Beyond social capital: How social skills can enhance entrepreneurs' success

Why are some entrepreneurs so much more successful than others in starting new ventures? Previous efforts to answer this question have generally focus ed either on the personality traits or susceptibility to various cognitive errors of individual entrepreneurs, or on such external factors as the numb er of competing businesses. We suggest that entrepreneurs' social skills-sp ecific competencies that help them interact effectively with others-may als o play or role in their success. A high level of social capital, built on a favorable reputation, relevant previous experience, and direct personal co ntacts, often assists entrepreneurs in gaining access to venture capitalist s, potential customers, and others. Once such access is gained, the nature of the entrepreneurs' face-to-face interactions earn strongly influence the ir success. Specific social skills, such as the ability to read others accu rately, make favorable first impressions, adapt to a wide range of social s ituations, and be persuasive, can influence the quality of these interactio ns. Moreover, by helping entrepreneurs expand their personal networks, soci al skills may also contribute to their social capital. Because social skill s can readily be enhanced through appropriate training entrepreneurs who ta ke advantage of such opportunities may reap important benefits.