Getting beyond the point of no return

March 6, 2012 1 Comment

This theme is aimed at those people who are thinking of setting up their own businesses. It begins to explore the things that need to be considered for sustainable success even before the business exists.

I have lost count of the number people I have spoken to who, early on in the conversation, say ‘I’ve been thinking of going into business myself’ or ‘I’ve just started a business with a friend’ or ‘I’d like to start my own business’. For the majority that I meet, I get an overwhelming sense that it is never going to happen. It might be in their tone of voice, the look in their eye or the way they ramble on about the business idea, but, I just can’t help but think it is never going to happen. And, for those people that I have kept in touch with, I can’t think of any of them who have gone on to really do it. They might start a business, they might even do some business, but, eventually the thought, idea or dream slips away “well at least I gave it a go!”

On rare occasions, I meet someone who I really believe. Somehow, you just know it is going to happen. And sure enough – it does! I have often wondered what lies within this difference and in my occasional moments of reflection, three phrases spring to mind: moments of commitment; opening up options; and, getting beyond the point of no return.

When setting up a business, you will face many moments of commitment – consider them hurdles. These hurdles vary in height and difficulty. They might include a lack of full (or perceived) support from your partner/spouse, through to, obtaining funds to take your idea to market. Those business owners who go on to great things, seem to find ways to use these hurdles to fuel their business idea and ambition “each time I heard the word ‘no’ it made me more determined to make it happen”. Whilst, those whose ideas and business that fell by the way side saw these hurdles as an ever increasing size ‘I’ve worked out that I now need to raise £5m to get this off the ground’.

In addition to this, there seems to be something important in the way that successful business owners go about this exploratory phase. Let me give you a very simple example. It comes from how two close friends (both now running successful businesses in their own right) went about choosing a name for each of their businesses. Both of them were able to describe what they wanted the business to stand for. Both of them knew the gap they wanted to fill in the market place. Both of them used people outside of the business to come up with a name. Both of them tested these names with lots of people. Both of them ended up with a very clear favourite that they felt described what they wanted the business to truly stand for.

Successful business owners seem to open up options. They have a core idea that they want to test and evolve. They know what it is but they can’t really describe it. They take this idea and throw it open to other people. They are willing to gather other people’s ideas/thoughts and explore all possible options – before closing things down and focusing back on their core goals. It is a process that they adopt for many aspects of the business before it even starts. From the business structure, through financing and even taking on employees, they invite people into their challenge.

Compare this to the others who don’t make it (including myself on a couple of occasions!). They have an idea, think of a name, start a business to register the name, and start saying ‘I’ve got my own XXX business’ or ‘I am opening up a XXX’. They close down options and almost become protective of their original idea. They lack the confidence to take on board alternative points of view. Consequently, they don’t find alternative routes over, through or around the hurdles.

Perhaps these initial two aspects of this theme are about people dipping a toe in the inviting, but freezing, crystal blue waters of a swimming pool on a baking hot day. However, if you want to go swimming, at some point you have to commit fully, you have to immerse yourself in those icy wateres and have your breath taken away.

It is your final moment of commitment – it is the point at which you have to get beyond the point of no return. ‘I’ve told so many people what I am doing, I’ve got so many people interested in the results, that I really have no choice but to make it work – I will feel a failure if I don’t do it’.

Below are some phrases or thoughts that I might expect to hear from someone who is truly ready to start their own business. They are indicative rather than exhaustive or exclusive. I am sure many business owners have started businesses without doing this, but I am convinced that those that went onto greater things got to this point (or an equivalent) first.

I feel that I have no other choice but to do this myself

  • I have tested my business idea with lots of people, taken on board their critical feedback and it has heightened my belief that I have to do this now
  • I have a written this down in a plan for the business and have set out some financial targets
  • I have thought deeply about the business name, I have tested lots of different names and chosen a name that truly highlights the nature and ethos of the business
  • I have thought deeply about the business structure and governance and I am sure that this will allow me to explore future avenues for growth
  • I have enough money in place to fund the first 12 months of the business
  • I know that it might take longer than I want and that it will be harder than I think but I feel ready to take on the challenge
  • I have a clear action plan for the first 6 months of the business
  • I have sufficient access to the right advice and support

To summarise, I’d like to use the analogy of a magnetic attraction. The more that a successful business owner gets into the detail, the greater is the level of attraction. Eventually, the attraction becomes so strong that the two entities (business owner and business) can’t help but stick together. Whilst with the others, the experience is much more like magnetic repulsion. The more you pushed them towards their idea the greater the desire they had to move away from it!

