Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is one who creates a new business in the face of risk and uncertainty for achieving profit and growth opportunities and assembles the necessary resources to capitalize on those opportunities. While we may not be able to teach entrepreneurship, we can teach the skills of small business management. This is an important distinction to make to students. Noted psychologist David McClelland characterized high achievers/entrepreneurs as possessing these traits:

v Desire for responsibility

v Preference for moderate risk (risk eliminators)

v Confidence in their ability to succeed

v Desire for immediate feedback

v High level of energy

v Future orientation (serial entrepreneurs)

v Skill in organization

v Value of achievement over money

Other characteristics of entrepreneurs include:

v High degree of commitment

v Willingness to accept risk, work hard and take action

v Flexibility

The Benefits of Entrepreneurship

The primary benefits entrepreneurs enjoy include the opportunity to:

v Create their own destiny

v Make a difference

v Reach their full potential

v Generate impressive profits

v Contribute to society and be recognized for their efforts

v Do what they enjoy and have fun at it!

The Potential Drawbacks of Entrepreneurship

With these potential rewards, Entrepreneurship also presents risk and uncertainty. Entrepreneurs may experience:

v Uncertainty of income –”The entrepreneur is the last one to be paid.”

v Risk of losing their entire investment

v Long hours and hard work

v Lower quality of life until the business gets established

v High levels of stress

v Complete responsibility

v Discouragement

The Power of “Small” Business

Because big business is more visible than small business, most people underestimate the role of the small firm in the U.S. economy. The definition of a “Small Business” is: 1. One which is independently owned and operated and not dominant in its field. 2. Eligibility requirements are based on the specific industry.

v Retailing – annual sales/receipts not exceeding $3.5 to $13.5 million.

v Services – annual receipts not exceeding $2.5 to $14.5 million.

v Wholesaling – yearly sales must not be over $9.5 to $22 million.

v Agriculture – annual receipts not exceeding $1.0 to $3.5 million.

v Construction – General construction with annual receipts not exceeding $17 million.

v Special Trade Construction – annual receipts not exceeding $7 million.

v Manufacturing – maximum number of employees may range from 500 to 1,500 depending on the industry. The most commonly used measure of small business is the number of employees on a firm’s payroll. The White House Conference on Small Business definition is: A firm employing 500 people or fewer.

The Committee for Economic Development states that a small business must meet two of four stated criteria:

v Management is independent.

v Capital is supplied and ownership is held by an individual or a small group.

v Area of operation is mainly local; markets need not be local.

v Size is small when compared to the biggest unit in the field

The Ten Deadly Mistakes of Entrepreneurship Studies have indicated that there are common reasons for new business ventures to fail. These causes of small business failure may include:

v Management mistakes

v Lack of experience

v Poor financial control

v Weak marketing efforts

v Failure to develop a strategic plan

v Uncontrolled growth

v Poor location

v Improper inventory control

v Incorrect pricing

v Inability to make the “entrepreneurial transition”

Putting Failure into Perspective

Entrepreneurs don’t fail—the venture fails.

v There are no such things as failures, only results.

v Always look to turn a negative situation into a positive opportunity.

v Have no fear of failure and be sure to have a contingency plan.

v The only people who never fail are those who never do anything or never attempt anything new. The successful entrepreneur understands the meaning of these clichés and knows how to deal with adversity in a proactive and positive manner

How to Avoid the Pitfalls

These same studies have indicated that entrepreneurs can increase their chances for success if they:

v Know their business in depth.

v Develop a solid business plan in writing.

v Manage financial resources.

v Understand financial statements.

v Learn to manage people effectively.

v Keep in tune with who they are.

U.S. takes a positive “negative” approach to trade with Cuban entrepreneurs

In keeping with the Obama Administration's fresh approach to relations with Cuba, on Friday the State Department released its list of goods and services eligible for importation from the nascent but growing Cuban private sector. Americans can now directly support independent Cuban entrepreneurs and cooperatives through commerce, a move policy makers hope will empower them to determine their own economic and political futures.

The Section 515.582 list, characterized as a "living document" that will be updated periodically, further clarifies the path breaking Commerce and Treasury Department regulations released in January. It takes a permissive, "negative" approach that identifies specific prohibited categories of items and allows everything not specifically listed as permissible items for importation to the United States. It lays out a flexible framework and sets the right tone for encouraging trade with the approximately 500,000 registered self-employed workers.

Certain goods like some agricultural products (sugar, tobacco), some textiles (cotton, wool) pharmaceuticals, and base metals (nickel) are, not surprisingly, excluded, since these products are almost exclusively produced by state owned enterprises. Notably, unlike the itemized list of goods, the new regulations authorize importation of all private sector services, which will allow U.S. businesses to access the human capital for which the island is well known. For example, Americans can now hire Cuban entrepreneurs or cooperatives to design software, provide accounting support, or translate documents, as long as they are certified as independent of the state. The negative approach looks like a very positive approach indeed.

