Business acumen is also called as business sense. It basically refers to a person’s understanding of a business situation and coming up with solutions for problems, looking for opportunities in challenges that are needed in running a business enterprise successfully.
Executive level thinking, financial literacy, business leadership and management are the key skills in ensuring that a business sustains its journey in the industry.
To explain Business acumen in the simplest manner, here is an example of a photo-selling shop.
A shopowner used to sell frames for photographs in a small city. His sales were low when he had launched the shop because he had restricted himself to only sell frames for the photographs that will be given by the customers.
Then in a period of some time, he decided to talk to his customers and people in the nearby localities to understand their needs.
He collected information from his primary research that people living there nearby mostly were looking for a shop where they can click photographs and also be made that into albums, videos, photoframes, etc.
They were looking for advanced options and hence, they preferred going to a shop nearby the station than visiting his shop to just make the frame, which was only a limited opportunity for them.
Thus, he decided to expand his business with the ideas that he gained. He hired a local photographer and rebranded his shop to a studio, thus attracting more customers to his business and increasing sales, leading to profits and a sustainable business model.
The reason the shopowner was able to come up with solutions is because of his business sense to understand why his business was not performing well in the initial stage. Thus, having the right business acumen is vital for the success of the business or venture.
By Sahana Iyer
