorance is bliss and it is only natural that you think that everything will be OK if you are not aware of all the things that can go wrong and all the relevant factors that might be stacked against you.

For people who have never owned a business before, I would recommend investing a bit more and actually hiring a market research team so you can get some concrete leads which you can use to check the value of your idea.

Team building and organizational skills

People tend to complain a lot about their bosses, but the truth is that things are not that simple when you are the one who is responsible for the whole thing. There are a lot of things that you need to watch for and it is especially hard for first timers. You need to organize the whole thing from scratch and handpick every person you are going to employ and you have to make sure they are reliable and experienced enough to handle all their responsibilities. Your duties do not end there – you also need to monitor the state of things and the things that are responsible for building and promoting team spirit, as well as keeping the moral on a high level. This is a handful and it would be good to read up on the subject, so you can see what some of the most popular ways of dealing with these issues are. Once you find something that works stick with that but modify things as you go along, since every situation is different.

Accounting and finance management

The position of a business owner is kind of a hybrid of all other positions within the company, at least the position of a successful business owner. The most important thing that you need to focus on is your bottom line. If you are losing money things are not going well. According to my business associates from Acton Bookkeeping, a certain number of their customers get into trouble, then they hire a professional bookkeeper and hope for a miracle. They advise training for every business owner, since a lot of decisions and approvals related to finances need to go directly through them and they need to understand everything that they are signing. This training will allow them to make a quality assessment of the financial state their business is in. A working knowledge of accounting is a must, even in cases when you have a trustworthy and professional accountant.

Marketing

No matter how confident you are with the business that you have just set up, you can’t really expect people to be cramming your doors right from the start. They have never heard about you, they don’t know how high the quality of your merchandise or the service you offer is. People will be reluctant to make a purchase in the beginning. In order to familiarize them with your new business and draw them in a bit, you need to make an investment into marketing. Basically, this means you are putting your name out there and starting to build a brand, which should always be a long term goal.

Legal issues

I can’t stress this enough – make sure you have all the proper documentation prepared before you open. The fines for not having any can put you out of business in a blink of an eye.

After all this, it may seem like I’m advising you against starting your own business, but that is not the case. I’m only advising caution and diligence. It is crucial that you know what you are getting into and to acquire the necessary knowledge you need in order to handle you obligations right.