By Deborah Meaden, 2009, Published by Random House Business Books
http://www.deborahmeaden.com/
1. What makes an entrepreneur?
The aspiring entrepreneur
– seek out opportunity and seize it, spent time wisely (just get on the task vs. compare), nothing is impossible, enjoy yourself
– similar mindset => ask questions, anticipate challenge, deal with inevitable setbacks & disappointment, never stop learning from own success and failures
– It’s not where you come from, it’s where you are heading?
– Passion, focus an insatiable desire to succeed
– Quick minded and bright – think on your feet & work under pressure – crisis, business leader can’t say ‘I need to retire to the corner for 1-2 hrs’, got to kicked into action immediately – ‘what to do’, ‘how do I fix this?’
– Confidence attracts – can be sense and Self-belief
– Commitment = takes lots of time and energy { family, close friends} , also dun give 110% cannot sustain, go 80% and 20% keep for crisis
– Loss Averse – hating to lose
– take calculated risk (during cool-head moments) – do not gamble, ‘You will be able to follow your dream, just not today’
– Be realistic
– When one door close the other opens
2. What makes a great idea?
Turning great ideas into great business
3. What makes people invest?
Tracking down the investment you need
– Consider the business reason for going in with friends and family
– Only purse an investment that is right for you
– Pitches don’t need to be perfect, just credible
– Never say ‘ I am the idea person, not a number person’, it’s just not enough to be asking for someone else’s money while you are making such claims
– Entrepreneur only really have to remember a few figures – turnover, profit& cash flow
– Difficult to value business – formula too simplistic, look for market evidence
– Every day is a new challenge
4. How do you turn your great idea into a great business?
The all-important start-up phase
– Business valuation should be realistic
– Accept responsibility
o Start-up phase of business venture is rather like having a baby – dependent
o Founder need to stay ahead else it suffer
o How will the business stand on its own feet? Besides getting started – they think short-term and about what happen in 5 years and not the journey in between
o Upon Securing an investment - don’t relax completely – success is not assured and achieved by careful application. Hard work does not stop upon securing funds and certainly not once first product has been built.
– The devil is in the details – somebody has to worry about the little things to stop them turning into big things
o System & process --- till delivery
o Soft launch vs Big Bang – bad publicity
– Get the business covered
– Don’t get hung up on name or status
– Always be honest with an investor
o If something not right, pick up the phone, set out what is wrong and let’s find a way to fix it. Don’t just fire off a series of email and delay for a few hours
o Communicate rather than correspond
o Protect the business by communicating effectively from the start
5. What about buying a business or running a franchise?
Alternative ways to start your own business – or turn someone else’s around
– Get the facts fast and keep the pace up – time does kill deals => make your mind and execute
o Start-up fail undercapitalize – misjudge how much $ they actually need or unable to raise adequate $
– What’s in for you ? Don’t go into business for the wrong reasons. Passion for cooking is not good enough to be a restaurant owner – its complicated involve dealing with peple, supplier, negotiation and more
– When you buy other business you need to know
o where you can make the change
o How long will it take and how much to see profits
– Identify the strengths – and build on them
o Be willing to hear from your stuff- ideas, especially new owners – six months to prove themselves
– Give the key people a reason to stay
– If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it (passive). A new business should constantly look to move things forward and check out things around the corner. Surely the appropriate strategy is to keep ahead of events. A company cannot simply wait for things to happen to the business and react when it is very often too late to do anything about it
6. Running the show
Leading the way
– Know when to spend time on and when to spend it
o Every business have key indicators = dashboard
o 80% of the time drive the indicators, the rest day-to-day running of the business
o Discuss the same point endlessly and going around circles can cost a business $
o “Unforgiveable” to waste half an hour of everyone’s time to bring that person up to date – not prepared, ask them to leave, there was little point in them being there after all
o Meeting should be discipline – why are you there ? timing
– Cash will not just flow – it needs to be managed
o Have an idea if you are trading profitably – info to tweak margins, wage & pricing
– Set realistic goals, expect the unexpected, disaster planning & recovery plan
– don’t be over optimistic
– Never forget your goals - why you go into business the first place.
