An inspiring business woman

I attended the Lismore Business Women's network breakfast last week.The guest speaker was Amelia Ahern-owner and manager of PowerMax Computers, Lismore. Amelia shared her experiences of starting and growing a business.I was impressed with her approach- one that can be applied in all settings. Key points noted included a very strong focus on customer service. She obviously cares for her paying customers as well as her in house customers-her staff!! Amelia offers additional products such as computer training and  newsletters .To her staff ,she offers support for training and development, regular catch ups so they know how they are performing as well as the opportunity  to give her feedback on her performance as a boss-A very sound approach- yet sadly lacking in many businesses. Amelia has made an effort to understand all aspects of the business-her original skills were in book keeping and administration yet she has undertaken technical training so she can be as helpful as possible to her customers.She plans her time to ensure work life balance and is looking to fully document all the processes of the business-should she want to sell it-all in all an impressive story and one that illustrates the importance of both soft skills-people and self management as well as hard-technical skills/administrative management.Oh and she also uses a business coach!!What do other readers think are key skills in running a business?