So if you are thinking of setting up your own business, what are you doing to increase your sense of attraction to your business idea? Some additional questions worth considering:

  • What are my possible routes for exit?
  • How does the ownership structure of my business enable or inhibit these routes?
  • If you are considering working in partnership with someone, what difficult conversations have you not yet had?
  • What stepping stones can I create to eliminate some of the risks or accelerate my progress?
  • What skills, capabilities or people do I need in order to give my business the greatest possible chances of success?
  • What will attract them to the business?
  • What are you willing to give up in return for their contribution?
  • How will you create a business that stands out in your market place? (click here for more information)

Filed under Themes of sustainable success Tagged with , ,

What is unique about being unique?

February 10, 2012 1 Comment

Recently, I was privileged enough to be invited to form part of a panel of ‘so called experts’. It is not my preferred way of engaging with business owners, large-scale talks tend to have a limited long-term impact, but I was honoured to have been asked.

We were speaking to expectant business owners at a Fitness Industry convention, the dawn of the ‘budget club’ had well and truly arrived. Having spent years competing with national operators, the 150, or so, people in the audience now faced a real challenge ‘if I can’t compete on facilities and I can’t compete on price, what can I do?!’

Each esteemed and, might I say, carefully selected expert had been asked to prepare a 3-minute introduction to kick-off the discussion. I spent hours preparing mine, well, most of the two hour train journey to the NEC. Imparting my ‘distilled wisdom and simple truths’ I found myself telling the audience ‘you have a fantastic opportunity to compete and carve out your niche in your market place’ – I made a strong emphasis on your to infer that they were in charge of their own destiny. I went to summarise my key lessons as ‘be unique, target your customers and make it easy for them to buy’ And, using their own language, so did pretty much every other panellist. In fact, three of us had made reference to the parallels of going fishing… not much uniqueness in that!

Perhaps the consistency of the message is important – there are no silver bullets – but it got me thinking. What is unique about unique? What do we mean by real difference? What are the implications for the long-term (as well as the short-term) success of your business?

Many business owners start a business because: they intuitively feel there is a gap in the market ‘I couldn’t get what I wanted, so I started a business myself’; or they believe ‘I could do a better job and make more money, if I left this company and did it myself’. The driving force to do it is emotive and strong, often a massive sense of dissatisfaction with the status quo. In their heads they can see it and define it, but articulating it and communicating it is a real challenge. Over a period of time, they develop smart and complicated answers to a question that they often get asked ‘what do you do?’ But ‘people never quite get it’ and the more that this happens the more they take on whatever work they can get for whatever the price – bang goes their uniqueness.

Instead of trying to be unique, perhaps the question ambitious business owners should be asking themselves is how to create an outstanding business? Creating a business that stands out from the outside in and the inside out. It is the obsessive pursuit for the alignment of business purpose and values and the delivery of the customer experience that successful business owners appear to focus on.

What seems to be required are some different questions:

From the inside OUT

  • What problem are you really trying to solve?
  • Why are you trying to solve it?
  • What do you really believe in?
  • What difference do you want to make?
  • What capability, knowledge, relationships or experience do you have that no-one else can replicate?
To being OUT standing
  • Who are you targeting as your ideal customer?
  • What do they really value? What problem are you really trying to solve in their eyes?
  • How will they judge success? What does ‘world class’ of delivery of this value look like?
  • How well do you deliver this value? How could you deliver this more?
To standing OUT
  • Who are your real competitors?
  • How do you stack up against them? How will you win?
  • How can you demonstrate that you are better?
  • What work would you never take on? Why?
Back to OUT side in
  • In a sentence describe why your customers will want you and your competitors will fear you
  • What can you do for your existing and potential ideal customers to allow them to experience your outstanding business?

If you want a different take on the same subject please look at this video.

Filed under Themes of sustainable success Tagged with , , ,

Managing a cash flow crisis

January 11, 2012 4 Comments

With tough trading conditions many people are facing a cash flow crisis and some tough decisions. Here are some insights that we have gained over the years.

At some point during your journey as an ambitious business owner, you will face a cash flow crisis.  In the heat of battle and when the chips are down, it is very difficult to keep your head and do what is really needed. With this in mind, here are some quick tips on what to do:

Look for it coming

If you have the slightest nagging doubt, rather than bury your head in the sand do some proper planning and forecasting. Ideally, this will be a regular finance function within your business – a leading indicator that warns you of rough seas ahead. If you don’t have it in place, now is the time to lay down the future foundations. What is your sales forecast? When will these sales be realised as cash? What invoices / payments are due? What is the actual shortfall of cash that you face?

