A New Era of Entrepreneurship

Generally anything that makes government facilitate as opposed to over regulate is a positive step. The government of Ontario has just announced initiatives that could reduce red tape for businesses and create cluster developments to help drive regional economic growth and create jobs. Will these reforms ever see the light of day in a minority legislature flirting with an election or are they just pre-election temptations to attract votes away from the conservatives?

Regardless both of these ideas focus on critical areas in the face of a fast paced global economy where all countries are fighting for talent and for markets. Governments at all levels need to become more efficient and more effective. Over regulation serves no purpose other than to increase the cost of government and limit the competitiveness of the private sector, discouraging investment in the province in the process. There is a place for regulation and there are important roles for government but the former needs to be reeled in while the latter needs to be more selective. One preferred area should be to co-operate with the private sector and academia to create ecosystems that foster business opportunities in a variety of areas where we can build comparative advantages. This is now a stated goal for Ontario.

The most startling evidence of cluster development is Silicon Valley where 350,000 Canadians live and work. That’s right 1% of our population and a much higher percentage of our intellectual capital are resident in northern California. The Valley offers the most dominant ecosystem for an industry that exists, nurturing tech startups and venture capital investment at a phenomenal rate. It is not one that can easily be replicated and it’s been underway for over sixty years.

In other words this project requires genuine commitment from all concerned. We can only hope that the Ontario government follows through and that the Feds add a level of support. We are in a new era dominated by change. The culture of government and business alike has to change. Government must move away from a culture of bureaucracy that has become an unbearable burden. Big business must move away from a culture of control to a culture of empowerment as change dictates that the status quo is short lived.

These new initiatives serve as a reality check that we must become more competitive. Government can not be the agent of change that makes this happen but it can facilitate a co-ordinated approach by reducing the costs of doing business and helping to create ecosystems that support the efforts of the private sector. Let’s hope that all parties rally in support of these programs that will create jobs and point us toward a better future.

Times are changing – in fact change is the operative word and it’s the one constant we have in every element of our lives.  Western society has been entrenched in the concept of stability since we entered the Great Depression. As businesses grew larger we embraced a culture of control and systems in order to achieve stability. We valued certainty and pensions for our retirement above self improvement and upward mobility. Oh we still strived for both but within the framework of those organizations that were stable. We came to expect easy entry into the work force and a life long job ending in the golden years of a well funded retirement. A great dream that no generation has achieved. Even the baby boomers received a setback with the recession of 2008 and reduction in their savings at a time when they needed them

Now we live in an era where the largest organizations can and do fail or falter from GM to RIM we have learned the lesson that the status quo has become a fleeting allusion.

It’s time to give yourself the gift of entrepreneurial thinking.

Only you can do it. Abandon prison thinking. Ignore the reasons that prevent you from accomplishing things whether personal or professional. Approach your problems from the mindset of ‘how’ you are going to solve them not ‘if’ you’ll be  able to solve them.

Entrepreneurial thinking can be applied to every element of your life and it leads to another gift: self-determination

Frankly this is a must. In your business life the most important skill you can learn in the 21st century is the ability to create and manage your career. Is your personal life any different? If we don’t take control we will limit ourselves to a life of mediocrity with decreasing real wages. limited upward mobility, low satisfaction and increasing frustration

It’s time to trade in stability for agility!

The attributes that dictate success today are resilience and adaptability which happen to be the characteristics of entrepreneurs.

So as you reflect on this holiday season consider giving yourself the gift of an open mind – one that is open to possibilities and determined to find solutions.

All the best for the holiday season

Fred Dawkins, Author of Everyday Entrepreneur and the just released Family Entrepreneur

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the premises in the introduction of my new book Everyday Entrepreneur is that I wrote it to encourage entrepreneurs of every stripe across the spectrum. Since the high tech entrepreneurs have been getting the lion’s share of the attention and encouragement from the public and investors alike, they were far from my target market. Tech innovation was the creator of venture capital, setting a precedent for high rates of return that can’t be sustained in other areas. Virtually all other types of entrepreneurs have to struggle for funding because they simply don’t meet the criteria for venture capital. Those that have attracted VC funds often flounder to the detriment of the entrepreneur because the VC gets an agreed upon return which can sap a moderately successful business.