– Resist greenwashing – Go green and with quality solution and service
– Being ethical is not an indulgence
– Be proactive not Reactive. Company should be ahead of the game by judging the market and forecasting what will be important to its customers in future, and it should also take the temperature of what is making them tick right now. Consumer will always surprise – business got to responds quickly and effectively not standing still and ignoring the zeitgeist that is the real crime in business
7. Building your team
Managing a talented team
– Nobody works best alone
– Remember to listen – e.g. employee’s idea
o Staff think underpaid – taken advantage
o Staff think overpaid – worry will be found out and eliminated
o Targets based on performance – future of the business
– Adopt a zero tolerance approach to bullying – create a happy working environment – make staff feel special at same ensure customer not neglected
– Give space for people to make mistake. As long you win more you are on the right track
– When tough time comes you must meet them head-on
– Tackle employment changes fast
– Surround yourself with people smarted than you. Company leaders are not looking for a bunch of really clever people who can outwit them at every turn. They are looking for people who have particular strengths in a specific area. By all means, find people with talent who are smarter than you in their particular areas, but stay one step ahead by being smarter overall
8. Building your brand
Focusing on your brand
– Marketing on its own means nothing – without the product its nothing – main target market
– Build an effective online presence – buy the product, founder’ history customer don’t really bother
– Put yourself there
– All publicity is not good publicity
o That what customer what’s to know about the product not how product was in invented
o Timing is critical, ad for low-income families late in the month no use.
– Lunch is for wimps – putting people around a dinner table will always produce interesting results – used to social settings – common ground among diners. On contrary put them in a meeting room and that you are going to discuss next year budget – guard will be up, they will be watching what they
9. Building your sales
Maximizing sales
– Good salesman must understand consumer needs not themselves – sell fish
– Nothing sell itself – consumers must believe in the product
– Working hard all day is not enough to make a *successful* business. Doing everything themselves, from the bookkeeping to designing their own websites, does not mean everything is going to work out fine. It won’t. You have to be intelligent about the things you put effort into and sales should be one of the top priorities
– Value is the main consideration in pricing
? Business has more customers than it can handle physically – under pricing => unable to adequately serve all its customers
? Establish quickly what the market will take
? Should listen and adjust to the market
? Offer both low-cost and premium version of the product
? Establish brand then sub brands
– Get out there and Sell
– Sell them something they want and they will come back more
– Customer complaints are an opportunity, don’t let complaint escalate, proper logging
– Keep existing customers happy – a bird in the hand, well-worth to spend money on keeping hard-earned customers happy
– Make sure your website delivers – beware of copycats
– You can’t turn around a tanker with a speedboat charge => communicate to the organization quickly and get an instant reaction -> extra factor, should structure the communication lines to able to reach to all
10. What if I fail?
When times are tough
– Take the initiatives
o Wake up to the fact
o Having to do the unpleasant – reduce spending
– Communicate with your bank before trouble begins
– Get advise fast – not end up find a shoulder to cry on for comfort
– Know when to quit
o Spot the signs – smoke detector goes do something fast
o If it’s a good business and it has failed to introduce enough though there is a market for the product, or they have not changed or seen a change in the market, or they have failed to introduced enough products. There is no point struggling on believing that something from outside will ‘rescue’ the venture
– Take full responsibility and then move on
– Any can go wrong will go wrong
– Learn from your mistakes
11. When is it time to sell up?
Selling up and moving on
– Plan for the future
– Watch the market
– Always keep your price in mind
– Work out your cut-off point and stick it
– Finally move on
– Don’t lose sight of why you started the business – and why you are selling it
– Look after number one is selfish and short-sighted. A company founder should look after everyone who is involved in their business and on the outside. Then the business will look after them. Put your interest early ahead of business and its requirements particularly early days business can fail. It’s a symbiotic relationship. A person who makes sure that a business gets what it need will more than likely end up getting what they need out of it
12. Fundamental Questions to ask before you jump on board ....
1. Do I have the right personality?
2. Will I be able to deal with knock-backs?
3. Can I be honest all the time ?
4. Am I prepared to take risk ?
5. Is my vision string enough that I will be able to see it through even when the going get toughs?
6. Have I done enough research and do I know my market?
7. Am I prepared to plan carefully?
8. Can I adapt to changing circumstances?
9. Am I self-reliant ?
10. Do I know when to delegate ?
11. Am I able to communicate my ideas and message?
12. Am I prepared to sell, sell, sell?
13. Am I focusing on the right things?
14. Do I know where I am going?
