The top 5 skills for successful entrepreneurs in 2023 and beyond

The world has changed over time and today, things are different with entrepreneurs stealing the spotlight. The desire  to solve real-world problems is palpable in the current generation. In order to set your students apart, you should help them develop skills that make a successful entrepreneur.

Let’s dive into them!

Top 5 skills that can turn your students into successful entrepreneurs

As a school head, your main goal is to ensure your institution is a center of excellence that produces industrious and talented individuals. This allows your school to stand out among the various international schools in the country. One of the ways you can successfully achieve this is by churning out students who have skills that can lead them to become successful both in their careers and also as entrepreneurs. Here are top 5 entrepreneurial skills that are a must have in 2023; 

1) Creative thinking and execution skills

“No man is an island” is a famed quote that has been around since the beginning of time. In the job realm, your students will be required to work in teams so as to accomplish a given task. As an entrepreneur, your student will be required to find the right people to materialize the idea they have and they will need to work alongside them. 

You can build your students’ collaboration skills by assigning them practical tasks that require team effort. In such settings, students are able to learn the value of teamwork and how to work with individuals from diverse backgrounds as well as those with different personalities.

2) Execution skills 

Conduct an exercise in your school one day. Summon a group of students and give them a bland, empty box. Ask them what they can see and hear what each one of them has to say.

There is a significant chance that once one of them says “a box”, the rest will produce the same response. This is because of the mob mentality. The group of students will change their answers so that they are able to fit in. But, if you summon these students one by one, you will be surprised by some of their responses. There are those who might see the box as a structure that can be modified to house small pets  while others might view it as something they can transform into a storage facility.

It is important that you take time to cultivate creativity within students,  dare them to think beyond societal boundaries and defy normality - formulating radical ideas with the potential of changing the world. It is also equally important to teach students how to vocalize their ideas and stand by them even when they sound insane to others. These crazy ideas are what have solved a significant portion of problems that humans have encountered over time.

Where would we be if the Wright brothers hadn’t dared to continue pursuing their dream of seeing their airplane solving transportation problems even after the U.S. government blatantly told them NO?

With all this said, being creative and possessing courage will not help your student become successful entrepreneurs if they cannot formulate sound business objectives i.e., what they plan to achieve by executing their brilliant idea. When you teach them how to come up with realistic goals, they will be able to actualize their ideas and thrive in their respective fields. 

3) Resilience and risk-taking

If you converse with successful CEOs and various industry leaders, you will probably hear them mention the terms “resilience” and “risk taking” constantly. Possessing these qualities as an entrepreneur will enable you to stay on track  even when your job or your business is not going well. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a variety of entrepreneurs in diverse fields responded to the pandemic differently. Some opted to conduct their businesses online while others chose to lay off workers. There are also those who changed their business model to fit the needs of the market during that time.

Teaching students how to develop and use a risk assessment matrix together with a BIA (business impact analysis) as well as nurturing their ability to be resilient, will go a long way in helping them successfully start and run their businesses.

4) Decision-making

As an entrepreneur, your student will need to make smart decisions at different stages of their entrepreneurial journey. They should be able to choose a market they want to enter , what problem they will solve  and come up with a strategy of how they will solve it in a unique way. The young entrepreneur will also need decision-making skills when it comes to finding who to work with , coming up with marketing strategies, how to make their business successful and so on. All these decisions will be time sensitive and will therefore require someone who can make a sound choice under pressure.

Decision-making is not an innate skill, it is a skill that is nurtured and exercised like a muscle. It is a skill that plays a vital  role in the business realm and in life.

5) Communication and pitching skills 

Entrepreneurs will spend a lot of their time pitching and communicating their ideas to potential investors, partners and even customers .They need to be able to communicate their business proposals i.e., The problem/opportunity they have identified and the creative solution they have come up with so as to address the problem or take advantage of the opportunity. This has to be done in a clear and articulate manner and it is not a natural quality, it needs to be nurtured.

Now that you know the skills that will enable your students to become successful entrepreneurs, how about learning how you can effectively start this process?

How to impart your students with the top five entrepreneurial skills

We have established that it is crucial for Kenyan students to possess the above-mentioned entrepreneurial skills. The question is, how do you effectively impart your students with these and more skills?

Simple, introduce them to Kinetic.

Kinetic is a learning platform that helps schools impart their students with entrepreneurial skills at a young  age so as to nurture innovative leaders of the future. The aim of the Kinetic platform is to ensure that students are equipped with practical skills required to succeed in the 21st Century.

Kinetic will help you; 

• Nurture your students’ entrepreneurial mindsets. 
• Develop collaborative skills among your students 
• Assist learners when it comes to garnering execution skills through practical application
• Produce students who are impeccable at decision-making 
• Make your students excellent communicators

By incorporating the Kinetic program in your school curriculum, you will be separating your school from other international schools. This is because the program will help you produce entrepreneurial individuals with skills and a mindset that can help heal the world one problem at a time. Due to this, you will be able to attract and retain students because, let’s face it, the future is in entrepreneurship.

Reach out to us here. Let us equip our students with entrepreneurial skills today.