The execution of this policy, however, is fraught with challenges stemming from the fifty-plus years of icy relations and the current Cuban context.

v Shipping. Cuba and the United States still do not have direct mail services and the U.S. embargo precludes most global providers (UPS, FedEx, and DHL) from shipping between the two countries. The most workable alternative to standard shipping is unaccompanied baggage transported on the daily charter flights between (primarily) Florida and the island.

v While not well suited to commercial shipping, this arrangement would facilitate initial micro-exchanges, build confidence and work out the kinks.

v Tariffs. Goods imported from Cuban entrepreneurs valued over $800 in total will be subject to Smoot-Hawley level tariffs, as high as 50% in some cases. As a member of the WTO, Cuba enjoys Most Favored Nation status but a national security exception in the U.S. embargo permits these highway robbery level tariffs. At least in the short- to medium-term, importers face cost-prohibitive fees.

v Financial transactions. The January 16 regulatory changes permit the use of debit and credit cards on the island and allow U.S. financial institutions to open correspondent accounts on the island to "facilitate the processing of authorized transactions." However, this will take time to implement and requires that the relevant actors (Visa, Mastercard, Western Union and major U.S.-based banks) be prepared to take the risk given the uncertain regulatory environment in Cuba. Most Cubans deal in cash rather than through the highly overregulated Cuban state banking system, which is smaller now than it was in 1959. Until financial institutions set up the necessary infrastructure, it may still be difficult to issue payment for services rendered or goods sent, outside of cash transactions.

v Categories of entrepreneurs. U.S. importers can only engage in transactions with independent Cuban entrepreneurs demonstrated by documentation such as the entity's self-employment or "cuentapropista" license issued by the Cuban government. At present, the Cuban government has identified only 201 categories of activities authorized for self-employment. Huge swaths of Cuba's human capital are excluded from participating in this emerging sector, primarily highly educated professions like economists, engineers, lawyers, and doctors. It remains to be seen if the Cuban government will expand the number of permissible categories or switch to a negative list, like the State Department imports list.

v Communication. Cuba remains one of the lowest ranked countries in terms of internet access, making it difficult to receive and fill orders, communicate with buyers, or establish call centers. Cuban citizens are eager to modernize and expand their telecommunications infrastructure, but the Cuban government has been very slow in expanding access and will likely be reticent to cede control. The new regulations issued in Janaury allow U.S. telecommunications companies to compete more readily in the Cuban market but it remains to be seen whether Havana is interested.

v The greatest unknown is how the Cuban government will react to these and other elements of the President's new policy of engagement. It is unclear, for example, whether entrepreneurs will even be permitted to export goods and services in the short term. To create a more business friendly environment and attract much-needed investment, Cuba's regulatory framework and judicial system require significant reforms. This is a much longer-term challenge that Cuba must grapple with, but as the international community and incipient Cuban private sector become more active, pressure for deeper and faster reform should grow.

v This policy shift and resulting regulatory changes are complex issues and, by government standards, they have been drafted and implemented swiftly. It will take time for companies to catch up and evaluate whether to take on the risks of engagement. But the benefits are clear: the authorization of imports from Cuban entrepreneurs inserts capital into the non-state sector, builds relationships between Cuban and American citizens, and perhaps even facilitates some much-needed reconciliation between the two countries. Congress would do well to consider the positive impact trade could have on Cuban citizens as it considers the recently introduced bipartisan legislation to end the embargo.

Characteristic of Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneur

v Desire for responsibility

v Preference for moderate risk (risk eliminators)

v Confidence in their ability to succeed

v Desire for immediate feedback

v High level of energy

v Future orientation (serial entrepreneurs)

v Skill in organization

v Value of achievement over money

Other characteristics of entrepreneurs include:

v High degree of commitment

v Willingness to accept risk, work hard and take action

v Flexibility

The Benefits of Entrepreneurship

The primary benefits entrepreneurs enjoy include the opportunity to:

v Create their own destiny

v Make a difference

v Reach their full potential

v Generate impressive profits

v Contribute to society and be recognized for their efforts

v Do what they enjoy and have fun at it!

Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs:

Passion & Motivation

The one word that describes the basic requirement for an entrepreneurship venture is “Passion.”

v Is there something that you can work on over and over again, without getting bored?

v Is there something that keeps you awake because you have not finished it yet?

v Is there something that you have built and want to continue to improve upon, again and again?

v Is there something that you enjoy the most and want to continue doing for the rest of your life?

