Up-to-date digital skills for entrepreneurs

Even though the need and significance of digitalisation in business differ greatly between companies, no one can avoid updating their digital skills. During the coronavirus pandemic sales and marketing have moved increasingly to the internet. In addition, companies are expected to more comprehensively utilize automation and artificial intelligence to enhance and facilitate business processes.

It is not surprising that many small entrepreneurs have difficulties with improving their digital skills. Where big companies have sizeable resources to develop digital services or the possibility to outsource them, small entrepreneurs are solely responsible of all the development alongside the actual business. According to Finnish entrepreneurs, Finnish small and middle-sized companies take advantage of new technologies mostly in communications, marketing and advertising. Smart phones, remote connections and cloud services are used widely. In a digital barometer conducted by Finnish entrepreneurs and Elisa Oyj it turned out, that a large portion of small and middle-sized companies still have shortcomings when it comes to digital skills. Need for developing digital skills usually targets digital sales and marketing, which are also a momentous part of the need for change in the future.

An important explanatory factor in utilizing technology is a company owner’s attitude and interest towards digitality. At their best, functional digital solutions can add efficiency and grow the business. The problem is that all entrepreneurs do not necessarily realize the possibilities of digital services, in the perspective of company’s growth and development. According to Finnish entrepreneurs chief of education Mika Tuuliainen, many companies in success phase are satisfied with their position and simultaneously falling behind in many ways from the high pace of digitalization.

Even though the entrepreneur is solely responsible of upkeeping their digital skills, we have to remember that a busy small and middle-sized entrepreneur does not necessarily have the time and resources for extra development. Additionally, an organization is not taking care of the developing, but the responsibility falls solely to the entrepreneur. According to the entrepreneur barometer, the biggest challenge towards developing digital skills is the lack of time and finding the suitable way for developing. There are also entrepreneurs who experience the digital culture to be unfamiliar, and simply do not know where to start the developing.

Entrefox project will organise an online digital clinic event on  2 December. In the webinar entrepreneurs will get answers to the most popular questions posed by entrepreneurs and self-employed people who have filled in the registration form. The event is in English. To get the zoom link, please register here:

https://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/113621/lomakkeet.html

For our professionals from Digiapusi company to have time to prepare a reply to your specific question, please fill the sign-up form 25 November at the latest. Registration is open until 1 December.

Saara Vainio

Tytti Steel

 

Sources:

Kauppinen, Tatu. & Kivikoski, Jouni. Miten yritykseni voisi hyödyntää digitaalisuutta? Suomalaisten pk-yritysten digiosaaminen. Prior konsultonti Oy. https://www.yrittajat.fi/sites/default/files/suomalaisten_pk_yritysten_digitaalituus_2019_prior_konsultointi.pdf

Tuuliainen, Mika. 2017. Digiosaaminen kuntoon, osaavaa työvoimaa yrityksiin. Suomen yrittäjät, blogi-kirjoitus. https://www.yrittajat.fi/yrittajat/kuntavaalit-2017/a/blogit/aaniyrittajalle/digiosaaminen-kuntoon-osaavaa-tyovoimaa-yrityksiin