Category Archives: Blog

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Apprentice: G is for Growth

In the last week I have read about three European G-countries, Germany, Greece and Great Britain and thought how would they do f they were teams on the Apprentice. These are three very different countries within the European Union having three very different experiences with the current economic opportunities. So lets have a bit of fun during this blog, and it’s just that.

So picture this: The third teams are lined up and told they have taken over a small business and this business needs to start growing by increasing their sales and revenue. The target is €7bn.

The teams then go off, brain storm, SWOT analysis and then run around phoning each other,..etc etc until they have to pitch.

The first to pitch to the customer is Great Britain, they first take the client sight seeing and act out some poetry by one of the worlds most famous authors. They show the customer around the birthplace of the author and create one of the best relationships with the client. Then it pitch time with the Project Manger takes centre stage, who then went on to tell the client how to do business, about business ethics and what is wrong with the client’s shop. The client provided €1.6bn in sales. These sales are good, but will not help the project manager develop the growth required in the business in the short term.

The second to pitch along the European high street is Germany and again did a little sight seeing but lower key. The pitch from the project manager is very powerful and business like, this time after some exchange of ideas and a common approach to long term development did €10.3bn in sales. This has placed this team on one of the best growth paths of any business and a sure winner. You would expect no one in this team to be going home this week.

The third country Greece is currently closed for business did not receive the customer. The project manager had a team meeting to agree to receive €270bn in investment without providing any equity. They also reduced the wages of everyone in the team, agreed to sell some assets and decided to make the other teams pay part of their earnings to them over the next 30 years. The customer is current looking at this team as an equity investment opportunity, when the team is ready to do business.

Then we move back into the boardroom to receive the feedback from the customer. Germany will be a long-term partner, customer and investment opportunity. Greece has developed an innovated yet unorthodox approach to business, however the customer believes there are long term opportunities. Then we come to Great Britain, the customer did not like their approach to business and thus the low sales, the pitch was heavy handed and the customer did not see a long term business future. Someone in this team will be out this week, the Project Manager has to decide who will be coming in with them to answer why this task went wrong.

In the words of Lord Alan “And then one of you will be going home.”

Blog

What makes a good entrepreneur? – Advantage

I often have to look at new businesses and see if it is ready to move to the next step, sometimes this is investment, sometimes it is getting the first customer and other times it may be ready to have a mentor. For each of these the critical element is “Is the entrepreneur making the most of their advantage?”

This advantage is diverse but it is important that as an entrepreneur you look inside and see what are your strengths and how can you maximise these in the world we live in. These strengths can always be developed with new skills and abilities. The next evaluation is the team you have in you business and what are their strengths. Then you should start looking at the business, its brand, its products, its location and the processes that you have developed. This provides a very powerful advantage that your business can project into the market to develop loyalty, awareness and revenue. This advantage is very important to understand and evaluate to ensure they are real.

This internal search for the core assets of your business, is the most important aspect of creating a deliverable vision based on your strengths, and not on your competitors. Many entrepreneurs see the world in a different way and therefore create new products, services and experiences which no other person have ever thought of. This need to generate a new solution drives their creativity to develop a new alternative future for man kind, they have vision.

If you want to see examples of this, then watch “Drangon’s Den” where the investors will only invest in businesses they understand how they can add value, how they can use their advantage to their strength. It’s not about the money, it all about their core strengths when choosing to invest. If we take a look at “The Apprentice” we see the challenges playing to the hosts advantage, when they were developing their business they had core advantage, like selling on products for a profile. Successful people understand their strengths and how much they are worth and how they can get the most out of what they have. So ask yourself this important question.

We don’t have all the resources in the work when we are developing our business and therefore resourcing is always an issue. However once you know what you are good at, the rest by definition must require some extra resources. This is always a major issue for young and inexperienced entrepreneurs as managing other people is normally out side their mind or skill set. Handling diverse people within a business is an issue as creative people are motivate in a different way to sales people. The one advantage you will always have is you are an entrepreneur who started the business, you have the drive, vision and strength to lead those in your business. This is your advantage, use it.

