Blog | Entrepreneurship

Better Businesses Start With Better Communication

The importance of mastering the #1 job of an entrepreneur

When someone comes to me asking what they should do in order to be better prepared to start a business, I always tell them the same thing: “Get a job with a company that will train you in sales.”

That is the exact advice my rich dad gave me when I wanted to start my business. Though I hated sales, and pushed back a bit, I eventually got a job selling at Xerox. Rich dad’s advice proved to be extremely valuable.

Communication = cash flow

Among the important qualities a job in sales will teach you is the ability to communicate effectively. When rich dad told me to get a sales job, I balked at the idea of going door to door to sell copy machines. All he said to that was, “Poor people are poor communicators.” He knew that learning to sell would make me a better communicator, which would make me a better businessman.

I am always amazed at how little time businesspeople put into improving their overall communication skills. Whenever I find a business that is struggling, it is often a reflection of poor communication. As rich dad said, “Cash flowing into your business is in direct proportion to the communication flowing out.”

Communication = better business

One of the reasons good communication is so important is because it allows you to meet demand better. Rich dad said, “To be a good communicator, you first need to be good at human psychology. You need to know what buttons to push. Different people have different buttons.” Key to knowing which buttons to push was listening. He said, “Many people are talking, but only a few are listening. Money goes to the best communicators.”

Beyond just meeting demand, good communication internally in your company is vital as well. Many times, by simply looking at the financial statement of your business, you can easily see which areas of the business are communicating well and which are not. When your different departments are communicating well, the business will run better and cash flow will be healthier, either in the form of increased sales or decreased costs…or both.

Communication = more capital

Rich dad made it a habit to attend one seminar on communication each year, and I continue that tradition today. I always notice that soon after attending these seminars, my income increases. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.

Over the years, I’ve attended courses on:

1. Sales
2. Marketing systems
3. Advertising, headlines, and copywriting
4. Negotiations
5. Public speaking
6. Direct-mail advertising
7. Running a seminar
8. Raising capital

When I talk with folks who want to be entrepreneurs, topic number eight has the most interest—fundraising. But when people ask me how to learn to raise capital, I refer them to numbers one through seven above, explaining that raising capital requires each of these skills in some way. The point is this: until you learn how to communicate effectively, you’ll never be able to effectively raise capital.

Communication is your #1 job

Most people can get away with speaking in one certain way…with being poor communicators. But if you want to own a business, you have to master the art of communicating to multiple types of people—to customers, to employees, to contractors, to vendors, to investors, and more. Simply put, the primary job of people owning a business is to communicate effectively with others who are not like them but who are essential to the success of the business.

Ready to improve your communication skills? Join others looking to do the same through our free, online community.