Tag Archives: Enterprise

Blog, Enterprise Education, Entrepreneurship Theory, Inclusive Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship – In Context

Enterprise and entrepreneurship is a key driver in economic growth and can be a huge part of the solution to unemployment. Its impact also affects the whole of civilization because of the advancement in innovation technology as well as the creation of jobs that in consequence reduce poverty, according to Ernst and Young’s (2011).

“Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with less than 250 employees make up two-thirds of total employment in OECD countries. The European Commission showed in its SME Performance Review that the number of jobs in SMEs had increased at an average annual rate of 1.9%, while the number of jobs in larger enterprises increased by only 0.8% between 2002 and 2008” Ernst and Young (2011).

Ideally, governments should take an all-inclusive approach, which promotes the strengthening of the entire entrepreneurship environment. However, doing this first requires accurately measuring the multi-layered phenomenon that is entrepreneurship, as well as understanding the impact of a host of different factors on the level of entrepreneurship in a country. “These include the quality of the physical infrastructure, the health of the population, the level of education, the pace of adoption of new technologies and many other macro and micro factors” Ernst and Young (2011).

Therefore, is it essential that a ‘framework’ that can measure entrepreneurship accurately whilst analysing KPI’s (key performance indicators).

Among the key findings in Ernst and Young’s (2011) report:

1. Self-confidence is key
Our overall analysis provides a clear overview of where the G20 member countries stand with respect to fostering entrepreneurship. Combining two of our key findings — entrepreneurs’ confidence in their own country, and new business density

2. Entrepreneurship culture
The culture of a country can affect entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship on many levels. Our perceptions survey was central to our analysis of whether the culture of a country is conducive to Entrepreneurship.

3. Education and training
We go beyond looking at the overall performance of the educational system, to take a closer look at entrepreneurship specific education and assess how important this is for encouraging entrepreneurship.

4. Access to funding
Securing access to funding, both at the start-up phase and at later stages of enterprise development, is one of the biggest challenges for young entrepreneurs. We analyze the experiences of entrepreneurs in accessing funding across the G20 countries, and find some dramatic differences and valuable lessons.

5. Regulation and taxation
The regulatory and taxation environment is one of the areas in which governments have a key role in providing an enabling environment for entrepreneurial growth.

6. Coordinated support
There are typically a number of different agencies involved in facilitating and supporting entrepreneurship within a country. The level of support these agencies provide — and the extent to which they coordinate with one another — can make a crucial difference to the entrepreneurship Environment.

This increasing entrepreneurship and recognition of small enterprises in the health of the economy is also highlighted in recent reports.

According to the UK National Statistics (Nation. Stats 2012), the actual increase in the total business population between the start of 2011 and the start of 2012 will lie between 200,000 (4.4 per cent) and 253,000 (5.6 per cent).

The 4.8 million private sector businesses employed an estimated 23.9 million people, and had an estimated combined annual turnover of £3,100 billion.

The majority (62.7 per cent) of private sector businesses were sole proprietorships, 28.0 per cent were companies and 9.3 per cent were partnerships. At the start of 2012, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)3 accounted for 99.9 per cent of all private sector businesses, representing no change since 2011 and almost unchanged since 2000. SMEs also accounted for 59.1 per cent of private sector employment and 48.8 per cent of private sector turnover at the start of 2012.

For (Heseltine 2012), the prize is potentially huge. There are about 3.6 million self-employed people and sole traders in the UK, and 1.2 million businesses with at least one employee. That is 4.8 million in total. It is a fact, often noted, that if just one in 10 of these businesses took on an employee, or an additional employee, that would increase employment by 480,000.

In (Young 2012), it is estimated that if the UK had the same rate of entrepreneurship as the US, there would be approximately 900,000 additional businesses in the UK and that’s the real context for our stakeholders.

Blog, Enterprise Education, Skills Development

Experience , Employability, Enterprise

Having worked with a number of universities over the last five years, the motivation for providing any sort of entrepreneurial development is coming down to three core KPIs.

When we consider the student within a university, they seek these three important indicators.

Experience

This aspect some years ago was the key reputation of the university. Now its about the enjoyment provided by the student’s union and the quality of the lecturing staff in providing an educational service. When you analysis the recent survey, the clear winners are those regional city universities which have professional on campus student services. The bottom of the table are those in major cities whose can not compete with the volume of other activities which the city offers.

However, the table shows interesting deviations which when you compare with enterprise support at that university. For an increasing number of students the size of the student bar or the availability of a 24/7 hockey pitch are not on their radar.

Employability

The curriculum and the offered courses are sliding against the sledge hammer of change to accommodate the holy grail of employability and the consequential Destination of Leavers survey. Promoting and recruiting students which have less than a 50% chance of employability is an impossible task for the majority of universities.

So embedding the opportunities to engage with business, gain valued experience and create a dialogue with employers which seek your students has to start, as always at fresher week and progress to the milk round and end with the much valued but of of reach alumni.

Enterprise

Everyone who goes to university should work in an enterprise. It may be government, social, charity, self employment, startup, SME or even a FTSE 250. In every case our students should know where they provide the value, which pays them their wages. Around this concept we develop our students with enterprise awareness and skills.

