Category Entrepreneur

Entries 99 Total

Mirror Mirror on the wall…’tis the season to reflect

Dec 6, ’11 12:00 PM
Author Lorraine Allman Categories Business Checklists, Business Ideas, Business Startup, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneur, Micro Business, Self-employed, Small Business / SOHO, Small Business / SOHO

I have often been quoted as saying you need more than just a good idea to get a business off the ground.  I’m sure over the festive season many people taking a rest from work will be hearing the cogs whizzing as they take some time out to ponder on a new business idea, and wondering if 2012 will be the year it all takes off.

I read an interesting and slightly amusing article the other day written by Jason Hesse concerning where entrepreneurs get their ‘big ideas’ from. A survey showed nearly half of British entrepreneurs come up with their business idea in bed, so I have a feeling over Christmas many new business ideas will be born for those fortunate enough to have a lie in or two.

Now I don’t want to be accused of “Bah, Humbug!” so I’m not going to start listing all the things required to accompany these ‘big ideas’ and spoil your ‘Eureka!’ moment. Instead, my advice is to go and talk to those people already in business. They will tell you the reality about what’s required not only to get your business idea off the ground but to survive and thrive.

If you’re one of those businesses up and running, then you’ll know how important it is to take time to work ‘on’ your business, reflecting on what’s going well and areas of the business (and yourself) you need to prioritise to make 2012 a better year.

Here are some areas to focus and reflect on:

Business Plans – What were your plans for 2011 – did you achieve/exceed them? What made a difference? What are your plans for 2012 – will you achieve them on your own or would some collaboration/partners/employees help?

Market trends – What’s happening in your target market? Future trends? Are your target groups changing? Where will they be spending their time/money in 2012?

Competitors – What are they doing? How are they doing it? New competitors on the horizon?

Accounting systems – Are they working for you, could they be improved? Are they effective in helping you manage/predict cash flow?

Mentoring/Coaching – how are you developing yourself as well as your business? Are there skills you’re going to need for future plans? Who do you talk business with?

I’m sure there are other areas specific to your business, but this is a start. Talking of start, everything detailed above is also relevant to those of you dreaming up those big ideas in bed this month too (so I guess I did manage to sneak a list in!). There is plenty to be thinking about.

Whether you’re spending Christmas in bed dreaming up your new business, or sat at the computer on Boxing Day trying to work out the online self-assessment system, have a wonderful time and don’t forget when your mirror asks the question “Who is the greatest of them all?” you know the answer!

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The Best Biz Mentors Can Be A Tad Crazy

Nov 23, ’11 2:30 PM
Author Tony Robinson OBE Categories Business Ideas, Business Mentoring, Business Startup, Business Trends, Entrepreneur, Getting Things Done, Home Business, Micro Business, MumEntrepreneur, News, Personal Business, SOHO/SMB/SME/Micro, Self-employed, Sole-Trader, Start-Up, be successful, grow your business, start-up in business

My Dad

I reckon my first business mentor was my Dad. He started his own business, working from home, because, like many people I know, it was the best way of earning a living. His health was very poor so he had to pack in his job. In the five years between me being 13 and 18, when he died, he built a very big business. It was always a micro business, like 95% of the businesses today in the UK.

It became big in income but never had more than six employees. It was a sales agency in the wooden box and pallets industry. Many years later, when I started my own business, I realised that nearly everything useful that I’d learned about enterprise had come from my Dad as my business mentor.

He was an unlikely ace business mentor. My Dad left school at 14, picked everything up as he’d gone along, and was a complete eccentric, a showman and a storyteller who instinctively turned anything formal into a party. At football, Hull City, he had a seat just behind the Directors’ box so that he could hurl abuse and one-liners at them from start to finish. I wouldn’t sit with him.

Corporate Crackers

The point is that what I’d learned in Senior Management, even Managing Director, at two major American multinationals didn’t help me much in my own business. This was despite having received the very best business training and completed two Post Graduate Diplomas in HR Management and Business Administration. All this was next to useless in my own micro business as against the valuable help I gained from my mentors.

