ONE SKILL THAT MAKES YOU AN ENTREPRENEUR

The ever-increasing emphasis on entrepreneurship in today's world has made the term "entrepreneur" more generic than expected. Loads of people in our society today now refer to themselves as entrepreneurs, regardless of whether all they had was an idea in the shower (which remained in the shower), or a venture which started and failed in two months. This is not to discredit the efforts or ideas of such people; rather it points them in the right direction as regards the meaning and roles of a real entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurship has no singular globally accepted definition. However, I like to define it as the process of identifying business opportunities, and coordinating the assembly of all the resources needed to successfully take advantage of such opportunities. By this definition, the role of the entrepreneur then is to identify opportunities, and get the necessary resources to convert such opportunities into thriving businesses. This process requires a couple of skills, the most important of which is the ability to sell.

  

The art of selling is the singular most important skill any entrepreneur must possess considering how central it is to the execution of every entrepreneurial task. From the conception of an idea or identification of an opportunity to the actual running of a successful business, every stage involves the need to sell something.

Once an entrepreneur identifies an opportunity, he needs to sell the idea to others who will help him to bring the idea into life. The start-up team must be comprised of people who perfectly understands how the idea creates value for them, for others, and how they add value to the idea. If the entrepreneur is unable to sell them on the idea, he/she either has no start-up team or has an incompetent team.

Then, the entrepreneur has to sell his business model to investors. He needs to be able to convince investors about the feasibility and viability of his business model. Investors are like sharks who will rip your business model apart and ensure that it makes financial sense before they will agree to invest in your idea. Investors abound and are ready to invest only when they find good ideas with great business models. Every entrepreneur should be able to convince investors that his own proposal is worth investing in.

There are lots of other processes in between getting an investment and starting the business. You need to deal with banks, government, and suppliers, among others. All these 'stakeholders' need to be sold on one thing or the other before an entrepreneur can get the value he requires from them. As long has you desire an exchange of value, you need to sell your value proposition at every step.

Then when all is ready and business commences, the business needs to sell its products or services in order to remain in business. Sales is central to the very survival of the business. If the business doesn't sell, there is no cash inflow, without which the business becomes insolvent. When a business cannot meet its obligations as at when due, it ceases to become a business.

Sales is the most dynamic business section and has evolved the most over the years. New industries such as Multi-Level Marketing were born out of the need to improve sales. Therefore, it is important for every entrepreneur to learn this skill. Usually, what differentiates an entrepreneur from an inventor, is their ability to sell.

 Entrepreneurship is not about getting the best ideas, it is about convincing people to part with value in exchange for what your idea gives in return...that is sales. Selling is a skill anyone can learn; there exists a wealth of resources for those who are willing to. Learn it, Practice it, become skilled at it; when you do that, you will become a real entrepreneur and not a wantapreneur.

 
 
NB: I am more than happy to help you become better at selling, just ask, its free! Drop a comment or send me a message on Google+, Facebook (Davies Okeowo), LinkedIn (Davies Okeowo), or Twitter (@okeowodayvies). I look forward to your message. Sell, and have fun.

3 START-UP LESSONS FROM ADIDAS

You might be forgiven for thinking its a sporting fashion to have three stripes on parts of your sportswear; it is actually not sporting fashion, its a brand identity, Adidas' identity.

All over the world, the Adidas brand is well known.  Its presence in over 170 countries is testament not only to its global acclaim, but also to its reputation as a successful brand by all measures. Actually, one out of three people that read this blog own a product made by Adidas.

Amidst all these however, it is easy to forget that what is today known as Adidas was started by just one creative entrepreneur; who was aged 20 at the time. From those early days in the 1920s he was able to grow the company into a global brand which still exists today, years after Adolf (Adi) Dassler himself passed on. How did he make it through Depression and World War II? In true Adidas fashion, here are three lessons we should learn from Adidas' earliest days.

HAVE A CLEAR VISION, START SMALL

Being a keen runner, Adi's vision was to develop a perfect running shoe. The vision encompassed three guiding principles: produce the best shoes for the requirements of the job, protect the athlete from injury, and ensure the product lasted. Armed with this clearly defined vision, Adi started small but never took his eyes off the vision.
Germany after World War 1 was a tough place to start a business but Adi was relentless. He used whatever he could scavenge to make his shoes including parachutes and army helmets. Working from his mother's kitchen, Adi utilized the "lean startup methodology" to develop his first set of products. He invested "sweat and blood equity" and was able to grow from that point on.

