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Your EnterQuest Bulletin - Issue 372
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| Thought for the week: "Everybody is ignorant only on different subjects." Will Rogers |
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In this week's issue:
What's an entrepreneur?
In this week's Sunday Times business supplement there is a fascinating article which asks the question "Are entrepreneurs born or made" - with the various contributors to the article having different opinions about this. One suggests that entrepreneurship is down to luck, another saying that it can be taught, and another (himself an entrepreneur) believes entrepreneurs are born.
Our own view is that defining 'entrepreneurship' is something of an academic exercise because being successful in enterprise needs people to know how to run a business as much as it needs people who are entrepreneurs.
In fact, many successful entrepreneurs never start up or run their own enterprise in their entire life...they are just entrepreneurial and enterprising, and this is what sets them apart in whatever their chosen career is. Think artists, musicians, research scientists and surgeons, where you will find examples of some very entrepreneurial people who are pioneers and trailblazers, instinctive and creative, and definitely entrepreneurial - but not necessarily in business - or with any business acumen at all.
And many entrepreneurial people start up in business - often several times - and end up failing every time. Not because they aren't entrepreneurial enough, but because they don't know how to run a business.
Now here's our definition, for what it's worth.
An entrepreneur is a daring, instinctive and imaginative individual who sees things that other people don't, is capable of solving problems quickly,...and who has learned how to run a business properly.
OK, this may or may not add anything useful to the debate, and it's just our opinion. But an opinion based on around twenty years of working with business start ups (and failures) and business owners and observing what makes people more (or less) entrepreneurial than others.
In fact it could be argued that it's unhelpful and maybe even dangerous to 'pigeon-hole' entrepreneurs, in an attempt to encourage more people to start a business. The early mortality rate in new business start ups is already too high - a consistent fact that has never changed over twenty years. Encouraging more of the wrong people to start up will simply add to the failure rate.
But where this exercise may be more helpful is in identifying people who should not start in business at all - or at least not yet if they aren't ready. Identifying the key factors, skills and ingredients which are lacking or missing before someone starts up can help to put some of the vital nuts and bolts in place, which will increase the chances of survival and dramatically cut the failure rate.
In some ways it's true to say that entrepreneurs are born, with enterprising and inquisitive characteristics ingrained in their DNA. But in other people these traits are missing and it's difficult to teach them when they are just not in their genetic make up. In the same way that you can't teach some people to paint, to play the piano, or to swim to any great effect (if at all) - there are others who don't need to be taught at all, other than in helping them to excel and become among the very best at what they do.
On the other hand its also true that entrepreneurs can be 'partly-made' and trained in some aspects of entrepreneurship and enterprise, especially in how to run a business effectively, ethically and legally.
The key point in all of this, however, is in understanding that the business owner who is going to succeed, needs a combination of entrepreneurial traits, business management skills (especially financial) and the technical ability needed to deliver what their business supplies in its market - whether a bookkeeper, chef, carpenter, interpreter, website designer etc.
It is a rare beast who has all of these ingredients in the right combination, and in most successful businesses that combination is either blended amongst the partners and other team members of the business, or the missing skills are bought in from the outside - such as from an accountant, consultant/coach/mentor, or other specialist adviser.
There are many traits and characteristics which entrepreneurial people tend to possess (or have learnt) and which generally make them better at running their business - too many to mention in this short article. Here are a few examples:
1) They are incurably curious. They look under the rocks and behind the trees where no-one else would look and find things that others don't.
2) They don't suffer fools. They are very quick at spotting time-wasting or crap employees and quickly weeding them out - maximising the time they have to run their business productively without distraction.
3) They avoid self admiration. Believing and admiring their own unrealistic, over-inflated sales targets and over-ambitious forecasts is a serious flaw in many business owners who are not true entrepreneurs.
4) They push their customers...but not too hard. They understand the difference between selling by persuading rather than selling by pressure.
5) They can see round corners. True entrepreneurs have an uncanny knack of seeing, predicting or knowing what's coming next.
Entrepreneurial individuals can instinctively spot the hidden traps and dead-ends, as well as the opportunities and profitable avenues that most others in business never seem to see. In other words their educated, measured guess will be right more times than it is wrong. Being in the right place at the right time is one thing, but recognising when you are there at the time is another thing altogether.
There's very little luck involved, its more about being confident, well-informed, well-advised and having that daring streak.
How many of these entrepreneurial traits do you recognise in yourself?
To comment on this article please click here to have your say.
You can view comments made by EnterQuest readers on last week's article 'Must haves' for small business support.
Each week we provide you with summaries of some popular or emerging business ideas in the UK and elsewhere around the world.
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A London-based firm, Rethink Games, has developed a board game that encourages players to consider how to make everyday objects and services more environmentally friendly.
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Posh Swaps.com is a clothes-swapping website for women, men and children, featuring everything from vintage and designer to customised and re-worked or re-fashioned clothing. There's also a buy and sell section on the site.
Free eBay app for the BlackBerry
This handy app allows BlackBerry users to bid for or watch items on eBay. It's useful for eBay traders or anyone sourcing equipment from the popular auction site.
Alternative web authoring software
This free web authoring software from KompoZer can be used as an alternative to big-name, expensive brands. Its 'what you see is what you get' functionality means it can be used by those who aren't tech-savvy but still want to create a professional-looking website on their own.
Queen of Shops launches retail master classes
Retail guru and reality TV star Mary Portas has launched a series of master classes on running a successful retail business. The Mary Portas Guide to Successful Retailing covers seven areas including retail finance, business planning, marketing and visual merchandising. The master classes are available through the National Skills Academy for Retail's skills shops.
Text replacement software
Users who work on repetitive text, such as SEO ads, or spend hours typing at the computer can save time by using this software. ShortKeys is a text replacement software package that creates shortcuts for words, phrases or paragraphs that are used repeatedly. So instead of typing the same thing over and over again, the user types a couple of letters and ShortKeys does the rest.
Here's our weekly look at some unusual, daft and often ridiculous business ideas, products and news.
Win Actinic Catalog New Release v10
EnterQuest has teamed up with the producers of Actinic Catalog to offer readers the chance to win a copy of Actinic Catalog version 10.
Actinic Catalog is a complete e-commerce package for small and medium-sized businesses. The latest version provides all the e-commerce features and design flexibility you need to build and manage your own web-based retail business.
To be in with a chance of winning this great prize, just answer the following question.
Q: Who has launched a series of retail master classes?
a) Mary Portas
b) Mary Quant
E-mail your answer, together with your name, address and daytime phone number, using 'Actinic Competition' in the subject line, to enterquest@cobwebinfo.com.
All entries must be received by 31 July. Full competition rules are available on request.
Claim Three Business-Building Reports Worth £90
Visit the link below to claim over 75 pages of FREE content, plus details of my Maverick Marketing Newsletter: fortnightly advice on practical client attraction strategies you can apply and profit from.
www.maverickmarketingconsultancy.co.uk/newsletter.htm |
To promote your products or services in EnterQuest Classifieds,
call us on (0191) 461 8000 or e-mail enterquest@cobwebinfo.com.
Also from EnterQuest's publisher
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The UK Small Business Marketing Bible contains hundreds of tips and tactics for boosting your sales using proven marketing strategies that work no matter what product or service you sell. |
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Good luck
The EnterQuest Team
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