Microsoft tasks entrepreneurs on breaking business established habits
NAN-HE-3
Entrepreneur
By Chiazo Ogbolu
Lagos, Nov. 29, 2016 (NAN) Mr Perry Kamel, Microsoft Senior Business Development Manager for Small and Medium Enterprises in Africa, says breaking an established habit makes one an entrepreneur.
Kamel made the observation in statement in Lagos on Tuesday, stressing that ‘’with passion, determination and a willingness to try and fail, and try again, the world could be people’s oyster.
“The many stories about the common traits of an entrepreneur are written as if there are magical properties that you are either born with or not, and if you do not possess them you will never succeed.
“However, what you often find is that many entrepreneurs that seem to display these ‘common traits’ still often fail, while those who do not fail, make it.
“What you think it takes to succeed may be all wrong,” he said.
Kamel said that there was the need for entrepreneurs to understand some five entrepreneurial myths and where entrepreneurs are going wrong in their businesses.
He listed them as: being a risk taker, having start-up capital, know when to quit, entrepreneurs being extroverted leaders and having a business plan.
He said that more important than risk appetite, was how risk was managed when the wrong step was taken.
“An entrepreneur needs to be a risk taker, diving head first into your brilliant idea does not make one an entrepreneur.
“ In South African for example, a business started by two engineers to develop a radar system that alerts cyclists of potential hazards on the road made them leave their corporate jobs.
“Building their innovation is not what defined them. It was how they responded to failure. They battled for nine years to sell the radar software technology, even trying door-to-door sales.
“They could not get a big break, did not give up though. They adapted, learned and realised that they needed an accelerator.
“The product is proof that agility and determination is a better determinant of success than being able to take a risk,” he said.
Kamel urged entrepreneurs to have a start-up capital, adding that keeping the business floating should be uppermost in their mind.
“Many businesses can start with very little capital, particularly those that operate online. The trick is sustaining and growing your business for the next 18 to 36 months which is the most difficult.
“This is often where we see entrepreneurs sell their homes, work 18-hour days and borrow money from family and friendsi doing whatever it takes to make the business work.
“This makes for real entrepreneurs. There is a saying in the Small and Medium Enterprises ecosystem that if entrepreneurs are not prepared to invest and lose everything, they will not be taken seriously by investors,” he said.
He also urged entrepreneurs to know when to quit, when an idea did not work, or had taken a wrong turn, to let go.
“There is a saying that when you fail, fail quickly, pivot quickly. Quit what is not working, but never quit the dream.
“Prepare just the minimum viable product or service to see if it will fly. If it does not, move on.
“Good entrepreneurs do not get so attached to their solutions that they are blinded by their desire to make that specific solution work,” he said.
He said that all entrepreneurs were not extroverts as there are many ‘quiet’ leaders who demonstrated the resilience, listening skills and analytical insight to build great businesses.
Kamel said that one of the best things an entrepreneur could do was to surround themselves with people who had different styles.
He said that an entrepreneur must have a business plan that would be used to project financials to secure investment.
He, however, said that many successful entrepreneurs never had a formal business plan and called for fine-tuning of assumptions before defining a specific plan with financials based only on dreams and passion.
“Instead of getting fixated on a business plan, rather focus on a business model.
“This complements the business idea by describing the customer journey and more importantly, the channels to acquire new clients.
“There is need to focus on Strategic Growth Plans that show how Go-to-Market can occur for entrepreneurs, thereby bringing customers to the business,“ he said. (NAN)
CAN/TA
Edited by Fela Fashoro/Tajudeen Atitebi