My business partner of twenty five years, Clare, felt the same thing. She hadn’t realised it at the time but her corporate jobs and training hadn’t prepared her for running her own business but what she’d learned from her Dad, who had his own property business, was invaluable.

No surprise then that we decided to have a mentor, another micro business owner, for our first couple of years in business. We gave him our corporate contacts and in return he asked us wise questions which stopped us doing many of the foolish things we were about to do. No money exchanged hands although a heck of a lot of money went behind the bar during our, frequently scheduled, mentoring sessions.

Sitting or Standing Up Mentors?

One of the many theories I have, which perversely academic research and government policy has yet to pick up on, is that if you’ve got a primarily ‘standing up’ business you’re best to have a mentor that has a ‘standing up’ business too. ‘Standing up’ businesses would include most building trades, cafes, shops, blues bands, chocolate makers, ice cream makers and micro-breweries.

Similarly if you’re in a ‘sitting down in an office’ type business then choose ‘a sitting down in an office’ type mentor. I’m definitely not saying only get a mentor from a similar trade or industry, only government and BigBiz think in sectors, but do get someone who really understands what you have to do each day.

Oh and beware of men in suits if you’ve got a ‘standing up’ business’ or you’re a woman. I’m sure there are exceptions to these rules of mine for choosing a mentor but there won’t be many.

Sir Jimmy Fixed It for Us Every Day

Wrestler, DJ, marathon runner, TV presenter, volunteer hospital porter and the greatest charity fund raiser of all time, Sir Jimmy Savile, died recently. He was buried in Scarborough, where I live. Thousands turned out to acknowledge his real achievements for the people of Britain both at his service in Leeds and his burial in Scarborough. He was truly a man of the people, an inspiration to many of us, and the very same person on the telly as he was in the cafes and streets of Scarborough.

He made us feel better about life and he genuinely helped many thousands of people through adversity. He was eccentric to the last. He was buried in one of his trademark track suits, in a gold coloured coffin placed at an angle in the grave, so that he ‘could see the sea’. He was also a highly successful micro business owner, millionaire and a cracking volunteer biz and personal mentor.

Two of his proudest possessions were on his mantelpiece in his Scarborough flat. They were individual letters from Princess Di and Prince Charles thanking him for his help to them, as an informal mentor.

Lots of my business owner friends seem a bit crazy. The craziness is often just appearance and behaviour that shows we’re our own boss with our own values, passion and beliefs. Some can wrongly view this, like Sir Jimmy Savile was viewed, as not professional or not to be taken seriously. We are passionate about what we do and it’s bloody hard work doing it but we can be very useful business mentors too.

Get Mentoring

My businesses have benefited a great deal from the handful of business mentors I’ve had down the years. Most of the mentoring I’ve had is over the phone or nowadays by Skype. I usually contact my mentor when I’ve got a problem or see an opportunity that I want to talk through before taking a decision. I’ve also had a great time and learned a lot as a mentor to others. I have had some training on being a better mentor and I’m going to do some more shortly.

There are lots of places around at the moment where you can find a mentor or get some training to become a better mentor yourself. One such place is the Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurs, which I help run, and you can find out more here about Get Mentoring – free mentor training and free mentors.

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Building better relations with your customers starts at the end

Nov 18, ’11 12:11 PM
Author Adrian Swinscoe Categories Business Ideas, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneur, Failure, Generation-Y, Generation-Y, Personal Business, Relationships, Relationships, SOHO/SMB/SME/Micro, SOHO/SMB/SME/Micro, grow your business

Today, I want to tell you a personal story of doing new things, taking risks, being innovative and being willing to fail in the quest to create something of value for my business, the people that I know, the small business community and my customers.

View the story “RARE Forum, The Drill Hall, London 3rd Nov 2011″ on Storify

We live in changing times. We live in times where the power of the consumer is rising and it is changing everything. We live in times where harnessing the power of relationships with our customers and our employees is becoming more and more key to our future growth and innovation.

Therefore, the onus on business leaders to learn, share ideas and network is rising as we think about how we grow our businesses.