You want an honest and real picture. Look for the worst case scenario. Don’t count on ‘possible’ or ‘maybe’. If they do happen to come in, it will be a bonus.

Collect what you are owed

In the heat of the moment, most people focus on getting new sales in and forget to collect what is owed to them. Are you doing all that you can? Has everything that you have delivered been invoiced? Has every invoice been paid? Who in your team is on top of this and making sure that it happens? Get in touch with your debtors, find out what is happening, check if everything is in place for the payment to be made, and then be fair but firm on obtaining the payment. Most people value an honest and adult conversation. Sometimes this can reveal the most astonishing and silliest things that are stopping payment.

If things are difficult for your customers, consider a payment spread. It is better to get some in now (and the rest later) than not at all. Consider adding interest but never discount.

Complete a robust review of your sales pipeline

Take a moment to step back and prioritise your sales activity. What does your sales pipeline really look like? What can be done to bring more in, earlier on? Most of the time, it is people that you already know who are going to give you sales in the short-term.

A few extra sales can be worth vastly more than even the keenest cost-cutting – though a bit of both doesn’t go a miss.

Step back and review the whole picture

Now you have taken initial action, step back and consider the root cause of your problem. Challenge your perceptions, get perspective and consider your motivations and impact.

What is the real cause for your cash flow crisis? What has led you to this situation? What is your contribution to the current picture? What is the one thing that is required to enable the sustained success of your business?

Spend what time and money you do have on the right things

Now you have established the root cause look at where you are spending your time and money? Are you spending it on the right things? Is it getting the results that you want? What needs to be done to address the balance? Where must you spend time/money to give yourself a future? Where can you save time/money? Where must you stop spending time/money?

Look for the opportunity

Once you have done all of this. Take another step back and look for the real opportunity. Crisis is often a stimulus for growth and a chance to leap on to a new curve. What have you been avoiding in the hope it would sort itself out? What can you learn about your desires, values and ambition? What changes in your business can this enable? What does this tell you about your future focus?

Make the decision that you need to make

Now you can make the decision that you need to make. What is the difference that will make the difference?

Communicate, communicate, communicate (internal and external)

It is better to be on the front foot with communication than on the back foot. Share people your view of the world but involve them in the creation of a solution.

Internally, engage their hearts and their brains in the process you are going through and the answers that you are developing. If you can’t tell them what will happen, tell them what they need to focus on and what they can influence now. Provide a shot of reality with a dose of optimism and direction.

Externally, plan for and have  ‘adult conversations’- do your homework, be clear on what you want from each conversation, present a clear picture of reality, have some suggestions/solutions up your sleeve, ask them for their ideas and remain focused on the outcome that you want to achieve.

Share the load / burden

As the business owner you are most likely to feel obliged to put other people first, make sure you have an outlet for yourself. Find someone who is outside the problem and with whom you can ‘speak the unspeakable’ and who can help you see the wood for the trees.

Embed the learning

Once you have seen it through, make sure you embed the learning in your processes and behaviours going forward. Financial discipline, prudence and planning is a key element for sustained success. Get yourself some early warning systems.

Filed under Themes of sustainable success Tagged with , ,

Building resilience to crises

December 6, 2011 1 Comment

For many ambitious owner managers, crisis is a stimulus for change and growth. For some, crisis may be too strong a word. For others, it may describe exactly how it felt.

“We turned up to work that morning and had a choice to make. Do we give in and close the business? Or, do we make the tough decisions and see what we can rescue? We went for the latter.”

“The (then) FD told me that we were insolvent. He was wrong. He didn’t understand our business model (that is why he is the then FD!) It was a real shock to the system.  I knew we had to do things differently.”

“We nearly went bust in 2002/3. In 2007/08 we posted a profit of £7m.”

“Crisis forced me into making moves. Sometimes you need a push – redundancy is a strong driver!”

Crises in business appear inevitable. In 1972, Larry Greiner defined his Growth Model consisting of periods of relatively stable growth followed by a ‘crisis’ – where major change is needed if the company is to carry on growing.

Whilst these crises hold the potential to provide significant learning and the stimulus for growth, they can also break the business. So how can our knowledge of them drive sustainable success?

If a smaller, growing business is to be sustainable, it has to build resilience to crises. What appears fundamental is the ability to take early action – a phrase that we’ve come to know as ‘confronting the brutal facts’. However, to confront these facts, you first have to see and to accept them.