Blog, Inclusive Entrepreneurship

Sometimes Entrepreneurs have to look back to move forward

Over the last two years I have been very fortunate to engage with some of the most amazing people who are on an adventure, to boldly go into business…. taking their first entrepreneurial steps… starting their personal business brand.

These mostly young people are the future and their local community welcomes them which is very satisfying in this time of virtual worlds, social networking and globalisation. They are generate interest wherever they go.

The first thing I must emphasise is the diversity of ideas, the amazing breath of business diversity which people have. I know its obvious but it not every day you can sit with a forest management company, a tailor and a technology business. So I thought I would share just a few:

Forest Direct, a family run businesses that manage forests, developing relationships with real people, their land, the trees that live on them. Each part of this tri-relationship takes many years to foster as traditions and the cycle of the seasons is well established. New methods and technology provides opportunities, which has helped, www.Forestdirect.webs.com

Crowd source learning from dabbler, that aims to break down the barriers between those who have knowledge and those that need it, ensuring we can learn from the most inspirational person. The internet ensures a level playing field: education and our personal development in one site. www.dabblerr.com

Squid London, a dynamic and technology advanced design company which distributes via the world’s museums. Emma-Jayne Parkes and Viviane Jaeger the two co-founders are true inspiration in the development of a fashion label.  www.squidlondon.com

SaferMinicabs which is in the early stages of launch has looked at the problems of safely booking a mini cab and how this entire process can be safer using modern mobile phones, GPS and the internet.  www.saferminicabs.com

Suits that fits has developed an amazing innovative business model which ensure more people get a share and creates social good through tailoring. The innovation within their business model, processes and quality is truly amazing.  www.asuitthatfits.com

Graduate Junction started out around two years ago serving the post graduate community and quick built a very loyal and active following.  This year they launched Linkhigher, www.linkhigher.com which is meeting the demands of both the post-graduate and the employer, who want highly knowledgeable people, as shore winner.

I have also worked with many universities and see great sparks of enlighten entrepreneurship. These come from staff, students, student societies and the local community. Again I wanted to share some great examples:

Some of the course work done in universities is amazing and one of the best examples is from Brunel University, who create “250 Innovative Ideas: made in Brunel” each year. This beautiful book, which provides a snapshot of the work done in the student’s final year projects of engineering, design and multimedia students.  This demonstrates the true ability of our graduates and how Britain still leads the world in good design. http://madeinbrunel.com

My First Million which was developed at Hertford University is one of my favourite learning tools for young people. The student watches video from the Dragon’s Den and other TV shows, once they have seen this, they decide if they want to invest. Then they see if the Dragon’s did and if a computer sim would. This creates a great learning experience and also starts to make us all aware of the learning potential of TV. http://www.myfirstmillion.tv

Some projects at Universities are about the community and the understanding we all have. The University of Plymouth created a book called “We Love Looe” which is a great children’s book which engaged and informed about the local surroundings. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Love-Looe-You-Will-Too/dp/1841022500

I have also looked for a less complex model of what makes an Entrepreneur, something which can be easily presented, understood and allow the student to start on their journey. This was found at the University of Huddersfield, developed by, John Thompson and Bill Bolton. The Focus, Advantage, Creativity, Ego, Team and Social aspects of the entrepreneur or the FACETS model.  http://www.efacets.co.uk

I would like to thank you all for the inspiration and encourage you to keep the flame truly ignited in your entrepreneurial brand. In developing my next venture, I will take these learning’s with me.


Blog, Inclusive Entrepreneurship

The changing world provides us business opportunities

In the news recently Nokia and Mircosoft are teaming up. This is good news for both of these companies as they may now focus on what they both do best. One will make hardware which receives radio signals, which a person can use to communicate. The other will make an operating system which everyone can use. Surely a great day for the consumer, even though they have some development to do before we get our hands on the goods!

