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Why be an Entrepreneur

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richard bransonLet me ask a question – why does anyone become an Entrepreneur?

Not so easy to answer is it?  There are probably many theories and scientific analysis you can do to work it out.  But I am not into all that stuff.  In my own view a person becomes an Entrepreneur because of several reasons; I intend to explore some of them here.

Firstly I suppose you could look at it and say that you have designed, developed and are manufacturing something completely new and want to have all the benefits for yourself instead of selling the idea on.  Also you want to make sure that you keep the Intellectual Property Rights and so you go down the Entrepreneur route.

Secondly it could be that you have been doing a job (career) for many years and have been made redundant and have identified that there is still a market for what you do and/or the market will tolerate the same number of players despite your employer giving up or pulling out.

Thirdly it could simply be that you are happier and more comfortable working for yourself. Instead of being an employee or in many companies a number on the payroll.

So let’s take my first point – you have designed, developed and are manufacturing this brand new gadget or whatever in your spare time and weekends.  You are selling it and it is not yet making money but sales are going well.  You decide to leave the comfort of your job and go out on your own.  SCARY STUFF BUT YOU BELIEVE IN YOUR PRODUCT.  You have everything in place and the manufacturing is on target.  You have only to make sure the funding keeps on coming and the selling is going slowly and you want more.  You will have to spend time on the Marketing and Selling because how else are you going to make money.  You cannot afford to employ a Marketing person but you know someone in your network who has that expertise.  You meet and come to an agreement on how to go forward.  Sales: not your area in the slightest!  You cannot afford to pay anyone, so what do you do?  Panic is not the answer.  You know once you have your web site working properly it will generate some sales but that will not be enough?

There are several options and most have been used for years.  You can visit potential retailers and make sure you have a good presentation to show and if possible a mock-up of the product or at least a prototype.  It would be sensible to visit no more than three a day as your anticipated meeting could last longer than expected.  Here in Ireland I would suggest spending two or three days in each of the four provinces, elsewhere it may be better to target specific areas to start with.  At the end of each presentation invite each of them to a venue to see the full working model of the product.  Be honest and say you are inviting everyone you visit to get their opinion and views on potential market penetration and to show them a full working version.  Your own market research will have shown you that you can and have good market penetration.

Make sure you get confirmation of who is attending and their company name.  Have name badges ready for when they arrive.  On the day of the formal demonstration, invite the press - local and national.  Get someone well known to act as master of ceremonies, even if it is a local sports person.  The day goes well and at the end of it you ask each of the attendees to complete a questionnaire and leave it in the box as they leave.  You may well be very surprised on the results you get and if nothing else it has promoted you and your business.

Taking my second point (which is how I started my business). You have been doing a job for a number of years and are made redundant.  You believe that there is space in the market for you along with the others in the same field.  You register your business and start to work for yourself.  Yes - I know it will be very tough.  Nobody said it wouldn’t be, but PLEASE make sure your partner is one hundred per cent behind you.  You do the marketing and use contacts you had previously.  You network like crazy and slowly work comes in.  You can also go through a Recruitment Agency for work in the early stages.  Yes there will be lean times but use them to network and always keep in touch with previous clients.  Use the lean times to organise and update your skills, look at diversification of the business into related areas.  Get highly involved with networking groups and write articles and put them up on your web site or even on facebook or twitter.  It will be surprising how simple advertising can help promote you.  If you belong to LinkedIn you can put up your top tips on subjects and I guarantee you will get responses.  I have done several and have had reactions.  Go to events that are related to what you do and it does not do any harm to go to events not totally related.  You never know where a client is going to come from.

I remember once going to the Ideal Homes Exhibition on a Saturday (in jeans and polo shirt) and I looked at a stand for very high quality handmade kitchens, I looked at the flyer and ended up talking to the owner for half an hour (my wife was standing beside me wondering what I was doing).  We exchanged business cards (always carry them with you) and several weeks after the event we met in my office and discussed what I could do for him.  He agreed for me to update his flyers and if the economic situation had not dramatically changed he would have become a client and I would have printed his Flyers on an as and when basis.

So I am saying the unlikeliest place to get a client may bring you a big surprise, so always be ready to talk to anyone.  You can never know where a client will come from, it is also worth asking clients to give you References or Recommendations for work you have done for them.  For some types of work a new client may ask for examples of what you have done and again it is always worth asking a client if it is possible.

It may sound odd, strange or even silly but make sure you know what you do.  What do I mean by this; well I mean the ability to be able to talk to people and know what you do.  Something I tell people a lot is that “a person will only listen for up to a minute”; so you have to be able to summarise what you do into a minute.  For some this is extremely difficult.  So what do you tell them?  Well your name and company name and your Core Services and how long you have been working for yourself and if you have time which you should have roughly how long you have been in the business; if you have time left tell them how you are improving your knowledge (if you are).  All that should take around a minute.  Give them enough so they can ask questions and always answer honestly and simply.

My third point may seem a strange one but many people do start to work for themselves for this reason.  It is fairly simple really you have been doing the same job for several companies and have become disillusioned and are fed up with the never ending company politics and back biting and rumours of all sorts.  You decide to leave and set up in competition to your employer.  Nothing wrong at all in that.  You will have quietly done your market research and may even have contacted a few potential clients.  You could be very surprised and find some of your previous employers clients may come to you for any number of reasons.  So the day arrives and you are now an Entrepreneur, you have the support of your family and they understand why you have made the move.  I will say now that much of what I have said in my first and second points is totally relevant for this scenario – so I will not repeat it but refer to previous paragraphs.

I have said in several sections that you need to put certain things in place before or just after you become an Entrepreneur and I suppose for clarity I should list them out so here goes and I will probably miss something and for that I apologise in advance.

You are now ready to go and just remember many large companies started this way so there is always hope and above all believe in yourself.  Just think you could be the next Henry Ford or Steve Jobs – they both started in sheds in their back gardens.

All I want to add is to anyone who is thinking of becoming an Entrepreneur DO IT.  It is so rewarding and satisfying and I know there will be tough times but the good does out – weigh the bad.  Have confidence in you and your abilities and have buckets of self - belief.