For some, the signs of crises were clear but they just didn’t follow through: “I wish I had trusted my gut more – no advisor has been as good as my own instinct”. For others, they are lacking information and carrying on blissfully unaware: “it wasn’t until I went on a finance course and had to look through my accounts that I realised that we were on the edge of going under”.

Given that this is the case, some key questions worth asking are:

  • What are you doing to build your personal and business resilience to ‘crises’?
  • What have you learnt from your previous ‘crises’?
  • How have you used them to stimulate progress within your business?
  • What is the next potential ‘crisis’ within your business?
  • What are the signs and symptoms and how are you measuring them?
  • What is your ‘gut’ telling you about your business?
  • What brutal facts do you need to confront?
  • What early action are you taking?

Compass meeting # 2 – building resilience to crises

Filed under Business Growth Networks, Themes of sustainable success

Creating options for successful exit

December 6, 2011 2 Comments

All business owners dream of exiting their business. The timeframe for the occurrence of this dream tends to differ from one owner to the next. For some, it is before the business exists. For others it is the result of conversations with other business owners who have managed to ‘realise the value’ of their businesses. For those remaining, it is normally the result of years of draining hard work and the desire to create a different, alternative life – quite frequently labelled ‘retirement’ – not that they actually go on to retire!

Whilst the dream is enticing, the reality of exiting the business is a somewhat difference experience.

Imagine, that you have worked your whole life to develop something then all of a sudden the moment comes, the sale is agreed and the business is no longer yours. You feel a sense of achievement, a moment of relief, but the business still feels like yours.

The new owners arrive. You may have an earn-out clause as part of the deal or, you may just be keeping in touch with the people in the business. Very soon, you start to feel “a real sense of loss”, “guilty that I’ve let the people in the business down”, “annoyed that the new owners want me to report on my business progress” or, “regretful that the new owners are destroying the very business I’ve spent my life creating”.

Eventually, the owner leaves the business fully, with a sense of remorse, a sense of unfinished business and a sense of bewilderment that results in some serious soul searching – “what do I do next?”. Frequently, they go on to invest their new found wealth in fresh ventures or younger, more energetic, ambitious entrepreneurs.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the fence, the new owner of the business is often left wondering “how am I going to realise value from this business”, “the people have too much loyalty to the owner”, “the owner is becoming an obstacle to growing the business”, “can’t they see the potential for growth that we can?” and, “there are a few more problems here than we realised”. Soon the ‘fixers’ descend upon the business and implement the ways of the new world, casting aside all reminders of the past. People leave. Those who remain hanker after ‘the good old days’.

Of course, all business sales are not the same. Not all have the same drivers. Not all have the same business model. Not all have the same personalities involved. Not all are extremely felt as those described above. However, those that go better than others do seem to have some consistent themes:

  • It allows the owner to realise an appropriate amount of value
  • Selling the business better allows the business to fulfil its founding principles – it is the right time to sell
  • Time is spent co-creating a new future for the business
  • The original identity of the business is nurtured and evolved rather than destroyed
  • Time is spent on engaging people in both businesses during and after the acquisition
  • The integration is viewed from a long-term perspective
  • The seller plays an important role in the transition of leadership
  • The original owner is supported in discovering a new role/life for themselves

Given this, some important questions to ask might be:

  • What type of ownership/leadership does your business now require to fulfil its purpose?
  • Rather than investing in them when you have sold, how might your business benefit from bringing in fresh entrepreneurial energy now?
  • What are your criteria for an ‘ideal buyer’?
  • What would you actually do if you left your business? No really, what would you DO?
  • How will you ensure you maintain ambition and drive during an earn-out period?
  • How would you avoid developing sense of seller’s remorse?
  • What would you do to work with the new owners to nurture and evolve the identity of the business?
  • How would you work with the new owners to create a new direction and future for the business (in a way that you couldn’t do before)?
  • How would you support the people in the business ahead of/during the sale so that they could be successful in the new organisation?
  • What role will you play in the transition of leadership?

Compass meeting # 4 – creating options for successful exit

Filed under Business Growth Networks, Themes of sustainable success

Entrepreneur as leader

December 6, 2011 4 Comments

At a recent workshop, a room of business owners were asked, ‘do any of you know what your role is?’ The room was filled with an awkward silence. The silence you get when you realise a good question has been asked by mistake. The silence that fills the person being asked with a mild sense of panic – a realisation that they should be able to provide the answer! After a few moments, someone replied “deal with all the c**p that my staff leave me with!”

What is the role of the business owner? Or, more specifically, how do they make the transition of entrepreneur to business leader?