I can remember using my first mobile phone, it was a Motorola (1981) and you needed a motor vehicle to transport it. It was a carphone, you could even buy it in a special warehouse. Motorola really did dominate the first generation of mobile phones and no one, not even they expected ever to fail.

Then we moved to the second generation (GSM) and the Illinois based company just could not believe what was happening, even when their European executives told them. As with a lot of businesses they did not innovate fast enough, they did not see where the market was going and they just lost touch with their potential customers. They expected business as usual.

Nokia took over billion dollar market, they had better phones in terms of functionality and also in terms of diversity of style. The mobile phone became a consumer item, sold in supermarkets and everyone had a cupboard full of them at home.

Then we did the 3G thing, which cost a lot of money (in terms of licence bids and infrastructure). Whenever this happens companies become risk adverse and they try and control the business models, partners and also the consumer. The greedy operators were taxing everyone 50%, application, SMS and event the payment solution. The cosy manufacturer-operator-regulator friendship was working. Yes, the regulators all want to keep the status as it keeps them in a job too. So somthing had to change…

Then Apple and Google, who are always looking at markets in a fresh way, thought this has to stop. The internet has largely been free from regulations, so devised a plan to attack.  Providing us, the consumer with better handsets, services and business models.

As a business owner-entrepreneur you must understand that everything everyday changes. You have to both believe in the change and want the change. Be the master of change and feed from it. Just because you are doing well today, providing a great product, there is out there, somewhere in cyber space, someone looking at your business wanting part of the action.

Be faster at creating change than any other business!

Blog

What is your motive for starting a business?

I recently asked 256 entrepreneurs what their motive was for starting their businesses and found the greatest motive was independence with 31%. In second was money with 25%. These are very powerful drivers which can motivate someone to for many years, delivering results and further ambition. The motive for starting a business is so important in getting the business to launch and grow. So having a powerful motive can be as relevant today, tomorrow and for a long time into the future is important, as being an entrepreneur is all consuming, so much of the time.

Independence with 31% was the most popular choice. This motive is a fundamentally driver which we see in so many entrepreneurs. When it comes out in their personality, its arrogance, ego, self esteem and an amazing believe in their products. However, wanting to be independent of others, and make one owns way is so important to us as human being that it is not surprising it’s the main reason to starting a business.

Money came in second with 25% of the vote. Having a great number of celebrity entrepreneurs in the press we are seeing more young people see that this route is the one to both fame and riches. Yet very hard work is needed to achieve a successful business, even more work to keep it going and even more again to become amazing rich. So many of our glamorously famous entrepreneurs forget to mention years of hard and long hours which created their work ethos. Hard work will never be glamorous or fashionable but without it money will never be teaming up with you.

Create Opportunities with 17% of the vote came in third. These people are innovators and business minded individual who have seen opportunities in the market which they can fulfill. This is a growing trend as social enterprise and philanthropy grows especially in time of hard unemployment and low economic growth. I would expect this to be second within a few years, based on the young people I meet who are starting businesses.

Want to Make a Difference achieved 14% of the vote can be split into two areas: Make a social difference or making a difference to one’s own life.

A New Challenge came fifth with 13%. All entrepreneurs are looking for a new challenge and this group could not relate to the other four. Every entrepreneur faces a new challenge every day and building that into your personality is core to becoming a successful entrepreneur.

Starting out as an entrepreneur is deciding to take a path no one else has taken, each path is an individuals and therefore these motives are so important in maintaining this path and understanding your own reasons for continuing.  The strength to continue while everything is going wrong sets you aside from those who give up and from that day always keep looking back and wondering “What if?”  As a human being you may have only one life but as an entrepreneur you have a life time of opportunities to make your own success, whatever your motives.