SMEs & the Entrepreneurial Contribution to the Economy | Job Creation | Presentation to YFG

Growing Pains: The Pinch Points of Starting Up

Orlaith Carnody - Photo Link

A subject I write about regularly, and I suspect, will continue to do so... The pinch-points of start-up and how to manage them.  However, on this occasion I've decided to call on a friend and colleague to provide her insights - and I'm delighted to be co-writing with Orlaith Carmody of MediaTraining.ie for this post.

Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you'll know Orlaith as a dynamic and focused speaker, mentor and writer. With oodles of experience in SMEs, broadcasting, media training and entrepreneurship, Orlaith is a strong advocate of female entrepreneurship as well as a real believer in the power of the SME Community in driving economic recovery.

I asked Orlaith what she considered to be the key 'pinch points' for start-ups and SMEs, and how to best manage their impacts.

The Knowing ... and the Not-Knowing!

I do feel for people who take to the Den's floor to pitch - it takes a certain brand of craziness to put yourself out there, no-holds-barred and await a grilling.  Relaity television likes the barmy or the brilliant, and not much in between, so there are many good ideas that don't showcase well. However, there's a lesson to be learned here; and that is the fact that you have to know your business inside-out and upside-down before you attempt to pitch it anywhere, let alone on televison. Why? Because in every area of business, awareness of your product, service, pricing, message, growth plan, target-markets [to name but a few!] are key drivers in successful business development.  Only fools rush in, and taking the time to research, clarify and strategise your business offering are wise ways to dodge some major growing pains.

Sweating the Small Stuff... 

.. but not paying attention to the big picture.  As start-ups and SMEs in growth stages, there is often a propensity to obsess.  About everything.  And yes, I understand that everything has to be 'just right', but do you know what? You can end up spending so much time on tweaking the logo - one. more. time. - that you miss out on a great opportunity to showcase to a potential client, make a new connection or produce a good proposal.  Understand what matters, and move on. 

Getting "Hung-Up" Online

Apropos the last point, I have come across start-ups where the owners have given huge chunks of their lives to designing a wonderful website and establishing a social media presence without a customer base.  You are not in business until you have customers, and when you have customers you need to mind them, and give them the required time. I am a huge fan of social media, but it has to be corralled into small windows in the working day. It should work for you, not the other way around.

What's Your Vision?

I know Olwen talks a lot about strategy, something I'm also a fan of - but we share a very strong view on the importance of vision [pardon the pun!].  Developing a small business or start-up requires determination, focus, drive and an unerring commitment to do what it takes to succeed.  Business can be testing at times and you need to have a vision which keeps you on-track, tests you and drives you onwards when the going gets tough. Most true entrepreneurs believe that the world can't do without their product – it is what keeps them motivated in the lean times.

Scream for Help!

Don't ask for help, scream for it. Believe it or not there are lots of people a bit further up the ladder than you are currently who remember what it was like and are willing to share a few shortcuts. You don't have to plough a lonely furrow all the time – use networking events to connect with the right people in your industry and ask for advice. One short conversation with the right person might save you a lot of time and money.

Find a Mentor

Mentoring is increasingly being recognised as one of the key factors in determining the likely success of a start-up.  A regular mentor can provide expert advice, experience, a sounding board, and above all a requirement for accountability.  Until you are ready to form a non-executive board of directors, to facilitate some serious growth, a mentor can do wonders in getting a new business well established.

The Pushy, Bossy Note-Takers' View on Gender and Entrepreneurship

I started my business three years ago.  To this day, I remember the first networking event I attended 'flying solo'.  In fact, I can recall the sick-to-the-stomach edginess I felt as I stood up and 'pitched' my service - it was dreadful.

Now, I am all-too familiar with this sensation - however it's a fleeting feeling when I take to a podium or chair an event - or do a live radio interview.  Nerves are good, they keep you sharp.  However in August 2010 it wasn't the reality of being out of [the age-old, overused term] my "comfort zone", but in fact, it was the sense that I was atypical in my surroundings.  Staking a claim in the sector I work in, as a [then] twenty-something year-old woman, just wasn't [and to a degree now still isn't] the norm.

Big deal, I hear you say - well, actually - it is.  Though times are changing - the change is gradual - and often those with the wish to do something at the top of their capability register simply don't, because it's not the norm.  Sadly, this is especially true of women - often more risk-averse than their male counterparts - and in most cases, more highly-qualified [reference European Commission]... across Europe, women account for just 30% of all entrepreneurial activity, and in Ireland women are only 15-18% of entrepreneurs.  In my case, I knew that I was unusual - most "business development" or "strategy" specialists are twenty years older than me, and male.

