The Accidental Entrepreneur 50 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me About Starting A Business

Transcription

1 Entrepreneur Book Summary The Accidental Entrepreneur 50 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me About Starting A Business Susan Urquhart-Brown First Edition Reviewed By: Sean Halligan hall0613@vandals.uidaho.edu

2 What Is An Entrepreneur, Anyway? The accidental entrepreneur is defined as the person who never expected to be self-employed or thought of herself or himself as an entrepreneur. The author really makes the point early in the book that starting a business is not for the weak of heart and no, you will not make a profit in the first year of business. The reader must identify who they are by the first chapter by asking themselves questions such as Who am I, Is my business idea viable and will it provide a niche in the market, How will I market and finance my business, and Why do I need a business plan. Ready, Set, Go! It is made very clear early on that the person looking for a quick dollar that s perhaps in between jobs, tired of corporate politics, or looking for flexible work hours may be in for a rude awakening. She confirms that these types of get rich quick myths will not work and will lack the inner qualities required to take off a new business. She identifies ten essential traits of a successful entrepreneur: Drive Dedication to your vision, self-motivation Confidence Do you have the nerve to walk into a room full of strangers and sell your service? Decisiveness Make smart decisions based on your best attempt to gather information Flexibility Combines originality, curiosity, analysis, and troubleshooting Powerful communication How can I communicate clearly and specifically? Results orientation Get things done efficiently by careful planning, prioritizing, etc. Multitasking Be willing to try new things and be involved with every aspect of your business Optimistic Attitude High expectations equal success The author refers to the Small Business Administration as having determined that 50 percent of new businesses in the US fail within the first four years. Often times, entrepreneurs underestimate the time required for building and marketing. She identifies seven common pitfalls to avoid: Communicate clearly Prepare the 30 second elevator speech to convey your service Leap when you re ready Understand confidence, connections, competence, and capital Don t be a lone wolf You must ask for help to move forward effectively Use smart approach to marketing Specifically define your market and conduct market research Create comprehensive marketing plan Create a comprehensive and integrated marketing plan Visualize what you want your business to be If you can t visualize it, you can t make it happen Keep focus on your plan Find someone you can report to so you can be accountable Taking Care of Business You can tell that the author expresses caution when choosing a name for your business. The name will be around a long time (much longer than it can take to think of it). For this reason, the author considers these four points while in the naming process: Make sure the fits your business without leaving any confusion as to what the service is Make sure it s easy to pronounce, spell, and remember Make sure the name allows for future growth and expansion Research proposed names and check availability to prevent troubles in the future She gives examples of business names whether you plan on keeping your business local or branching out nationally. You must determine if your service will later expand and the name you choose will work for 2

3 future growth of products. Even though naming a business can be fun, the author also brings reality into the picture with immediate expenses required to file and publishing the name within the county, obtaining a business license and seller s permit, and insurance. Susan establishes the advantages and disadvantages for every business structure so that you can decide which one best suites you at the time or the direction you could potentially move towards in the future. The types of business structures outlined are: Sole proprietorship, general partnership, limited partnership, corporation, S corporation, and Limited Liability Company. Most entrepreneurs tend to opt for the sole proprietorship business structure because of the ease of organizing and no worry about being involved with partnerships. To become part of a partnership is the next hurdle you must overcome. The author explains that partnering with a competitor, a new investor, or a talented colleague can be an advantage in some markets. She warns of the danger if this person is a friend, because it could cause additional stress and perhaps unveil traits of that person you never knew they had. She outlines partnership roles, surprises and what works based on real stories of people she knows. These real examples put into perspective what to avoid and what to concentrate on for a successful business partnership. A partnership will grow and develop if each partner complements each others strengths, roles, and skills. Each must have similar business ethics, passion for quality, and have open and honest communication skills. New entrepreneurs must have a business plan. The author defines the business plan as a document that precisely defines your business, identifies your business objectives, describes your strategies, and includes key financials. She emphasizes keeping it simple and to do that you must concentrate on four basic questions: What are my product/service offerings? What is my prospective target market? Who are my competitors? What key benefits do I offer customers so that they will choose my business? Business plans can be declared on one page which summarizes the above questions. These plans can act as the vision, channel energy, performance tracking, and as financial proposals for family or institutions. You will also decide if your venture will be funded by personal investments or by debt financing. The author makes a great comparison about her son wanting her to buy something for him. She asks if he would be willing to spend his own money on this item. If his answer is yes, then she will consider it because he wants it bad enough to put his money where his mouth is. If his answer is no, then she would assume that the item is a fad and won t be pursued later. This is the same correlation between business investments. Funding a venture with one s own money doesn t usually mean that the person just wants to see how the business goes for a while. She emphasizes that the funding your own business brings determination and dedication to provide your service. Personal investments will help in initial set-up and regular costs such as: 3

