7 Tech Skills Every Aspiring Entrepreneur Needs

Sponsored by Zayed University

Being an entrepreneur in today’s fast-paced world is complicated. With so many tactics, tools and techniques to consider when setting up for success – one thing that shouldn’t be overlooked is your skillset – and in this instance, we don’t mean your ‘essential’ or ‘soft’ skillset. We’re talking technical.

Let’s dive straight in and take a look at some of the most valuable technical skills you’re going to need as an aspiring entrepreneur.

3D printing

The world is no stranger to modern technology and digital innovations. From healthcare to education and many things in between, 3D printing has completely revolutionized the way we construct and produce materials and products.

If you’re a budding product-based entrepreneur, this novel technology is ideal for smaller production jobs and helps make building prototypes more affordable. Its advanced customization has pushed the boundaries of industrial manufacturing and there’s also no need for a ‘physical’ inventory either as any ‘spare parts’ are stored in The Cloud.

The College of Arts and Cultural Enterprises at Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates has it’s very own ‘Fab Lab’, a fabrication/prototyping lab which is part of a larger development of creative lab space involving technologies ranging from 3D printing to a robotic arm for rapid prototyping.

The college itself is not a traditional art school, in the sense that it focuses on creative enterprises and industry in relation to consumer culture in the 21^st century, such as product design with jewelry and furniture.

With an aim to enhance the education process and give students the tools they need to be a product entrepreneur, this type of experential learning yields benefits that students may not necessarily get in a traditional classroom setting as they’re encouraged to take an idea of their own and make a prototype which they consider to have commercial potential.

Wireframe

As a budding entrepreneur you may only be a one-man-band at the moment without a development/tech team to help get you on your way. But don’t let that put you off. When done right, wireframing essentially ‘tells’ your website visitors how they should be using and navigating the site.

The Cloud

It may sound as if it’s something that still belongs in a sci-fi universe, but you’ll want to make sure you have a good working knowledge of the Cloud and how it works. It’s inevitable that all data will eventually being stored on the Cloud anyway – ensuring tighter security measures and better collaboration with your team.

Big data and data analytics

This is much more than just a buzzword (or two). There’s no getting away from big data and it’s important that you know how to use it to your advantage.

It will help you make more informed business decisions as you get a better insight into your customers/consumers needs, habits and preferences. You’ll then have the upper hand when it comes to creating original, personal and impactful campaigns and content which has the potential to lead to the converting of traffic into sales.

Remember – knowledge = power.

Social media

You’re going to need to use popular social media platforms to build your online presence and business brand. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a product-based entrepreneur or a service-based entrepreneur, social media should be an integral part of your business marketing strategy.

It’s a remarkably effective communication platform which offers a lot of power and potential. It does, however, like to change quickly so it’s important that you keep up with the times to ensure your time and effort hasn’t gone to waste.

UX design

You’re going to want a powerful user experience design strategy at the heart of your website if you want to drive traffic, sales and ultimately – success.

Search engine optimization (SEO)

While some entrepreneurs and businesses may not take this seriously – you definitely should. The difference between implementing SEO and implementing it well is huge. Good SEO ensures your website is displayed on the first page of any search engine result, which in turn drives increased traffic to your site.

If you want your startup venture to be a success, you’re going to want to have a good grasp of these seven tech skills – or at least be aware of them, the benefits they can bring and how they can be used together to help your venture as much as possible.