 As part of my research for my book The Natural Enterprise,
I had the chance this weekend to speak informally with a group of young people
(in their 20s and 30s) about whether they would ever consider starting
their own business. Most of them like the idea of doing so, but confess
to being afraid to do so, to the point most would never even seriously
consider it. Here are the ten reasons they gave for this, along with my
thoughts on how a Natural Enterprise could overcome these fears.
- Don't Have the Skills:
"I wouldn't know where to start. I took entrepreneurship in college,
but it was all about understanding financial statements and types of
loans. I've never even spoken to a successful entrepreneur." As the
chart at right shows, their are eight capacities that at least one
person on the team starting a new business needs to have, and sixteen
learnings, most of which are best acquired by visiting with and
speaking with entrepreneurs who are putting these skills into practice.
This is not rocket science, and it's a tragedy we aren't teaching it.
- Don't Have the Self-Confidence:
"I'd get discouraged too early in the process. It all sounds so
intimidating. You have to have nerves of steel and incredible courage
to take this on. I know some entrepreneurs, and I don't envy them." It
needn't be intimidating. This is mostly fear of the unknown, and the
lingering mythology of entrepreneurship that is perpetuated, alas,
because so many entrepreneurs keep making the same avoidable mistakes
over and over.
- Don't Have the Ideas:
"I'm not creative enough to come up with something novel. Entrepreneurs
have these great ideas, and even then it's not always enough to make a
new business work." Perception, not conception, is the key to
entrepreneurial success: Paying attention is far more important than
creativity. It's all about finding a need and filling it, not coming up
with an idea and then trying to find someone who might buy it.
- Don't Have the Money:
"If I had another ten grand, it would go to paying debts or meeting
other immediate needs, not investing in a risky new business. And I'm
not foolish enough to think anyone else would give me the money,
either." If you can fill an unmet need, there are several ways to
finance the business organically, drawing on the interest and
investment capital of suppliers, potential customers and business
partners, and people you know who are always looking for a way of
getting a better return than they can get in the bank.
- The Deck's Stacked Against Entrepreneurs:
"Big corporations have all the money, the subsidies from government,
the tax breaks, and the cash to intimidate, sue or buy out any
entrepreneur who challenges their dominance". There is some truth to
this, which is why the key to successful entrepreneurship is to find a
need that is not immediately or obviously big enough or profitable
enough to attract the attention of the dominant players in your
industry. This is what Clay Christensen calls Disruptive Innovation,
and entrepreneurs have the advantage of agility (and not having
shareholders demanding seven digit revenues from any new offering) that
makes them more adept that doing this than large corporations. This is
a great equalizer.
- Couldn't Handle the Failure:
"If I tried and failed as an entrepreneur, I think I'd be crushed. I'd
feel like a failure in life, it would probably affect my marriage and
my friendships and my reputation, and if I came to hate my day job I
wouldn't even be able to daydream about running my own business,
because I'd have already tried that and failed." A survey a few years
ago by Inc. Magazine found that only one factor correlated strongly
with entrepreneurial success: A previous entrepreneurial failure. This
is how you learn. If you avoid over-committing and learn how to "fail
fast and early", you can have the resilience to be a 'serial
entrepreneur', and be comfortable with the fact that no entrepreneur
succeeds in every undertaking.
- Don't Know the Process:
"I took some MBA courses, and they didn't teach me anything about how
to start or run your own business. Where do you learn this?" This is
the principal function that The Natural Enterprise
will serve. But while the book will lay out the process, applying it
depends on the nature of the enterprise you are undertaking. Learning
how to apply it comes from spending time with other entrepreneurs, and
drawing on the experience and knowledge of your business partners, and
advisers. Most people love to see new enterprises succeed, and those
who can help are usually very generous with their time and counsel.
- Don't Have the Time:
"I'm working two jobs now just to make ends meet. If there were more
hours in the week I'd take a third one. How could I ever find the time
to start my own business?" The biggest time-consumer in starting a
successful Natural Enterprise is the up-front research. But that
research can be done while you're doing other things you're already
committed to. Social occasions, courses, shopping trips, sales calls,
dinners out, even watching your kids after-hours activities -- all of
these are opportunities to observe, explore and research untapped needs
that could be the basis for a successful entrepreneurial venture. Take
your time, do your research well, share the workload with your
entrepreneurial partners and you will then be so sure of success that
you'll be able to confidently make the time to bring your business idea
to fruition.
- Couldn't Handle the Stress:
"The entrepreneurs I know are in hock to the bank or to demanding
investors, their personal assets are at stake, their family depends on
them for steady income, and a single bad debt or overrun could sink
them. Life's too short for that much stress." Entrepreneurs who live
with that much daily stress (and there are a lot of them) are, in my
experience, mostly running ill-conceived business. I know many
entrepreneurs who absolutely love their work, are beholden to no one,
and are doing so well they can afford to turn away lots of business
(especially from aggravating customers) because they'd rather pursue
leisure activities than work long hours. If your business truly taps an
unmet need, you'll have good customers, and very little business stress.
- Couldn't Handle the Loneliness:
"The entrepreneurs I know are the loneliest people in the world. They
work incredible hours and have no time for anything else. They have to
learn how to do everything themselves, because they can't afford
experts and consultants." The biggest mistake a lot of people make in starting their own business is trying to do it all themselves. One-person enterprises have the highest rate of failure, largely because no one
can know everything you need to know, or have all the requisite skills,
to succeed in business. One of the most critical decisions in creating
a Natural Enterprise is finding business partners who have skills and
knowledge that complement (without overlapping) your own, who have the
same commitment to the idea that you do, and who you love working with.
Get that right, and how could you possibly be lonely?
I'm now
even more convinced that this book meets a serious need. My challenge
will be to get young prospective readers of the book to even look at it
-- their skepticism about the prospects for personal entrepreneurship
run that deep! |
MADE IN CANADA
trust your
instincts 