There are many events in existence for businesses but these can be:

  • Either for large or very small businesses;
  • Organised by professional or trade associations and vendors of some sorts;
  • Filled with talks/speakers that talk for around an hour that are ultimately trying to show you how smart they are or are trying to sell you something; and
  • Don’t offer enough time for attendees to network, talk about and debate the issues that are presented.

Therefore, we thought it’d be great to develop and deliver an event for established small businesses, especially those with growing teams, across sectors.

In order to do this and to try and create a truly different event, we first started by describing the customer experience ie. what did we want the potential attendees to feel after they attended our event.

Here’s what we came up with:

Imagine this.

An event where you get to the end of the day and your attendance has solved a number of your most pressing problems, you have heard some great people speak, you have met a number of great contacts and your head is full of ideas for the future of your business. So much so, that when we hold the next one that you’ll want to bring a number of business contacts along it was so good.

Does that sound good?

Why did we do it this way? Well, rather than being lead by the features of our products or services, we started with the end in mind as we believe that is a better way to create something that will have an enduring emotional connection and value with our customers.

With that in mind we developed RARE Forum (www.rareforum.co.uk), an event that is:

  • A place to share ideas, experiences and to discuss and debate the issues of the day;
  • Not focused on selling anything (although there was be a price to attend);
  • Filled with with a number of punchy 20min speaker slots (TED style) centred around a theme;
  • Full of facilitated networking and debate;
  • Where the whole day will be recorded (video) and made available via the website to the attendees for them to watch again at a later date or share with their team and contacts; and
  • Where the output of discussions and answers to Qs posed by speakers will be collated and made available via a digital resource.

All this thinking and development was done earlier this year and I am pleased to say that on the 3rd November at The Drill Hall in Central London we held our first RARE Forum under the theme: ‘Business is Personal’. Talks over the course of the day covered subjects like:

  • Business is personal and why it’s getting more so
  • Unearthing killer customer insights
  • The world is changing fast, how can we keep up and change with it
  • How you can use your customers to help rally your troops?
  • Creating a customer centric business
  • What does being a leader mean in this new world?
  • Generation Y and Z and the future of the talent pool
  • What will our customers want in the future?

The day was a great success and was the first of many, we hope. We are now busy making plans for what happens next.

One of the things that we promised to do was to capture the ‘story of the day’ afterwards so that we could share that with the attendees as an aide-mémoire and as a way of capturing the essence of the day. You can check out the ‘story’ by following the link below. You really should take a look it as it includes all of the slides that the presenters used, pictures from the day, some sketches from our artist in residence and a whole set of tweets from our twitter hashtag: #rareforum. It’s also been done on Storify which means it looks pretty cool even if I do say so myself.

View the story “RARE Forum, The Drill Hall, London 3rd Nov 2011″ on Storify

For the team involved and myself personally it was a huge learning experience. Both exciting and scary in equal measure. What it did teach me, however, was that starting with the potential attendees, my customers, and what sort of experience and feeling I wanted to create for them helped give us a better understand of not what to do. But, more importantly, what not to do. Once we understood that we had a great platform to build from.

Another big lesson that I learnt is that if you want to make your business great, if you want to stand out from your competitors then you have to be willing to fail in public. However, done with the right intention and in the right way the actual risk of failure gets much, much smaller.

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Life’s a Pitch and then they buy

Nov 15, ’11 8:09 PM
Author Lorraine Allman Categories Entrepreneur, Relationships, Sales, Self-employed, Small Business / SOHO, be successful, market and sell

As a small business you know that every communication counts. When speaking with customers, suppliers, investors, competitors, or peers, the way in which you present yourself and your business will have a lasting impact on whether or not they do business with you, or in the case of competitors treat you as a genuine threat or potential collaborator.