PROTECT YOURSELF

"Business is business, family is family, never mix the two together" is one of the first business lessons I learnt. This lesson is reinforced by the early troubles of Adidas, which was then known as Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory.
Adi loved making shoes but he had no business experience; therefore he brought on his brother who had experience in sales to join the venture in 1924 (which was the right thing to do). This led to the creation of Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory which was registered in the same year. Adi kept designing and innovating while his brother Rudolf, was responsible for marketing and sales. Although these moves grew the company, Adi was left exposed as there were no legal agreements as to the ownership structure of the business.
The growth of the business brought about disputes between the brothers which led to a split in 1948. That split marked the beginning of a bitter rivalry as Rudolf took half of the company's shoe making machines and started a new shoe business of his own. That company eventually became what is known today as "Puma", which is one of Adidas' fiercest rival.

KNOW AND LEVERAGE YOUR MARKET

Right from those early days Adi knew his market, what they wanted, and how to reach them. First, he was his own customer as he tested his products while running to see if it had the proper feel. Then, he made sure he attended all the important sports event to sell, get feedback, and interact with his customers. He initially sold to sport clubs and athletes before expanding to supply footwear to participants at the 1928 and 1932 Olympic games. However, the 1936 Olympics which was held in Berlin was where Adi's growth really began. By this time, most of the German athletes wore Dassler shoes and the brothers realised that the athletes themselves were the best form of advertisement they could use to create a buzz around their product. This led to a new marketing trend as the Dassler brothers became the first company to use sport/celebrity endorsement to advertise their products. Adi went further to persuade US sprinter Jesse Owens to try on Dassler shoes. The gamble paid off as Owens won four gold medals which boosted the reputation of Dassler shoes. That trend is still in force today as sport icons such as David Beckham and Lionel Messi endorse the Adidas brand.
Adi knew his market, and used that knowledge to great effect...you should too.

In 1949, Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory was dissolved when Rudolf went to create Puma. Adi as a result created Adidas and its iconic logo which till today remains the second largest sportswear company in the world behind Nike.

Those efforts of Adi in the 1920s were the foundations of Adidas which now employs over 45,000 people. If that business could survive the economic and political climate at the time, then your business too can survive today. Just learn these lessons and ACT ON THEM.

***your feedback is important for the growth of this blog, please let me know your thoughts by dropping your comments. I will be more than happy to reply them***

The First Thing Every Creative Entrepreneur Should Know

Dumping a career in the corporate world to explore the boundless opportunities that lies within one's creative genius is quite common in our environment today. The lure of doing what you love is the singular most important factor that encourages creatively gifted people to become entrepreneurs. Consequently, we have a vibrant creative industry that is filled with people who are passionate about what they do...if they have a scalable business is another question altogether.

It is safe to say that the creative industry is home to the largest number of micro businesses. While a few have been highly successful, 98% of creative entrepreneurs are basically self employed. Note that being self employed (which means owning a job) is quite different from being an entrepreneur (which is more about creating systems which creates wealth). Many creative entrepreneurs today are frustrated in their bid to grow their businesses. Of course they produce great products, they love their work and are best at it; those however are not the full recipes for building a scalable business.

So if you're one of those "unsatisfied" creative entrepreneurs, or you know someone who is about to ditch a job for the pursuit of their passion, here is the very first lesson you must learn...

As an entrepreneur, its never enough to do what you love to do, you have to also do what you need to do

Its one thing to be a creative genius, its another to be a successful business person. Business success requires a lot more than great products. A business is a system not an hobby. So if as a creative 'hobbyist' you want to build a successful business, here are the skills you need to develop (just basics, they're not difficult).
1. Selling skills
2. Basic business law
3. Basic accounting
4. Web, Internet, and Social networking
5. People skills
6. Technical Investing (if you desire to expand your portfolio)

These basic skills are pivotal to the success or failure of any business. As a creative entrepreneur, you must learn these basics. This doesn't substitute the role of professionals in these areas, rather, these skills helps you to understand your business and helps you relate better with all stakeholders.

As a micro business, learn these skills or build a team that balances them. As you grow bigger, you may then hire professionals to handle each aspect. By so doing, you will be laying the foundation for a highly successful and scalable business; thereby creating value and contributing to social development while still doing what you love.

Entrepreneurs are perpetual students, and an "I don't like that area" mentality will not work. No one is asking you to became an business guru overnight. Just acquire basic knowledge of all these other areas.

Remember, its great that you love what you do, but if you're serious about building a business, you've got to do what needs to be done.

Thanks for your time.