Becoming An Entrepreneur
The idea of owning your own business sounds grand– and those who have successfully taken the leap will tell you it is – but the journey will be long, arduous and often lonely.
Although unwavering drive and self belief might be commonly held traits, entrepreneurs come from all walks of life.
"Some are very technically driven, ome quality driven and some sales driven," said Andrew Burton, chairman of the Yorkshire Association of Business Angels and managing director of seed capital investment management company Viking Fund Managers.
But there is an important distinction to be made between inventors and entrepreneurs - having a great idea for a product or business and then bringing it to market are two very different things. An entrepreneur must have the abilities required to commercialise a product or service, while owning the original idea is less relevant.
"Knowing if something is commercially viable – most entrepreneurs with passion will develop and build that need," said Neil Manaley, director at Barclays Wealth. "It's the tenacity – you don't know how to do it but you are going to do it anyway."
Dan Renton, Deloitte's director in entrepreneurial business for Yorkshire, added:"This does not make inventors redundant, but to succeed they may need to hook up with a true entrepreneur who can work with them to create a business."
The transition to business owner can be hard to get to grips with and although the nuts and bolts of running a business can be picked up along the journey, knowing you have someone to turn to for support can be invaluable.
Nick Glynne is managing director of £100m turnover online retailer Buy It Direct. He started his business in 2000 when he bought an IT repair shop in Huddersfield for £3,000.
He said: "If I did it again now, the business would be more strategic from the ground up. Then, I saw an opportunity and I did it. The business could have gone lots of different ways. It was a mix of instinct and opportunity."
Matt Henderson, director in transaction services for Deloitte in Yorkshire, said entrepreneurs need to maximise their networks of contacts. "Spend time mining that network - both in your industry and outwith, including advisers - to help find new opportunities to grow the business."
He also suggested it can be worthwhile forbusiness owners to take time away from things. ."Allow some time to look up from the day-today operations and focus on future strategic direction." he said.
Deloitte's Renton agreed that many young businesses and entrepreneurs fail to make the most of the advice available to them through advisers and professional networks.
'The business could have gone lots of different ways. It was a mix of instinct and opportunity.'
For the full article see www.thebusinessdesk.com
Article courtesy of Barclays Wealth, Deloitte & TheBusinessDesk.com