However, this didn't stunt my growth - though it did dent my confidence once or twice... hearing disgruntled competitors using my age, my gender [in a veiled manner] and the experience I had [mainly in "female" areas of business - marketing, HR] as a means to question my credentials.  Some jibes over my involvement in women's business organisations - "knitting clubs" - and comparisons between financial planning and the household budget, at a business meeting 'so I'd understand'.  It might sound like I just wandered into an episode of Father Ted, but in fact, this is absolute reality.  I might add that it’s the tip of the iceberg.

So, what's my point? I've written much about the plight of women's economic engagement on this blog, as it's a subject I genuinely care about.  I also believe that those of us who have successfully taken the 'leap' should show the way for others.  I agree with my colleague, Orlaith Carmody, when she says [in relation to women on boards] that simply because those who've battled hard 'did it', everyone else should have to fight the same fight... in my opinion, it's up to us who have reached our own goals, to help others to follow theirs.

As for the other side of the gender argument, I think I agree most with Moira Forbes and others who say 'we need to change the story' and ignore the old-school paternalistic rhetoric.  When the balance sheet versus household budget comment was raised on that fateful day, I realised that the person uttering it simply just didn't understand how ludicrous what he had said, was.  This dinosaur may [thankfully] be part of a dying breed, but our young generation must work hard to ensure his ideologies remain six-feet under.

Sadly, a more insidious form of sexism does exist outside the blunder-bus variety - it's the one which repeatedly attributes values of the past to women's current status, and I have come in contact with this on many occasions.   I have been referred to as 'pushy' or 'bossy' [as opposed to focused and driven] - suggested as the note-taker [women are better at secretarial work, apparently], and condescended to or spoken over at meetings.  A common thread exists where projects I have proposed for or have proposed collaborations for, have been unsuccessful - and indeed I have referred work to colleagues, not to receive any referrals in return.

You might say, ah c'mon, that's just bad luck - but believe me, it's not.  Having amassed a fairly significant portfolio of projects in my short three years, patterns become painfully clear.

So, what's the answer to this quandary? It's down to all of us, male and female - and particularly our young generation - to change this thematic emblem.  No-one with ability to do something, anything, should be intimidated on the grounds of the norm - like the household budget analogy, it's ludicrous.  Our youth are key drivers of change and can make the case for new norms, positive ones which will expedite the pace of change on all fronts.  Business success is centred on capability, and without diversity, businesses cannot expand, grow and create.  Through my work, I'm proud to see more dynamic, more focused leadership in SMEs headed up by Ireland's new swathe of entrepreneurs - they hire capability and diversity - they invest in their staff, and their own development.  It's so refreshing to see this change.  As highlighted by Dr. Gareth Jones of the London Business School at a recent IMI presentation – authenticity, clarity and focus is key to success.

In sum: Ireland needs to continue to embrace this new, dynamic form of leadership which is inclusive, focused and firmly kick off the shackles of traditional paternalistic values. Dinosaurs may be extinct, but their successors live on.

More:

Guardian | Pretty and colourful: what women bring to the DB boardroom, says Ackermann

Women's Economic Engagement & the Europe 2020 Agenda

Where do I go to grow?

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What direction do I need to grow in?
Do you know?

If not, why not?

Growth means something different for every business, product or service - and each entrepreneur.  One thing that is for certain, if your growth plan doesn't include scale - in terms of how your offer what you offer - then it isn't a growth plan.  Consider your channels for growth - do they include productisation  - new market opportunities ... or implementation of a strategy?

Understand what growth means for your business, so you know where you need to go to grow.

Building a Strong Foundation

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When you think of the analogy of house-building, what comes to mind? Bricks-and-mortar? Hard hats? Foundations...?

Having mentored many, many businesses over the years - as well as working for several - I've seen, first-hand, that one of the most important things you can do is to build that strong foundation on which to develop your concept, idea or business offering.  As Eric Ries regularly mentions in his musings on start-up, being able to maneuver the 'unforeseen' elements of the market-place is also critical.

Good foundations for your business may look completely different to the next - but in most cases - they revolve around solid market [customer and competition] understanding, having a compelling value proposition, and a sound strategy.  Without these elements of the 'foundations' in place, and a commitment to innovation, focus and "bounce-back-ability", the building-blocks of your business are being created with success in mind.

NWCI: 40 Years Leading Change - Video

Keep Your Eye On The Ball

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It's no mean feat, keeping all the plates spinning [or all the burners going] - or however you might describe the 'multi-hat management' of SME ownership.  However, one thing is for sure - if your key objectives are not in focus at [pretty much] all times - you might find yourself dangerously close to implosion.

So remember: keep your eye on the ball, and allow time to [every week] appraise how those key objectives are coming along.