W06 Reflection: Entrepreneurial Journal

 

Hello everyone, I will be talking about what I learnt from the material So You Want to Be an entrepreneur? Don’t jump in unprepared. Some people portray business as a complex enterprise, requiring the mastery of impressive-sounding jargon, complicated flowcharts, and spreadsheets but millions of people who have never seen the inside of a business school are running successful companies. 

There are three areas of knowledge that are critical for starting a successful business: 1 In-depth knowledge of the competitive structure of an industry and a network of contacts within that industry; 2 The skills to run the daily operations of a small, rapidly growing company; and 3 The ability to raise money. I learnt that as I begin a new career, I should think of myself as being on a scavenger hunt with three bags labelled “industry knowledge,” “running a business” and “capital.” In each bag is a list of the items I (or my partner) will need to improve my odds of becoming a successful entrepreneur. While others spend their time at their next job standing by the watercooler or having lunch with friends, I will be busy collecting the knowledge and relationships I need to launch my business. 

The more items I collect before I launch, the better I chances of success. Raising money is the least important and most generic of the three skills and raising money is the least important and most generic of the three skills. The world is too competitive to start a business without a deep understanding of your industry. This knowledge falls into two general categories: the competitive structure of the industry and personal contacts with trusted experts. You also must build a network of personal relationships within the industry. Without these contacts, gathering accurate information is too costly and time consuming. You must know the good people from the bad, whom you can trust and whom to avoid at all costs. 

Understanding daily operations is a must for entrepreneurs. Daily operations include many issues, from accounting, production, organizational and administrative dilemmas to general business philosophy. With enough creativity and effort, any job can help you acquire new tools or contacts for one or more of the three skill sets. Very few would-be entrepreneurs will get their dream job straight out of school. The secret is not to tilt at windmills, but to choose a position in which you can develop industry, operational and fundraising skills.