Master These Six Essential Skills to Take Your Laundry Business to the Next Level
I’ve always been a collector of the best words and most valid phrases to describe or define a successful small-business owner – and, more specifically, a highly successful laundromat operator. In fact, I’ve given it the euphemistic name – “One Who Has the Correct Skills to Pay the Bills.”
The world is a highly competitive place. In fact, it has never been more so, and this life will not provide you with what you deserve, rather only what you demand. Therefore, if success is high on your list, you will need to be ready to give it all that it requires – or else you will, unfortunately, be relegated to somewhere in the background.
After much analysis, I’ve concluded that what makes some small-business owners successful is the possession of six fundamental skills that I define below. Also, these skills are not innate. They can be learned.
What this means is that you can be highly successful in your business life as a matter of choice. However, you will need specific skills to thrive. In essence, you need to become a professional businessperson, because the world holds little promise for amateurs these days.
To help you reach the top of your game, here are my six essential skills that, when implemented properly, can propel you to heights of achievement you’ve likely never thought possible:
The Skill to Communicate Effectively
Perhaps you’ve noticed that communication skills are one of the requirements listed in every job advertisement (with the possible exception of an ad for a veterinarian).
That demonstrates how important the ability to communicate effectively is in the business world. In short, to achieve success you must be able to communicate with people effectively and express yourself in ways that can be easily understood. Communication is necessary, because ineffective communication often leads to conflicts and misunderstandings, which will not promote the growth of any business.
No matter how good you are at what you do, if you can’t express yourself in a manner that people can fully comprehend, your expertise will be of small value.
You need exemplary communication skills to prove to customers and potential clients that you can get the job done. After all, you are listened to prior to being tried.
We live in an age where everyone’s head is constantly buried in his or her cell phone. In fact, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find strong communicators, yet we can hardly achieve communication greatness if we can’t get our messages across effectively.
Remember that communication is controlled by the receiver, and not the sender. Being an effective communicator isn’t merely about talking – but knowing the correct thing to say, when to say it, and how to say it in terms of specific language, pitch, inflection and appropriate tone of voice.
The world is full of irritating little “deal-breakers.” Don’t let your lack of communication skills be one of them.
The Skill to Negotiate Effectively
Technically speaking, negotiation skills are the ability to achieve agreement through proper discussion. You need this skill because the world is, by nature, competitive. You need to be able to get what you want through discussion with concerned people.
Negotiation requires the understanding of what exactly you want, who to get it from, and how to get it without either party feeling cheated. Negotiation skills will help you strike a good deal for yourself without taking unfair advantage of the other party.
If you don’t know how to negotiate effectively, you’ll likely get used – and often without ever realizing that it’s happening to you.
I’m reminded of the old poker joke, where an average player is invited to sit down to play with a group of strangers. You know the saying: “If after about 20 minutes you don’t know who the patsy is, it’s probably you!”
Interpersonal and Relationship-Building Skills
Interpersonal skills are often requested by employers, but rarely defined. As long as you’re not a monk or planning to live like one, you need interpersonal skills. Being successful in life requires that you know how to build and manage relationships.
This doesn’t mean you need to build relationships or friendships with everyone or even relate with everyone, because that’s practically impossible. What it does mean is that you should identify and relate with people with whom you’re connected, people with whom you’ll continuously cross paths.
This will help you to rise in life, because nobody is truly “self-made,” despite what is often implied.
The Skills to Manage Yourself
Self-management is the ability to understand yourself, your emotions, your strengths, your weaknesses, and exactly how these impact you and your environment. And, in fact, if you cannot manage yourself and your emotions, it will be extremely difficult for you to become successful.
A vital element of self-management is self-control. If you lack self-control, you’ll miss out on a lot of opportunities that can be of help to you on your road to success.
Time Management Skills
Time management is a key variable in life. Life is measured in time. Successful people and unsuccessful people all have the same number of hours available to them each day. Of course, the big difference is how they use that precious time.
Time is one of the few limited resources in your life. After all, you can always make more money, but you can’t create more time. To a large degree, what you do with your time will determine whether or not you’ll be successful.
Specific Professional Skills
Clearly, it should go without saying that, if you want to be successful, you’ll also need to be good at whatever it is you do. There are a lot of good people out there, but only a few excellent people who are known and celebrated.
Make up your mind to never be mediocre in your field. Hone the skills I’ve outlined above, and take your personal and professional development seriously. Understand that, if you truly want to be successful, you must be ready to go all the way. If and when you do, you’ll soon discover that there is very little traffic in “the extra mile.”