Thinking of your business communications as ‘pitching’ may for some appear a little salesy yet there is nothing further from the truth.  Pitching in this sense is simply about  understanding, developing, and effectively communicating your authentic ‘personal brand’. It really doesn’t matter how many times you’ve won an award for excellence or how many features and benefits your product/service has, decision makers want to know about the person behind the business and will normally be influenced in their decision making by what they think of you rather than your business. I am reminded of a quote by Malcolm Levene who recently said “Being in demand for your services…is a direct response to how you behave and express yourself to others. These days that’s what counts”.  I think Malcolm is right and that engaging authentically with the customer or supplier, getting your ideas and passion across is far more likely to lead them to the next stage of buying or supplying.

If you’d like some tips and ideas to improve your pitching skills, take a look at the series of short videos from Paul Boross (aka The Pitch Doctor) on his You Tube channel. His message is simple – “You are the message, You are the Product, You are the Pitch”.

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There are 3 of us in this relationship: Mum, Business Woman, and Me

Nov 8, ’11 1:44 PM
Author Lorraine Allman Categories Entrepreneur, Freelancer, Home Business, Lifestyle, MumEntrepreneur, MumEntrepreneur, Self-employed, Work/Life Balance, Work/Life Balance

There’s no doubt that being a Mum and running your own business has its challenges. I’ve been talking to a number of women recently who are doing just that (myself included) and one of the issues we struggle with most is finding a balance between family and business without losing the fact that we ourselves are occasionally in need of some breathing space!

For many mums, the freedom of being able to work around the child/ren (as opposed to the children around the work) is a key factor in deciding to start a business in the first place. It’s no good, however, if the guilt you feel when working and not focusing on your child/ren is transferred to your business so you end up feeling guilty about not working on the business when you’re spending time with the family.

This balance of family and business is further challenged by the immediacy of technology resulting in emails, texts, and calls constantly vying for our attention. The key here is to have the willpower to switch OFF that Smartphone (yes, I said off, not just put on silent!) and resist the temptation when you’re sat in Pizza Express to quickly check on something using their free Wi-Fi  (been there, done it, scanned the QR code!). Here are some more ideas to help Mums (and Dads) find a better balance and less guilt:

Set boundaries – boundaries are an important part of clearly communicating when you’re working and when you’re not. If you run your business from home, then a physical boundary such as a dedicated space (rather than the kitchen table) will really help. If you simply don’t have the space for that then check out the ‘Communicate’ idea below for making a chart. Don’t forget to set your ‘emotional’ boundaries either – by this I mean be clear in your head when you are ‘business person’ and when you are ‘mum’. Give yourself at least 15-20 minutes before you do the school run/they finish their nap/they return from grandparents (add/delete as appropriate) to clear your head of business things and get back in to ‘parent mode’.

Stay focused and work smarter – It’s easy to get distracted by social media, texts, emails, and calls. Put together a list each week (or each day if you prefer) of business and family related tasks you want to achieve. Allocate time for each and keep a note of how much time you are actually spending on them (you’ll be surprises). Prioritise and re-prioritise as often as you have to. There’s no need to be on social media all the time (or receive distracting ‘push notifications’ on your phone) that’s what systems like Hootsuite are designed for so you can schedule your tweets in across the day. Use the technology to get things done rather than distract you.

Communicate – this may seem obvious but it’s surprising how often we forget to let other members of the family and friends know what our working plans are. If you have an important call to make and you’re worried your child is going to shout out “mummy, I need a poo” in the background then let other members of your family know when this is scheduled and ask for their support in keeping little people occupied. If you don’t have a dedicated work space then a chart on the fridge indicating the times when Mum has the kitchen table for business will let everyone know when you’re working. Include information on this chart such as meetings and important calls too.  If you’re a very tech-savvy family you could set up your own system on Outlook or Google to share plans!

Make some time for yourself – I know this is often easier said than done, but it doesn’t have to mean going away with your friends for a weekend! Making time for yourself, even if it’s going for a quick run, having a manicure, reading the next chapter of your current book or going for a swim, can give you some much needed time out. It’s not unusual to hear that whilst exercising thoughts and solutions to problems become clearer so there are business as well as health benefits to taking some time out if that helps you feel less guilty!

