Any good business owner will tell you that running a business requires many more skills than you initially might expect. Some people spend years in school studying theory and reading the best business books. But some business skills can only truly be cultivated through firsthand experience.
About two-thirds of small business failures are attributed to poor management and missing skills. These are the essentials to learn to put yourself on a path to success.
Hard skills vs. soft skills
Hard skills are teachable, technical abilities, like financial analysis, supply chain management, product design, and data analytics—all essential for daily business operations, depending on your sector. In today’s digital landscape, essential hard skills for ecommerce business owners or their teams include search engine optimization (SEO), digital advertising, and website optimization.
Soft skills are just as critical but not always thought of as essential business skills. These interpersonal abilities—like communication, leadership, problem solving, and adaptability—help your team collaborate, navigate challenges, and build strong relationships with customers and partners. Think of them as “life skills” that apply across roles and sectors. While not typically taught in formal settings, they can be strengthened through practice and self awareness.
Whether you’re leading a corporation or running a small online shop, combining technical know-how with strong soft skills creates the foundation to develop your business and navigate change.
10 Essential business skills
- Data analysis
- Digital marketing
- Financial management
- Project management
- Product or inventory management
- Communication
- Leadership
- Problem solving
- Customer relationship management
- Adaptability
Here’s a non-exhaustive list of essential hard and soft skills—some of which overlap—you need to start and run a successful business:
1. Data analysis
Data analysis turns business numbers—like sales, customer behavior, website traffic, and marketing metrics—into actionable insights. Although data can feel overwhelming, it often marks the difference between making informed decisions and merely guessing your way through growth.
Being able to perform basic data analysis can help you discern which products are most profitable, where customers exit the buying journey, and which marketing channels deliver the best return on investment (ROI).
New business owners can focus on a few core metrics rather than tracking everything. You might monitor and analyze sales trends, customer acquisition costs (CAC), return rates, website traffic and conversion, and abandoned cart rate on a weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis to guide smarter decisions and fuel growth.
Free resources like Shopify Academy offer beginner-friendly courses designed to help you analyze and use your data effectively.
2. Digital marketing
With strong digital marketing skills, you can develop an integrated marketing strategy including channels like email, social media, and SEO. For example, running an email campaign targeting repeat customers can boost lifetime customer value; improving your website SEO can attract more traffic and lower customer acquisition costs; and launching an affiliate program with social media influencers can turn loyal fans into a powerful acquisition channel.
3. Financial management
As a small business owner, strong cash flow is essential for staying afloat, seizing opportunities, and weathering seasonal revenue swings. Financial management is the ability to strategically plan, organize, direct, and control activities like budgeting, forecasting, debt repayment, investing, reporting, and allocating monetary resources. With strong financial management skills, you can make informed decisions, like where to cut costs, when to invest, and how to price products for profitability.
As part of your financial literacy efforts, you might also learn the basics of accounting, so you can create or read your own financial statements. Popular accounting software like QuickBooks is relatively easy to learn, and knowing your way around financial tools can empower you to track the details of your business’s finances, even if you outsource your bookkeeping work to an external expert.
4. Project management
As an entrepreneur, juggling multiple responsibilities is part of the job—and your goal is to drop as few balls as possible. Project management helps keep things on track by organizing tasks and initiatives efficiently, minimizing what slips through the cracks. Someone with strong project management skills sets clear objectives, delegates responsibilities, tracks progress, and adjusts plans as needed.
Online project management tools like Trello, Asana, or Monday.com are widely used to boost productivity and alignment and are easy to use. Several of these tools even offer training to boost your learning such as Asana Academy.
5. Product or inventory management
Inventory management is tracking and overseeing physical and digital products, stock, and supply chains to keep operations running smoothly. Strong inventory management skills can help you avoid costly mistakes, ensure timely delivery, and improve profitability overall.
Most small businesses rely on inventory management software—and there’s no shortage of options available. Whichever platform you choose, developing the skills to use it is essential for operational success.
6. Communication
Clear communication is a vital soft skill for leaders and employees of businesses large and small. Whether in meetings, presentations, or conversations with other team members, adequate communication skills strengthen relationships, foster collaboration, allow for strong team building, and create trust in your brand.
Communication covers speaking, writing, actively listening, and thoroughly conveying information. It also includes giving and receiving feedback, explaining complex ideas simply, and tailoring your message for different audiences. If you want to strengthen your communication skills, start by practicing the seven Cs of effective communication. You don’t need to be a motivational speaker to master clarity, conciseness, and concreteness.
7. Leadership
Leadership is one of the most important soft skills to have as a business owner—strong leadership skills ensure your team stays aligned, engaged, and productive, ultimately driving business success. Strong leaders energize their teams to do better, while weak leaders make them feel small and unmotivated. Key traits of strong leaders include clear communication, leading with empathy, active listening, and relationship building.
While leadership isn’t always formally taught, there’s no shortage of blogs and podcasts offering advice. By examining your own experiences and learning from mentors, you can identify the values that matter most to you and define the kind of leader you want to become. You might also seek out a business coach to help you hone your skills.
8. Problem solving
As a business owner, you will inevitably run into problems along the journey; operational issues, customer disputes, weak processes, and employee morale inevitably pop up. What makes all the difference is knowing how to solve them effectively. To put yourself in the best position to spot and address shortcomings quickly, arm yourself with multiple techniques and perspectives such as the “Six Thinking Hats” or the means-end analysis.
By mastering the art of creative problem solving, you will make more informed decisions under pressure, whether it’s resolving a customer complaint on the spot or pivoting when market conditions shift.
9. Customer relationship management
Relationship management is the art of building loyalty, trust, and long-term connections with clients or customers. It’s a blend of both hard and soft skills that involves strong communication and empathy; direct engagement through calls, emails, or in-person meetings; and practicing empathy-based communication to understand their needs. Strong customer relationship management skills support customer retention, boost satisfaction, and drive sustainable business growth.
Large or expanding companies often rely on customer relationship management (CRM) software to monitor accounts and track interactions. Popular options include those from Salesforce, Zoho and Hubspot. These platforms help you stay organized across different customer segments, uncover opportunities for upselling or cross-selling, address issues proactively, and deliver a consistent, positive customer experience.
10. Adaptability
Adaptability is a soft skill that helps business owners and teams respond to changing markets, customer needs, and unexpected developments. It enables quick pivots—whether adjusting product offerings, exploring new marketing channels, or shifting operational strategies—while maintaining continuity and resilience.
Business skills FAQ
How do you learn new business skills?
Learning new business skills starts with identifying the areas that will have the biggest impact on your goals. You can pursue online courses, workshops, or certifications in fields like marketing, finance, or project management. However, practical experience is just as important. Take on projects, volunteer, or freelance to apply what you learn in real-world situations. Pairing structured learning with hands-on practice helps reinforce knowledge and builds confidence.
What is the difference between hard and soft skills?
Hard skills are technical, teachable abilities that can be measured, such as data analysis, coding, or financial management. Soft skills, in contrast, are interpersonal and emotional abilities that help you work effectively with others, such as communication, leadership, and problem solving. Both are crucial—with hard skills you perform specific tasks, while soft skills help you collaborate, adapt, and grow within a team or business.
What skills are most important in the business world?
There isn’t a single set of skills that are most important, yet there are many that apply to all companies and industries. Hard skills that are needed across industries include financial management, marketing, data analysis, and operations. Soft skills like communication, leadership, adaptability, and problem-solving are equally important.
