HIGH GROWTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Becoming an Entrepreneur

The short answer….

• Let’s dispel the myth that only a few people, who are ‘born to it’ can be entrepreneurs.

• It’s not about characteristics and behaviours; it’s about the balance of behaviours. So learn how to understand and modify your behaviours.

To be covered

• Can entrepreneurship be learned, or are you born to it?

• What strengths and weaknesses are typical in entrepreneurs?

• If entrepreneurship can be learned, how can you become an entrepreneur?

Entrepreneurs are, in this context…… those who innovate and carry risk in

building a new business

So… I’m not talking about

• Intrapreneurs (so-called corporate entrepreneurs who don’t carry the risk themselves)

• Small-business owners (who don’t innovate much)

• Franchisees (who don’t innovate much)…though they are included in many definitions of ‘entrepreneur’

And they do it because…

• They want to control their own destiny

• They can build something great/cool/fun

• They consider ‘having a job’ to be boring or unchallenging

And often ..

• The world of ‘jobs’ is just too slow-moving for them. Entrepreneurs set their own pace, and it’s usually fast!

Nature/nurture debate

• Entrepreneurs are both born and made

• You have to have a basic personality receptive to the experiences which make an entrepreneur. But that filter still allows much of the population through.

• Our experiences are a bigger factor, and determine which of us will actually be able to embrace the mindset of an entrepreneur

Comfortable people don’t make good entrepreneurs

Correlation between unmet needs and strength of entrepreneurial profile?

When people are comfortable and self-satisfied:

• they lose the need to innovate in the demanding way required of entrepreneurs

• they lose the excessive drive which powers an entrepreneur’s achievement

Three common motivators are:• The creative desire to build something

great (legacy)

• The desire to make the world a better place (social conscience)

• The desire to ‘prove yourself’ (challenge)• The desire to ‘prove yourself’ is particularly

common because entrepreneurs judge everyone, including themselves, by what they achieve…. Results are everything!

Sometimes the unmet needs have deep roots…

Characteristics and Behaviours

Resource gathererInnovatorDeal-makerSellerGoal-seekerCommunicator

PassionDriveSelf-beliefPersistenceOpportunismVisionOptimismResilience

…so that’s all you need!!

Strengths and weaknesses are often finely balanced:

Diluting effectiveness by trying to follow too many

opportunities at once

Stubbornness in clinging to a path regardless of

conflicting views

Inability to accept best practice when it conflicts with the

entrepreneur’s viewsAbility to see beyond conventional wisdom

Persistence in chasing a vision

Opportunism; the ability to see and act on new

opportunities as they emerge

p.1

Strengths and weaknesses are often finely balanced:

Unrealistic expectation that others will be equally internally

motivated

Inability to manage reluctance by potential investors to accept

the same level of risk

Lack of appreciation of the limits of the entrepreneur’s expertise (not

knowing when to rely on other experts)

Deep expertise in some aspects of building a

business

High tolerance of risk

High internal motivation

p.2

Strengths and weaknesses are often finely balanced:

Inflexibility; the inability to recognize/accept a new idea which does not fit with the entrepreneur’s

model of what is needed

Unwillingness to delegate when the business grows large

enough to have specialist staff

Unwillingness to give up control (particularly when the company has

grown beyond the entrepreneur’s skills to manage it)

The ability, and willingness, to control the whole business

during initial start-up

Willingness to take responsibility

Clarity of thinking; a clear view of the tasks which must be

completed to build the business

p.3

Strengths and weaknesses are often finely balanced:

The inability to recognize that the market may not be ready for fast

innovation (particularly an issue for entrepreneurs with a technology

background)

Inability to find time to learn and adapt during the high-pressure start-

up phase of building a business (hence, many entrepreneurs learn

through failure)

A high acceptance of the need for learning and adapting in building a

business

The ability to recognize innovative concepts and

technologies

p.4

• The entrepreneur is likely to be both:•The greatest asset of the start-up•The greatest liability of the start-up

Learn to be an entrepreneur by…• Examining your own profile … knowing

how you’re likely to behave makes it easier to recognise inappropriate behaviours

• Getting mentors/board members/advisors who will tell you when you’re going wrong, and reinforce you when you’re going well

• Taking time to reflect on what you’re hearing about your own behaviours, and modifying your behaviours where appropriate

The reflective learning process

Work on the project/compa

ny

Listen to the advice you’re getting from

mentors/boards/advisors

Listen to feedback from customers and staff

Balance that advice against what you know about yourself

Change what you’re doing where appropriate

Repeat the

process

Reflective learning is difficult for entrepreneurs because…

• Entrepreneurs are externally focused (it’s about what I do rather than who I am). They don’t tend to ask for personal help (it’s about task accomplishment, not personal development)

• It’s hard to practise reflective learning when you’re under stress (and company building is stressful)But the best time to learn is while you’re

actually working on a company… if you are open to learning.

Understand yourself, and you can still learn while you’re under pressure

In summary

• Can entrepreneurship be learned, or are you born to it?• There are some ‘natural’ elements, but

entrepreneurship can be learned if you can understand your strengths and weaknesses

• What strengths and weaknesses are typical in entrepreneurs?• The strengths and weaknesses are often the same

behaviours being displayed appropriately and inappropriately

• If entrepreneurship can be learned, how can you become an entrepreneur?• Understand your own strengths and weaknesses, then

learn by doing and reflecting. Building companies is the only way to learn to be an entrepreneur

FIND THIS INFORMATION AT:www.becominganentrepreneur.bizwww.norman-evans.com

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