Most small business owners already have a working grasp of sales, marketing, financial management and customer service. What separates a business that keeps growing from one that stalls is a willingness to keep learning skills that go beyond the basics.
Get comfortable with data
Data analytics is no longer only for data scientists. Modern, business-friendly analytics tools make it possible to capture, process and analyse your own business data without specialist training, giving you a clear picture of when customers enter your sales funnel, where they come from, and when they drop off.
Become a genuinely modern marketer
Capturing and analysing customer data lets you build a real database that makes targeted email and direct marketing far easier. Knowing who your customers actually are, and how they prefer to be contacted, shapes everything from your mailing list to your search engine optimisation and paid advertising.
Rethink your business structure
A rigid, top-down hierarchy stifles growth and innovation. Building a structure that allows information to flow freely, and a culture that rewards people for trying new things, gives employees a genuine stake in the business’s future.
Invest in the softer skills
As more jobs become automated, the ability to relate to and work well with others becomes increasingly valuable, not less. Several soft skills stand out as worth deliberately building:
- Negotiation: Poor negotiation skills can cost real time and money. Go in with full awareness of your own position and as much information as possible about the other party, and be willing to compromise where it benefits both sides.
- Communication: Clearly communicating intentions and extracting relevant information from others boosts team collaboration and productivity.
- Teamwork: Organisations thrive when everyone is genuinely aligned toward the same goals.
- Adaptability: Change happens quickly, especially in the digital economy. Adapting early, and learning from failure, matters more than getting everything right the first time.
- Problem-solving: Faced with a challenge, taking action beats complaining every time.
- Critical thinking: Question what you see rather than taking it at face value, and actively seek out fresh perspectives when facing a problem.
- Conflict resolution: Not all disagreement is destructive. Knowing when to let it run its course and when to step in, with sensitivity, keeps a diverse team functional.
- Leadership: In uncertain times, people need clear guidance. Confidently communicating your vision and promoting transparency inspires a team more than authority alone ever will.
Frequently asked questions
Do small business owners really need to learn data analytics themselves?
Not to an expert level, but modern analytics tools are designed for non-specialists, and even a basic working knowledge gives a business owner far better visibility into customer behaviour and marketing effectiveness.
Why do soft skills matter more as automation increases?
Because the tasks left for people to do increasingly involve relating to, negotiating with and leading other people, work that automation cannot easily replace.
Is a flatter business structure always better for growth?
Not universally, but a structure that allows information to flow freely and rewards people for trying new things tends to support innovation better than a rigid, top-down hierarchy.
Growth requires learning what you don’t already know
The entrepreneurial skills that matter most now are rarely the ones a business owner already has. Deliberately building the ones you don’t is what keeps a business from stalling.
Further reading: Build a Smarter Business: Start Using Your Data | Department of Trade, Industry and Competition for official small business support information
Originally published in April 2019. Updated September 2026 to tighten this guidance from Sage on entrepreneurial skills worth mastering. The underlying list of skills remains sound.
