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revenues, maximize assets, acquire capital, and successfully complete other tasks inherent to running a business. APA citation: Kaplan, A.S. (2020). Climbing the ladder to CEO Part II: Leadership and business acumen. Physician Leadership Journal, 7 (3), 50–52. https://www.proquest. com/scholarly-journals/climbing-ladder-ceo-part-ii-leadership-business/ docview/2655181022/se-2 The Impact of Business Acumen and Startup Skills on Entrepreneurial Development Lifuo Makhele and Brian Barnard Summary: A business' performance is influenced by multiple variables such as the entrepreneur's characteristics, behavior, and other environmental influences. However, the literature allocates minimal focus on the basics of entrepreneurship such as business acumen and start-up skills. The paper examines the impact of business acumen and startup skills on entrepreneurial development and success by exploring how much of business acumen is required to effect success and how entrepreneurs can develop business acumen. Furthermore, the paper explores the factors that influence start-up skills and how entrepreneurs can develop start-up skills. Entrepreneurs from various industries with more than 2 years of entrepreneurial experience were studied. A qualitative research approach was utilized for this study. Open-ended questions were constructed and interviews were carried out with experienced entrepreneurs. Although business acumen is perceived as a basic skill, this study discovered that entrepreneurs face challenges during the start-up phase that are attributed to lack of or poor business acumen. Poor market intelligence, financial management, and business administration leading to less or no profit generation are some of the challenges entrepreneurs face. This study further identified that entrepreneurs need a sufficient level of business acumen for their businesses to be successful, and that it may take up to a period of 5 years for one to acquire adequate levels of business
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Defense ARJ , Spring 2025, Vol. 32 No. 1
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