Involve the family – getting the family involved in your work is a great way for them to learn about running a business. From a young age, children can enjoy for example sticking labels on envelopes and going to the post office. As they get older you can get them more involved in tasks such as answering the telephone or monitoring spreadsheets. The more they understand the more likely they are to support you.

Being a parent means there are always going to be unplanned events such as little people becoming poorly very quickly or having an accident at school.  Most people will understand your need to change business arrangements at short notice if there is no-one available to cover. Of course there will always be those that don’t understand, but perhaps it is time to reconsider those particular business relationships?

All the ideas here are equally applicable to Dads who are looking after children and running a business too, although you may want to substitute the manicure for a trip to the steam room or sauna!

If you’re a Mum or Dad running a business or freelancing, I can highly recommend the web site and magazine Work Your Way. It does what it says on the tin and is full of expert advice and support.

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Is University The Only Route To Success?

Aug 25, ’10 5:30 AM
Author newsdemon Categories Entrepreneur, Small Business / SOHO, Social Entrepreneur

Graduation

Last week, here in the UK, our 18 year olds who have remained in full-time education received their ‘A-Level’ results; these are the results that ultimately decide whether or not the young person will be allowed in to the University of their choice, have to go through a system called ‘clearing’ to find a different University place, or if their dreams of attending University are lost.

For more young people than ever, not reaching their expected grades and therefore not attaining a place at University is becoming a reality. With 6 applicants fighting for every place in clearing, this is becoming big news. The pressure on young people to attend University is great, with no real alternative being offered to bright, intelligent and motivated young people.

Is a University degree essential in order to be successful? For many employers it is the easiest way to distinguish the capabilities of potential applicants, providing a playing field on which their relevant skills and abilities can be assessed. However, just because someone has a degree does not mean they will be more competent at carrying out a job as someone with years of experience doing that work, instead of attending University.

Throughout the education system there is considerable emphasis placed on attending University, with the end goal being to achieve a good job, working for someone else. There is little mention of the option of working for yourself, with the end goal being to have your own business, with or without attending University.

Of course, telling all young people that they can create a company that will rival Apple and expand allowing them to make millions would be unrealistic, and whilst it is great to inspire ambition, and that should certainly be part of it, I am more concerned with exploring the option of lifestyle businesses with our young people.

Young people should be given all the options; attending University, getting a job, gaining technical skills, or starting their own business. Young people need direction, and focus, and many consider starting their own business an unobtainable pursuit.

The truth is, however, that as University places are being snatched up in days, and the cost of University is increasing, alternatives need to be sensibly and beneficially, relayed to our young people. We don’t need to tell them that they could be the next “Richard Branson”, but instead that it is possible to build a business for yourself, that will work for you and the lifestyle you wish to have.

The fundamentals of business start up and financial planning would obviously need to play a part, but with the economy as it is these are useful skills for all young people to have. And besides, what would be wrong with instilling a bit of entrepreneurial spirit and ambition in to our young people?

For the latest information about SME Technology, follow me on Twitter or become a fan of WinWeb on Facebook. I look forward to connecting with you!

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9-5 or 5-9? Does It Really Matter?

Aug 4, ’10 7:30 AM
Author newsdemon Categories Entrepreneur, How to ..., SOHO/SMB/SME/Micro, start-up in business

5-9

Entrepreneurship and small business have been making news recently; with banks being tackled to lend more to small businesses, and television shows such as Dragons’ Den dividing the nation over the way small businesses are portrayed and helped. My views on such television programmes are one for another day, but for now all this has highlighted a real sense of enterprising throughout the UK.

In a time when unemployment is high, and job security seems like a long lost friend, it is easy to see why over half a million people are starting their own businesses every year. But what is the best way to start a business? Quit the day job and take the plunge, or build up steadily until you have the security you need to enter fully in to the world of the self-employed?

This is a question that is very much based on individual circumstance; I, for example, started my first business whilst at university and have been doing so ever since! But, at the same time there are many successful entrepreneurs out there who have worked in a job all their lives and at some point turned around and said “enough!” and have started out on their own well in to their working life. If this describes you, I would love to hear from you.

