What multi-passionate skills do you need to thrive as an entrepreneur?

The number one skill of a successful traditional entrepreneur is relentless focus in the pursuit of one thing. But that doesn’t work for multi-passionates. The thought of doing just one thing at a time is kryptonite for you. You can’t do it.

And so you start thinking that being multi-passionate puts you at a disadvantage. You can have some success, just not as much as entrepreneurs who specialise in one thing. *sighs*

That’s not true. Multi-passionates fail when they try to follow traditional business rules – rules that weren’t made for them.

As long as you try to fit yourself in a box, you’ll be operating against your nature. It’s like driving a car with the brake on. You can make some progress, but you won’t go far.

It’s when you own your multi-passionate skills and do business in a way that works with it that you start to thrive. 

So forget about relentless focus on one thing. Here are the multi-passionate skills you need to thrive as entrepreneurs:

Multi-Passionate Skill #1: Pattern Recognition

Most traditional entrepreneurs take a product already on the market and improve it slightly or price it cheaper. There’s no real innovation here, so they end up becoming commodities.

Not you. As a multi-passionate entrepreneur, you have knowledge and skills in some many different disciplines, you can easily spot the commonalities between them.

Spotting these commonalities allows you to invent a whole new niche, create innovative products, and come up with creative solutions no one else had ever thought of.

All things that make you stand out from the competition – heck, you won’t even have a competition (until people see how awesome you are and they start copying you).

This is one of the most valuable multi-passionate skills – don’t ignore it to become a specialist.

Multi-Passionate Skill #2: Adaptability

The world of online business moves fast. While business principles are generally timeless, tactics have a short shelf life. What used to work last year is already useless today. If you don’t adapt to the new trends, your business fails.

As a multi-passionate, adaptability comes natural to you. You’ve probably had different careers in different fields, each with its own rules, skills, and culture. 

This may have seemed a disadvantage at the time, but it has allowed you to develop skills most people don’t have.

You’ve become good at picking up new skills fast, working with all kinds of people, and adapting to different environments. 

Change doesn’t faze you. It excites you.

Related: It’s Ok To Change Your Mind About What You Want To Do With Your Life

Multi-Passionate Skill #3: Learning

Most people stop learning once they’ve finished school. They get so set in their ways, they refuse to try new things, adapt to change, or consider a different viewpoint. The world changes, but they and their business stays the same… and eventually become irrelevant.

Multi-passionate entrepreneurs are always in learning mode. You’re constantly studying a new discipline, researching a new topic, or practicing a new skill.

This will pay off dividends. Learning forces you to be in constant beginner mode. In this first stage of learning, you feel uncomfortable. Everything is new and exciting, but you have no idea what you’re doing and make lots of mistakes. 

Progress is slow, but if you make your way through it, you’ll become a master at and grow in confidence.

More important than the skill or knowledge you’ve acquired, it’s the willingness to make mistakes and push past discomfort – two key requirements of learning anything – that’ll help you succeed in business.

Related: 5 Ways To Overcome The Fear Of Failure

Multi-Passionate Skill #4: Versatility

Feel bad for being a Jane of all trades and mistress of none?

Don’t! When you’re starting a business, it’s a HUGE advantage. While there’s something to be said for doing only those tasks that are in your zone of genius, that’s not going to happen overnight.

At the start of your business, you’ll have to wear all the hats yourself: copywriter, social media manager, web designer, product creator, marketer, PR, director of operations, etc…

All those skills that you’ve acquired from your previous careers and hobbies are invaluable and will allow you to grow your business faster.

Plus, when it’s time to hire it out, your skills and experience will help you pick the best candidate for the job.

Related: 5 Myths About Multi-Passionates You Need To Stop Believing Right Now

Multi-Passionate Skill #5: Idea Generation

Being an entrepreneur means being a problem solver:

• How can you help your clients solve their biggest problem/frustration?
• How can you improve customer service?
• How can you generate new leads?
• What new product/service does your client need?
• How can you make your systems and operations more efficients?
• How do you put out fires and solve problems that come up every day in your business?

Multi-passionates are idea generators. They’re visionaries. They come up with opportunities and solutions no one else thinks of.

Are they all great? Of course not. But having lots of ideas is better than having one… or zero.

You won’t know what works until you try it. And you often have to try lots of different things because you hit the right one. 

Failure is just feedback.

Related: It’s Not Failure. It’s Feedback.

Wrapping It Up

All those traits you thought were disadvantages – being a Jane of all trades, always in learning and beginner mode, jumping from one project to the next – are multi-passionate skills that’ll allow you to thrive as an entrepreneur. Make the most of them. 

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