Your demonstration of passion and motivation will determine your success in any entrepreneurial venture. From building and implementing a prototype, to pitching your idea to venture capitalists, success is a function of passion and determination.

You'll find that with these have a much easier finally, it's impossible to be a successful entrepreneur if you aren't passionate about your work. Passion can be defined subjectively, but what's important is that you're excited to come to work every day. You may not like every task you have to perform or every person you have to work with, but at the end of the day, you must be both satisfied and exhilarated to be the leader of your own enterprise.

Without passion, your productivity will suffer, but more importantly, you'll never be happy with where you are. Only when you're truly passionate about your work will you be able to find the success you yearn for.

Self-motivated

Successful entrepreneurs do not need someone who holds them accountable or forces them to be efficient and productive. Unfortunately, without a manager, many people cannot take their business past the planning stages. It takes hard work to create your own business; most people need someone who forces them to keep working. Moreover, when people do not have someone to hold them accountable, they may let their work’s quality suffer. For example, many freelance writers set their own hours and choose their workload. However, for this same reason, many freelance writers do not work how they ought to work.

Creative

When creating a business idea, many entrepreneurs have to be very creative. There is a good chance that someone else has already established himself as the authority for the niche that a new entrepreneur chooses. However, with a little creative twist, new entrepreneurs can take old ideas or business models and revolutionize them, making them attractive to potential clients or customers.

Creativity allows for ideas and innovation. Ideas and innovation often lead to money and success. Sergey Brin and Larry Page founded Google in their colossal quest to master the Internet search engine. Steve Jobs and Apple revolutionized the gadget industry with iPods, Macbooks, and the iPhone. In many cases, a single creative idea can makes its inventor billions.

The desire to be an expert
Entrepreneurs like a challenge. If they didn't, they'd probably have chosen another line of work. But as exciting as it is to consider a new field, high-achieving entrepreneurs know the benefits of staying in the same industry for a while are immense. When you spend years in the same industry, you learn its history. Knowing what's been done before can help you identify how it can and should move forward. In the meantime, you'll build a network of relationships to support you in future endeavors, especially when times are lean. Those relationships are invaluable.

A forward-looking approach.
Successful entrepreneurs are always thinking ahead. They may stray from their roadmap, and that's okay, but they have one in mind. Having a clearly established set of goals will keep you from getting stuck. Your goals may be constantly evolving, but if you don't know where you want to go, chances are, you won't get anywhere.

Risk Taking and Rewards

Entrepreneurs are risk takers ready to dive deep into a future of uncertainty. But not all risk takers are successful entrepreneurs. Successful entrepreneurs are will to risk time and money on unknowns, but they also keep resources, plans and bandwidth for dealing with "unknown" in reserve. When evaluating risk, a successful entrepreneur will ask herself, is this risk worth the cost of my career, time and money? And, what will I do if this venture doesn't pay off?

Entrepreneurship requires risk. The measurement of this risk equates to the amount of time and money you invest into your business. However, this risk also tends to relate directly to the rewards involved. An entrepreneur who invests in a franchise pays for someone else's business plan and receives a respectable income, while an entrepreneur who undertakes groundbreaking innovations risks everything on an assumption that something revolutionary will work in the market. If such a revolutionary is wrong, she can lose everything. However, if she is right, she can suddenly become extremely wealthy.

Self-belief, Hard work & Disciplined Dedication

Entrepreneurs enjoy what they do. They believe in themselves and are confident and dedicated to their project. Occasionally, they may show stubbornness in their intense focus on and faith in their idea. But the flip side is their demonstrated discipline and dedication.

Adaptability & Flexibility

It’s good to be passionate or even stubborn about what you do. But being inflexible about client or market needs will lead to failure. Remember, an entrepreneurial venture is not simply about doing what you believe is good, but also making successful business out of it. Market needs are dynamic: changes are a recurring phenomenon. Successful entrepreneurs welcome all suggestions for optimization or customization that enhances their offering and satisfies client and market needs. A product you develop for yourself alone may qualify as a hobby, but a product for the market should satisfy market needs.

Understand Your Offering – And Its Market

Entrepreneurs know their product offering inside and out. They also know the marketplace and its dynamics inside and out. Remaining unaware of changing market needs, competitor moves and other external factors can bring even great products to failure (for example, Blockbuster).

Money Management

It takes time to get to profitability for any entrepreneurial venture. Till then, capital is limited and needs to be utilized wisely. Successful entrepreneurs realize this mandatory money management requirement and plan for present and future financial obligations (with some additional buffer). Even after securing funding or going fully operational, a successful businessman keeps a complete handle on cash flows, as it is the most important aspect of any business.