4 Start-up costs Accounting for slow seasons/holidays each year Pay period for customers - every 30, 60, or 90 days Variable expenses direct labor, materials, commissions, advertising costs Fixed expenses rent, utilities, leased equipment, insurance, payroll Salary to support yourself and family What Do You Bring To The Party? The author begins to identify motivational and self-sabotage key words which can either uplift or harm the foundation of the business. Key motivational words all begin with the letter C and include: challenge, control, creativity, cash, contribution, competition, and collaboration. All these words create an inner drive in order to have a viable business, but she emphasizes that there are additional motivators for each person. Sometimes we allow our own conscious to overturn our true intentions and soon find that we have selfsabotaged our own plans for success. She points out that this occurs when fear, resistance, and the voice inside us that has never had anything good to say (the inner circle) are allowed to comment. She says, Make friends with your inner critic. Not allowing enough free time for personal items will quickly get you on a track towards burnout mode. She describes that the best way to de-stress is to delegate more work and trust those you have employed with the responsibility. Other activities she notes are taking up a hobby, taking mini-breaks daily, and schedule a vacation. Market and Sell Your Socks Off! Market research is a mandatory step in determining whether or not there is a market for your product or service. These simple questions below can help decide if there even is a market for the product demand before investing in extensive and expensive market research. How many competitors provide the same service or product? If your product or service is innovative, can you educate your market to create demand? Can you compete effectively in price, quality, and delivery? Can you price your product or service to achieve a profit? Once you feel the above questions have led towards a potential product in the market, you now must research the market to determine the following: Target customers Who, where, and how many are there? Can they afford your product? Competitors Who, where, and how many are there? What are their pricing strategies? Industry trends What is declining or growing in the industry as a whole or locally? One way to determine your product niche is to evaluate the competition using any combination of these points: Pricing Delivery Hours available Location Promotions Quality Web presence 4

5 Selection of services Value-added offerings The author points out that this is a quick and easy study to determine your service compared to your direct competitions. It is recommended that you make a table and record your findings of each point for future comparisons between competitors. She outlines secrets to marketing your business in this section as well. The wonderful thing about marketing she describes is that you don t have to do all the tips at the same time and you can reevaluate annually to determine which methods were not productive for you or which ones you ll continue with. Marketing techniques Networking, promotions, publicity, advertising, and sales Get Referrals Ten simple methods to accomplish free advertising Sell with confidence Listen, share, offer solutions, build relationships, and ask powerful questions Get Connected To The Web For Profit Each time you make contact with a customer, it is considered keep-in-touch marketing. It is important that each sale adds to your clientele list since 80 percent of business comes from 20 percent of previous customers. The internet is a great cost-effective way to promote your business. However, with the billions of websites constantly fighting for top position and attention, it is important to strategically have an edge that lures possible customers in. The author identifies two requirements for the web page that is created: 1. The website must be compelling with solid, attention grabbing content. Key words must be used as headlines in searches. People want to see information and not only about selling something. 2. Capture visitors contact information by luring net-surfers to opt-in to offers that seem irresistible. Most sales will come from this list that s generated. Other great marketing tools for the internet are defined as well and she does a good job of explaining each in great detail for those that may not be as conversed with modern marketing practices on the web. Below are six strategies which can be used in any combination: Create online press releases that drive traffic Submit articles to websites that cater to your target market Create a blog that keeps your business top of mind with customers Make strategic use of pay-per-click advertising Google Adwords, etc Advertise in e-zines or e-newsletters for high and frequent exposure Practice social on online networking Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, etc. Making Room For More Business Expanding your business is anything from hiring your first employee to branching out to new markets with more products. The author outlines when it is the correct time to expand and includes several tips from other successful entrepreneurs. When it is time to allow for growth based on your workload, interview with the intent of never having to hire another person for that position. This will weed out the group of candidates and ensure you are getting the best for the position. 5

6 Conclusion The intent of this summary was to synopsize the methods Susan Urquhart-Brown uses to define the road for a successful entrepreneur. Having studied a little already on the subject, I found that her motives are the same as I ve previously known, but also fills in the gaps with tidbits of information along the way. Some of which I was unfamiliar with. She focuses on clear and concise information as a guidebook and if you truly wanted more information on a particular topic, you could go research it. I was very impressed with what I learned in such a short book. 6