5 Skills Entrepreneurs Can Learn from Other Professions

 

By Cliff Melberger

Entrepreneurial success requires mastering a variety of skills to ensure your business remains both profitable and socially relevant.

While a multitude of industry-specific resources exist to equip you with the tools to help you reach your goals (books, lectures, classes, etc.), sometimes it pays to seek out alternatives. Matei Gavril, President and CEO of PRMediaOnline.com, recently wrote an article challenging entrepreneurs to look outside of the business bubble. He specifically encouraged entrepreneurs to examine other fields and find traits that can be beneficial to the entrepreneurial lifestyle

Here are five skills from different professions that entrepreneurs should emulate:

  1. Take risks—Surgeons

Medicine is a risky business. Surgeons are required to perform procedures that have a significant impact on a patient’s health, and may involve life-or-death situations. An essential trait for this profession is being an effective risk-taker, and learning to remove emotion from the equation. Similarly, entrepreneurs can learn to take calculated risks and think logically to solve their problems.

  1. Persistence—Athletes

An unavoidable element of business is failure; the key is how you deal with it. Athletes are exemplary models of persistence—they’re always striving to improve their performance and exhibit strong mental fortitude. As an entrepreneur, you shouldn’t let failure deter you from your business dreams. Instead, learn from your mistakes, improve, and be accepting of constructive criticism.

  1. Negotiating—Lawyers

A large portion of the job of an attorney is negotiating, a skill that’s essential to any entrepreneur. Whether you’re dealing with employee benefits or contracts with clients, you need to think like a lawyer, which means developing a game plan beforehand, demonstrating confidence and never showing signs of defeat.

  1. Problem-solving—Gamers

When obstacles seem overwhelming, it pays to take a cue from the gamer mindset. Gamers categorize their short-term objectives to help them achieve long-term goals, and come up with unique solutions. Above all, gamers stay motivated and attempt multiple methods of problem-solving.

  1. Explaining—Teachers

Business isn’t a one-person show—it requires coordinating with other like-minded individuals. A key to this collaboration is effective communication. Teachers know how to engage their audience and find innovative ways to deliver material. Likewise, you should make your material understandable to everyone by avoiding jargon. Additionally, know your audience and learn how to exhibit patience.

Every profession has its own unique challenges, and it’s beneficial for entrepreneurs to learn from others’ mistakes and successes and apply them to their own business mindset.

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