Tweet

Developing Business Acumen & Business Sense

Guest post by: Enrico Varella

Article Overview: Are you excited about Mondays? Or, are you excited by the notion that the workweek begins today and you have to plough and slough through today? If you say ‘TGIF’, you may be missing the point.

Developing Business Acumen & Business Sense

Are you excited about Mondays? Or, are you excited by the notion that the workweek begins today and you have to plough and slough through today? If you say ‘TGIF’, you may be missing the point.

Aren’t you proud that you have a job? Are you in your profession of choice? Do you mostly enjoy what you do? If you answered ‘no’ to any of these questions, you may have to review your priorities in your life.

Business acumen and business sense are useful skills to possess, whether you are self-employed or running your employer’s business. Whether you are a sales professional, marketer or business development manager you will need to rely on thinking and intuitive abilities in building and sustaining a business. In my research with successful businesspeople and entrepreneurs, I have found these patterns of excellence that can enhance these two competencies.

1) Why are you in business? (How does it benefit another person?)

2) You must enjoy doing business or it would be meaningless.

3) Start a business with an idea, dream or passion, not an economic need.

4) You can only learn and appreciate business by doing business, and making mistakes (and you certainly will).

5) Expect to work longer hours in your first year of starting a business (develop a large bank of energy).

6) Business acumen is a quality you develop on the job, through time.

7) Develop an appreciation and understanding of finance (read Balance Sheets, Profit & Loss Sheets)

8) Have a plan, and execute the plan! (‘Screw it. Just do it.’ ~ Sir Richard Branson)

9) Have a working philosophy (clear credo, values, beliefs and operating principles) of how you work with others, and the type of work you intend to do.

Avoid doing business because it is a beautiful idea. 90 percent of Small Businesses do not make it after the first year, and it gets even harder in the second year. Inspiration must meet perspiration, as stressed by Thomas Edison. Singapore-based, Desmond Peh of JUST EDUCATION HOLDINGS won Entrepreneur of the Year for 2010. As Chairman and CEO of this valued brand – a renowned chain of 16 tuition centres – he has built a culture of education, personal pursuits and positivism with his staff and students. He developed his business acumen through many years of tacit experiences and wisdom building his business.

Related Articles
  Hiring Talented Business Acumen and Business Acu-women
  Business Acumen – Helping Pharma Companies Compete to Win
  Business Acumen Boot Camp is not for Sissies
  5 Pitfalls to Avoid When Developing Business Acumen
  The Value YOU Bring Is As Important As Your Products
  Top 5 Ways Business Acumen Adds to Your Bottom Line
  A culture of accountability is the key to business and organisational success
  5 Ways to Win at Business Acumen
  Stand up to the monsters that are holding back your success
  Can Pharma’s Woes be Tied to Poor Business Acumen?
  10 Greatest Pharmaceutical Sales Myths: Exposed
  Companies Develop Leaders? 10 Ways to Know
  Leadership Acumen
  Building A Business Dream Team
  Mastering the Art of Executive Presence
  The Evolution of Your Business
  Talking In Media Morse Code
  Blueprint for Success
  Women in Leadership
  Master Mind Your Business

Article Tags: acumen, business sense, competencies, entrepreneurs, tacit wisdom



Related Forum Posts
My entry - 1. The Best Business Books Ever: The 100 Most Influential Business Books You'll Never Have Time to Read - this is a fascinating book about the history of Business theory, and I'd recommend it to anybody. 2. The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants, by Tom Gegax. Ditto. 3. PADI: The Business of Diving Book Okay, so this book won't be of use to anyone who doesn't want to start a scuba store, but I did, and this book was of course invaluable to me in reaching that goal.
Exclusive: Interview with Results - Hi Forum Members, I'm helping start up a Business Coaching and Consulting company here in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (a Subsidiary of RSC Business in Los Angeles). As a Research and Development Intern I am required to practice my listening and interview skills by surveying Small and Medium Businesses on thier Business. This Survey is designed by RSC Business to also assist the Business being interviewed more insight into their own business. I am looking to interview about 30 businesses across North America over the span of 3 months. At the end of these interviews I will be publishing a report of the results and they will be made available for free to the Interviewees. The Report data will include responses from a minimum of 100 interviews. I would like to extend this opportunity to members of the Forum. If you would like to have this short 20-30 minute interview conducted on your Business and you reside in North America please send me an email or PM. Please contact me at andy[at]jvprosperity[dot]com to arrange our interview and to get free access to the results when they are published.
Re: HOw to market a B2B consulting company - [quote="zohahunt77":428owzbi]Hi, I was wondering if anyone can tell me the difference between B2B and B2C. I don’t know about b2b marketing but I have done marketing so know things about it. I will suggest you to take online services which will spread your business all over web network. Online marketing is the best way to market any business.[/quote:428owzbi] B2B = Business to Business - You are marketing to other businesses. B2C = Business to Consumer - You are marketing to consumers.
English teachers learn Japanese as Interns - Yasunori, what about the many students that leave N. America to teach English in Japan. They may want to learn Japanese (maybe Business Japanese is a bit different) and the Japanese Business Culture.
New Study - Women prepare better business plans - I found an article in Business Week and I found this quite interesting. [quote:ka7lg35i]Who Prepares Better Business Plans, Men or Women? A new study based on four years of data from men and women in a training program for microenterprises finds that they come out the same in quality scores. "However, women scored significantly better on the presentation of their plan to judges," conclude the study's authors, Ronald G. Cook, Paul Belliveau, and Christine Lentz of Rider University, in a paper presented at a recent meeting of the Small Business Institute. [/quote:ka7lg35i] What do you guys think?


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Steps For Starting A Small Business

Work at home Opportunities for the Disabled

The Future of Online Marketing

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.