I was listening to BIS minster who stated when Warwick University started their business school and student and staff tried to stop this, stating that universities and business should be separate.

  • Education and Business should always be aligned.
  • Research and Business should not always be aligned.

Enterprise in education should accommodate the student requirements to service their desire to fulfill their career ambitions.This may be to work in business, government, freelancing or starting a business. Every single one of them should be entrepreneurial in their outlook to ensure they seek the opportunities available to them and the country.

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Virtual Enterprise saves Christmas

Virtual Enterprise saves Christmas

When I read the news that online retail is the winner for Christmas 2012

“According to research from e-commerce software company ChannelAdvisor, eBay sales were up 36.6 per cent year-on-year on Christmas Day 2012, while Amazon UK sales increased by 27.7 per cent.

On Boxing Day, eBay saw sales rise by 49.3 per cent year-on-year and Amazon recorded an increase of 44.7 per cent.”

I come to the following conclusions,

The small retailer won in 2012 with the small virtual companies in the UK wining over the larger stores. So Tesco increased by 18% and ebay sales by 36.6%.

“Tesco : Online sales increased 18 per cent driven by multichannel initiatives such as click and collect and grocery ‘drive thru’ that lets customers order online and pick up shopping from the local store at a chosen time.“

The high street has become an leisure experience centre, where buying is just one small aspect, an not the most important one. The first reason to go into the high street during Christmas was to see the lights, have some mulled wine with friends and family.

The small virtual businesses in the UK is more efficient than any physical shop.

  • They don’t have fixed overheads, which those cementing their business on the high street do. The high street provide little or no flexibility for a business.  Those providing leases (pension funds and equity) want too much and base their revenue on increased property value.
  • They don’t pay massive business rates which are just another tax on property and makes the high street a none starter for the majority of business.
  • They don’t have to pay business electricity, gas and high insurance for a high street property.
  • They don’t’ worry about security or riots which occurred in the UK a few years ago. Ebay and Amazon look after all the security.
  • They have a worldwide market, which ensures you have a global reach and not just your local town.

They are on trend and therefore it’s a good time to start a business selling your products and services in 2013.  Take a look at http://virtualent.co.uk/ which is a conference for those considering or have started a virtual business.

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Why are Mexicans richer than British Entrepreneurs?

I was looking through the Forbe’s rich list (http://www.forbes.com/billionaires/list/) and noticed a few trends.

The first is that the majority of richest people in the world are self made entrepreneurs.

1. Carlos Slim Helu
2. Bill Gates
3. Warren Buffet

In fact the list is split into new world and old world wealth, the majority of the successful self made entrepreneurs are based in the new world. This is because the majority of the growth in the world, the majority of the worlds population is in the developing world. Its also easy to start a business, no tax, red tape or health and safety to learn, manage and report on a monthly basis.

However, its doesn’t stop you starting a business in the UK which sells into these markets.

The second point is that Carlos Slim Helu, a mexican can become richer than any British person. The richest British person is at number 78 which is Gerald Cavendish with $11b. Forbe’s write about him “The sixth Duke of Westminster, Gerald Grosvenor, remains the U.K.’s wealthiest landowner, with his fortune increasing this year along with the property market in London.”

So the richest person in the UK is not a self made entrepreneur, its old money which is inherited, in fact old world wealth based on the value of land and property in London.

So during 2013, I am going to find out…

So why don’t we have more entrepreneurs?

Have we lost our entrepreneurial spirit?

Have we become happy to earn the minimum wage?

Have we all been educated past starting our own business?

Have we made it too difficult to do?

Do we know how to run a service business

Blog, Enterprise Education, Skills Development

Little is more in Enterprise Support

When you are starting a business the more help and support you get the better, you would expect so.

However, after some years of helping and supporting startups, I am starting to see this is not always the case.

I guess its the difference between support and Intervention. To support someone, especially with mentoring and signposting which allows the person to find their way (with a little more direction) and   learn the skills and network required to manage their business is the right thing to do.

Its when the support becomes intervention that when the entrepreneur stops being the person in control and the support organisation does. This is when you have to do 50 hours doing this, sign all these forms and the process you will follow to make your business  is this.

This is wrong!

Everyone learns to be a entrepreneur differently, because they HAVE to be learn to be an entrepreneur, to solve problems, to look at the world in a new light of opportunities.

The problem these organisations have is that governments like a controlled process. They provide contracts to build bridges, its take some many weeks and will cost some much money. However, stating we can make some many businesses in so many weeks is not such a quantifiable statement. The process of starting a business normally starts many years before the person makes this statement. It may start with Dragon’s Den or The Apprentice in 10 grade. So the only thing you are really doing is counting those who have already spent many years deliberating this step.

The best entrepreneur support organisations do only ONE thing, they create an amazing network of people who all benefit from being part of it. This is because:

  1. Co-founders can be found in your network
  2. Mentoring can be found in your network
  3. Resources can be found in your network
  4. Funding can be found in your network

So before you start out in 2013, ensure you have the support network around you.