There is no ‘right’ way to start out in business. You can buy all the books, and read all the blogs, but starting your own business is something that has to be driven by you; your drive, enthusiasm and vision for you business. Of course, there are external pressures on us all, and mortgages to pay and families to support have to play a major role in how we develop our businesses.

That is why I will always say there is no iron-clad correct way for a business start-up to progress. A business has to grow in accordance not only with demand, but also in line with how the business owner wants it to develop. For some, diving in feet first and spending every waking hour on their business, building and expanding and constantly reaching for the next goal, is the only way to do business. I guess these people would fall in to the 9-5 camp, in that their business is their day job, but I know from experience 9-5 is a mere fraction of a small business owners’ day!

Other small business owners, for various reasons, take a gentler approach and test the water, building up their customer base alongside their current job or while looking after children and running the family home. These people are the 5-9ers. Although, yet again, that time frame does a disservice to these people as a lot of business owners I know are more 5-12ers! For some, this is a way to build their business to a point where they can launch and go it alone; but for others this is how they want their business to be. Something that can fit in with their lives, not run it, and provide enough of an income to make them comfortable, not rich.

People start their own business for many reasons, and it is not always to work every hour under the sun (and through the night!) to build a hugely successful business. There are many different businesses, and many different types of entrepreneur. Each deserves as much respect, help and admiration as the other, whether they work 9-5, 5-9 or anywhere in between on their business.

Owning your own business is about creating a life that is right for you and those around you. 9-5 or 5-9? It makes no difference at all – success is in the eye of the achiever.

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The Spirit of the Entrepreneur

Apr 30, ’10 7:30 AM
Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories Entrepreneur, SME-Blog

Yes we can

The WinWeb.com Small Business Competition that I mentioned in my last blog post has made me think about the way entrepreneurs work and the effect that a surge of entrepreneurship could have on the economy, worldwide.

In the UK alone, SME’s account for 99.9% of all enterprises, providing 59.4% of private sector employment and 50.1% of private sector turnover. In fact, small businesses alone accounted for 47.9% of employment! (statistics from the Department for Business Innovation and Skills).

In this time when unemployment is rising, and the economy is weak, investment in SME’s could help reduce unemployment and bring a healthy boost to the economy.

If small businesses alone provide 47.9% of employment within the UK, giving small businesses more opportunities, easier access to funding, and greater support could not only pay for itself but also increase the GDP of the UK.

But, this change in thinking does not just have to start with adults. Children in our schools, teenagers and young people, need to be given inspiration and a “can do” attitude – the attitude of the entrepreneur. If we can instill in our children, and generations to come, the ethic and attitude that allows them to think that it is possible to achieve and be successful, while at the same time teaching them about the realities of running a business, then we could create a generation of entrepreneurs, and build the economy, and country, on a “can-do” attitude.

Increasing the number of SME’s within the UK will increase employment levels and have a great impact on GDP. But before we can do this we need to capture the spirit of the entrepreneur and rid generations of the “can’t-do” attitude.

As Barack Obama said: “Yes, we can change”. Entrepreneurs can change our country, change our economy and change the world.

Are you onboard?

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Entrepreneurs can change the world

May 11, ’09 10:40 PM
Author newsdemon Categories Business Quotations, Entrepreneur

I recently heard from Jonathan Kay of Grasshopper who wanted to share a video with you all. The clip is an inspirational message to all potential entrepreneurs to encourage them to start their own business and work together to get the economy back on track.

The positive message of the video is accompanied by some uplifting music and visuals which I am sure you will enjoy.

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Successful Entrepreneurs – Small Business Quote of the Day

Mar 12, ’09 11:14 PM
Author newsdemon Categories Business Quotations, Entrepreneur

 A small business quote a day keeps you thinking, inspired and entertained 

 “The entrepreneur is… the most important player in the building of the global economy. So much so that big companies are decentralizing and reconstituting themselves as networks of entrepreneurs.”

 John Naisbitt (b. 1929) US business executive & author, Global Paradox (1994) 

 To find previous Quotes of the Day look here 

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