The Creative Destructive Lab at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto (my alma mater) is focused on extreme success with a strong emphasis on taking tech developments from gestation to dynamic success on the international stage. On the surface this seems to be exactly the area that I previously suggested didn’t need my help or encouragement as people are lined up to help in almost every area to develop these type of businesses. So why did I choose to support these high achievers by becoming a partner of the CD Lab? Well here are my reasons:

1. I strongly support that we need to keep our brightest and best talent here in Canada – we are in the midst of a world wide competition to attract talent – success starts with keeping our own
2. Success at this level sets a terrific example for anyone in this country that wants to become an entrepreneur and start a business at any level
3. Both of these factors are critical for us to build a culture of entrepreneurial success to maintain a strong economy and bring in the new talent that every country is striving to attract.
4. If in the process I can influence some of the brilliant MBAs we are graduating to circumvent the conventional and lucrative path to becoming a business executive in favour of applying their abilities to becoming entrepreneurs who solve problems, make things happen, create jobs and provide the drive that leads to success, then my time and effort will have been well spent.
5. The very talented people who apply to the Lab are brilliant in their innovation but still need nurturing on the personal issues involved in becoming an entrepreneur, the fundamental business issues they will encounter and the overall philosophy inherent in being an entrepreneur.

My book will out at the end of November. In the meantime I am enjoying my involvement with the Lab targeting success in a global economy which I firmly believe will centre upon a New Age of Entrepreneurship.

 

 

I’m having a book launch this Saturday December 20th at The Book Shelf on Quebec Street in Guelph. Hope to see you and offer you a piece of cake in celebration.

The books are full of common sense self help information and make great gifts for anyone from teenagers to tech innovators to seniors who are reluctantly continuing their careers.

Entrepreneurial thinking is a valuable life tool not just a means to a business

Much as we would like to, we never really love our parents as much as we do our children. Your business is exactly like a child. In the early or startup years it will depend completely upon you, looking to you for all the answers. You will always supply them with confidence, belying the uncertainty that you may feel as a first time owner just as you do as a first time parent. The child will look to you 24/7 in sickness and in health and as the parent you will always be there regardless of the problem, dropping everything else in the process. Your business and its components from customers to your team will do the same and like the parent you will be ready and willing to oblige. You cannot easily walkout on your children. Oh some due but for the majority it’s a non-starter. Same thing with your business. You are your business but try to remember your business is not you.

The middle years are the best when you have become comfortable within your developing family and confident in the decisions that must be made. Neither your child or your business will question you during this peak period. Things do get into a groove on both fronts but then comes the maturing years, the transition from total dependence  to independence. Tough for the parent to admit it’s time to let go and let the child mature  developing all of it’s capabilities, finding new methods and learning new things that the parent doesn’t know or understand.  So difficult to do but you the parent do it willingly in the best interest of your child. And so you must with your business. At some point you will become the limitation in your business. The day will come when it has outgrown you. It will not mature and reach it’s potential unless you let go. Easier said than done but be ready.

Like your first born that first business must move on to a new future. But then remember you can do it again. Maybe you already are. The second child is easier. There are tried and true practices that you know and understand. You can take that second child from gestation through birth to adolescence from startup to a thriving healthy entity. You can do this as many times as you can handle. And so you can with business. That’s what makes you a parent and that’s what makes you an entrepreneur. There are many mentors that can steward your child and your business into full maturity who cannot deal with the early years. You are the one who launches them from nothing and starts them along the path to maturity.

So recognize the need for that end game- when it is time to move on and begin again. It’s what you do best. The child will ask for you opinion. The business may ask you to consult. You will learn to enjoy both, but you will find your happiness doing it all over again.