Planning (But not Over-planning)

Entrepreneurship is about building a business from scratch while managing limited resources (including time, money and personal relationships). It is a long-term commitment, and attempting to plan as much as possible at the beginning is a noble impulse. In reality, however, planning for everything and having a ready solution for all possible risks may prevent you from even taking the first step. Successful entrepreneurs do keep some dry powder in reserve, but more importantly they maintain a mindset and temperament to capable of dealing with unforeseen possibilities.

Do a feasibility analysis; identify time and capital thresholds; take the deep dive with your limited resources. If your thresholds are crossed, look for alternatives and be prepared to take the next exit.

Networking Abilities

Many people seek comfort in commiseration: friends, colleagues and neighbors are happy to complain with you about "the global slowdown,” poor demand, or unfair competition; but that won't improve the bottom line. What do successful entrepreneurs do? They reach out to mentors with more experience and extensive networks to seek valuable advice. Having such networking abilities, including more experienced mentors, is a key characteristics of successful entrepreneurs.

Being Prepared to Take the Exit

Not every attempt will result in success. The failure rate of entrepreneurial ventures is very high. At times, it is absolutely fine to take the “practical” exit route and try something new, instead of continuing to make sunk cost investments in the same venture. Many famous entrepreneurs weren't successful the first time around. But they had the serenity and foresight to know when to cut their losses.

The Bottom Line

Personal qualities and their correct demonstration with the right stakeholders are the determining factors for success or failure as an entrepreneur. A realistic self-assessment checklist against these suggested guidelines will ensure you take the right steps in the right direction to success.

Agility.

Agile entrepreneurs are able to treat every problem they encounter quickly and adeptly, without taking too long to address them. This agility allows entrepreneurs to remain proactive and vigilant, preventing small problems from becoming major ones.

On a larger scale, this ability also allows entrepreneurs to constantly change, and therefore improve, their businesses. With new technologies, new resources, and new trends emerging daily, the most successful businesses are ones who are able to adapt and grow with the times. Remaining agile in a position of leadership enables this course of growth.

Patience.

Too many entrepreneurs get started with a business based on dreams of becoming an overnight millionaire. Several leaders in the tech sector with some great new idea have been able to seemingly rise to success out of nowhere, but the reality is this level of success can only come after years of hard, committed effort. Successful entrepreneurs realize that all great things take time, and aren't impeded when their great ideas don't take off immediately.

Patience also goes a long way when building the infrastructure of your company. Great entrepreneurs want to build the best team, not one pieced together with the first candidates that cross their paths. They're also willing to make mistakes and go through temporary hardships if it's en route to a more stable, successful long-term vision.

Trust

Mutual trust is a necessity when working in a position of leadership, especially in the context of a small team that typically defines startups. For example, entrepreneurs need to trust their team leaders to accomplish their primary objectives without interference. If that trust isn't there, team leaders will not be able to execute their work effectively. It's also a symptom of a hire that isn't the best fit for the organization.

Of course, workers, partners, and investors all need to trust you as an entrepreneur as well. You can cultivate this trust by maintaining constant, transparent lines of communication, which will also facilitate greater productivity and a tighter sense of collaboration within the team.

Interest and Vision

The first factor for entrepreneurial success is interest. Since entrepreneurship pays off according to performance rather than time spent on a particular effort, an entrepreneur must work in an area that interests her. Otherwise, she will not be able to maintain a high level of work ethic, and she will most likely fail. This interest must also translate into a vision for the company's growth. Even if the day-to-day activities of a business are interesting to an entrepreneur, this is not enough for success unless she can turn this interest into a vision of growth and expansion. This vision must be strong enough that she can communicate it to investors and employees.

Skill

All of the interest and vision cannot make up for a total lack of applicable skill. As the head of a company, whether he has employees or not, an entrepreneur must be able to wear many hats and do so effectively. For instance, if he wants to start a business that creates mobile games, he should have specialized knowledge in mobile technology, the gaming industry, game design, mobile app marketing or programming.

Investment

An entrepreneur must invest in her company. This investment may be something less tangible, such as the time she spends or the skills or reputation she brings with her, but it also tends to involve a significant investment of assets with a clear value, whether they be cash, real estate or intellectual property. An entrepreneur who will not or cannot invest in her company cannot expect others to do so and cannot expect it to succeed.

Organization and Delegation

While many new businesses start as a one-man show, successful entrepreneurship is characterized by quick and stable growth. This means hiring other people to do specialized jobs. For this reason, entrepreneurship requires extensive organization and delegation of tasks. It is important for entrepreneurs to pay close attention to everything that goes on in their companies, but if they want their companies to succeed, they must learn to hire the right people for the right jobs and let them do their jobs with minimal interference from management