All entrepreneurs need leadership skills in order to succeed. Entrepreneurs have a vision for something that doesn’t exist, and they are responsible for making it a reality. Building something from nothing requires persuasion, organization and leadership.

Here are are few non-negotiable leadership skills that all entrepreneurs must have if they want to rally people for their cause.

Vision

Without vision, no one will want to follow you. In many cases, you are asking people to give their time, their money, and their resources. No one will want to do that for a leader with no vision.

This is especially true for an entrepreneur, especially in the beginning. You are basing your “ask” on a vision that has yet to come to pass. That takes an inspiring vision of a preferred future and the ability to communicate it to others.

Service

Many entrepreneurs don’t have much to offer others at first. They usually barely have a minimal viable product or service. They don’t have much money to offer potential employees or contractors.

What they do have is time and energy. Where you choose to focus that time and energy is where you’ll get your ultimate return in the end.

If you spend time and energy on serving others, adding value to everyone around you, and filling the real needs of your customers, it will go a long way to make up for all of the scarcity in every other area of your business.

Self-Awareness

Research is starting to prove more and more that one of the main qualities of successful people is self-awareness. People who aren’t aware of their own strengths and weaknesses can’t move forward much in life.

Every time people who aren’t self-aware attempt to progress in life they are sabotaged by their own blind-spots. They get in their own way.

The best way to look for blind-spots is to ask someone else about your weaknesses. Often people are blind to these traits, which is why they’re normally referred to as blind-spots.  Encourage honest feedback from others, and use this feedback to grow in your professional and personal skills.

These qualities are basic leadership skills all entrepreneurs need to posses. Without gaining these skills you will constantly hit a wall when trying to get your vision off the ground.