Most of what the average person reads about entrepreneurship sustains the mystique. We revere the outstanding successes achieved by extreme entrepreneurs from Edison to Jobs. Reading about these giants colors our perception of entrepreneurship. We admire their achievements but consider them beyond reach. Their stories sustain misleading myths about entrepreneurship that combine to keep capable people from embracing an entrepreneurial career. Here are some of the distortions that deceive us:
– Entrepreneurs are born and cannot be made
– Entrepreneurs are gamblers who take reckless risks to achieve high rewards
– Entrepreneurs work 24/7 and have little or no personal life
– Entrepreneurs need to fail in order to succeed
These established stereotypes derive from two specific types of entrepreneurs. First are the misfits or rebels who either cannot or will not conform; the gamblers to whom few of us can relate. Second and even more prominent are the tech entrepreneurs immersed in the world of venture capital where risk is high, failure is frequent and the rewards for success are dramatic. However Silicon Valley is not the center of the universe and these are not the definitive entrepreneurs; they are but two types of many, both removed from the traditional economy and the rock solid problem solvers that collectively form the engine that drives the economy. Those are the achievers that make things happen especially creating jobs while big business is chasing lower costs around the globe.
Let’s set the record straight
Entrepreneurship can be taught. It should be taught and it is being taught
Becoming an entrepreneur is all about the mindset not the skillset. Entrepreneurs find the way to make things happen they don’t always know the way. This is a teachable philosophy, entirely appropriate in a world dominated by change which generates knowledge and new problems at a phenomenal rate. Finally after fifty years of a flawed model focused on turning out executives for large corporations, colleges and universities have turned their attention to promoting and encouraging entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is not about the risk you take but the results that you achieve
It’s a startling paradox. Too many good opportunities die prematurely because so many potential entrepreneurs are risk averse. At the same time businesses are failing because of absurd risks fostered by the idea that being an entrepreneur is nothing more than a gamble. Entrepreneurs succeed through determination not by taking unwarranted risk. Managing your risk as you embrace it is critical. Not all ideas are opportunities and every opportunity is not viable.
Entrepreneurs need to find balance and will make mistakes and have regrets if they don’t
Having a work ethic is critical. During your startup phase and later when you encounter bumps in the road you will work long hours with great satisfaction. But as things progress and you don’t find balance you are missing something – failing to build your team, keeping too much control or limiting your own development. Both you and your business will suffer. Never forget: you are your most valuable human resource. Balance is a subjective decision but dividing your time does not preclude you from succeeding as an entrepreneur.
Entrepreneurs do manage their risk and avoid failure – if they fail they learn and move on
Describing failure as an essential part of success is pure rationalization. Admittedly many entrepreneurs are motivated by the fear of failure more than the rewards of success. Avoiding failure is a powerful source of determination. We do learn from failing because we take the time to analyze it. Success is elating and it masks our faults. Entrepreneurial infallibility is another myth that leads to bad decisions and setbacks that result from forgetting the basics.
What is an entrepreneur?
Most of us will never reach achievements like Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg. That does not demean what we do achieve. Society needs to recognize a broad definition of entrepreneurship at every level and value entrepreneurship of every type because in a world dominated by globalization and technology the one thing that we can count on is change across every element of our economy. Resilience and adaptability are important entrepreneurial qualities that allow us to embrace the ongoing pressure for change. In the simplest terms entrepreneurs are problem solvers who consistently make things happen. They are agents of change in an era of change. They are disruptors at a time when the status quo is a moving target. Do you want to be part of the solution or part of the problem? We can all become more entrepreneurial in our beliefs, break out of prison thinking and think outside the box. The alternative is personal stagnation and uncertainty evolving from lack of job stability, declining upward mobility and the shift in income distribution toward the rich. The most important skill you can develop is the ability to create and manage your own career,
Do understand: we can’t all be innovators but for every innovation there will be thousands of entrepreneurs finding applications for it that solve everyday problems producing jobs and independence in the mainstream economy. Being first is over rated. Doing things better and different often brings greater opportunity. Remember that coffee shops existed in London in 1650 but Starbucks found a new appeal and a great market niche for this old product that resonates in today’s economy.
Believe in your own ability. You can establish the mindset of an entrepreneur. You can eliminate the word ‘can’t’ from your vocabulary. You can approach problems by skipping right over the question “if” it can be solved and skip directly to the question “how” it will be solved. You can find opportunity and you can analyze to make sure that opportunity is viable. All of this can be done within the context of the traditional economy and you don’t have to be a tech genius to do it. Technology is not a threat but offers a great tool for you to use. We are entering a new era of entrepreneurship which means it really should be an option for almost anyone.