It goes without saying that the energy needed to start up a business is not the same as the energy required to lead a growing business. One requires a ‘just do it’ mentality, whilst the other requires a whole lot of stuff and patience that many business owners often struggle to deal with. “If I am not doing ‘stuff’, then what is my role?”

To answer this question, we often find ourselves exploring the functions of leadership (referred to in the book Reflections and Challenges – see http://www.telospartners.com/index/reflections.php).

Those business owners who we have observed take significant leaps forward seem to have a canny knack of ‘managing the present’. They do it in a way that allows them to work and provide clarity on ‘creating the future’ and ‘nurturing identity’. “Some of the most valuable time I spend in my business is staring at a blank wall. It is then that my thoughts and ideas crystallise.”

Without doubt, the transition towards business leader moves the business forward – “each time I have let go of stuff, to focus on where I can add real value, the business has jumped to the next level”. It is a transition that has real challenge – “the reason I set up the business – autonomy and control – is the very reason I find it difficult to let go of stuff”. It is a transition that requires a certain leap of faith – “I wish I had managed to trust my team sooner”. It is a transition that is particularly challenging when family is involved – ask any son or daughter who has taken over the business from their mother or father.

The transition appears easiest in those businesses that have a clear plan for the founder to exit the business: “I realised I needed to manage my exit”. And, in planning this exit, they aim to create, to build and to sustain a legacy that lasts beyond the founder.

To do this requires a need to “be bolder about paying for and hiring in the best talent available”; “build a team with everyone on the bus doing the right roles without pandering to individual wants and needs – a clear focus on the ambition and the vision”; “find a way to articulate your vision and values and get your team to develop and create a strong brand together”; “focus, focus, focus – ask the right questions of those who want to help you”.

And of course, to do this requires a need for the founder to behave differently themselves: “entrepreneurs must be confident to lead the business and not so confident that they can’t ask for help and stand in the way of success.”

It is important to note that exit doesn’t always mean sell. On a number of occasions, we have observed entrepreneurs suffering from ‘seller’s remorse’ – a sense of loss and regret that has occurred once the business has been ‘taken away’ from them. Perhaps this a sign that they have not properly thought through the process of ‘passing on’ the business – an insight that we may find develops further with time.

In the pursuit of sustainable success there is a need to think about passing on the business. Given this, some key questions worth asking are:

  • What does exit mean to you?
  • What heritage are you trying to create?
  • What role does your business require you to play (now and when you exit)?
  • What is the real value that you can add to the business?
  • What do you need to do differently to perform this role?
  • Who are your potential successors?
  • What are you doing to develop them further?
  • How will you manage the transition?

For more information, please review the discussion of our compass meeting # 3 Entrepreneur as leader

Filed under Business Growth Networks, Themes of sustainable success

Holding yourself to account

December 6, 2011 2 Comments

We have run numerous meetings, programmes and workshops with business owners and we are consistently amazed by how much they value the time away from the business. They enjoy spending time with like-minded people that challenge their thinking and give them the opportunity to work on the business.

A more longitudinal study of processes of this type might also reveal how the conversations shift in energy from the initial generation of thoughts, ideas and actions to the challenges laid down to report on the actions that were previously discussed or agreed. “Last time we spoke about this you said you were going to …… what happened?” In some cases, there is follow through and tangible business impact, in others there is not.

And herein, lays a particular challenge for the ambitious owner manager – how do “people with a large need for autonomy and control”, who typically hate being told what to do, hold themselves to account and keep themselves honest for their actions?

Now, this is not to say that business owners and entrepreneurs are a dishonest bunch. It is more to say that a CEO of a large corporate is supposedly held accountable by a board and investors, whereas, the business owner often is the board, the management and the majority shareholder. So there seems a need to ask the question “what is your framework of accountability – board, trustees, mentor/coach, non exec?”

We know that this is important stuff …

“Your governance structure can inhibit or enable long-term success”
“Defining your constitution and mandate are important”
“I needed more structured learning and business advice for myself earlier on”

…difficult stuff …

“I spent lots of money on lawyers for a written constitution and didn’t really end up with what I needed for the business “
“I’d find more support for start up organisations – Business Link were laughable”
“Finding the right support for the evolving needs of my business and for me is a real minefield – where do I start?”
“I needed something to help me make sense of the various advice and support that I was being given from an accountant or from a solicitor – they simply didn’t ask me the right questions”
“There are a variety of business models and one size fits all support simply does not work”

…and some people find a way to do it.

“I’m part of a small network of business owners who meet once a month, they are like my non-executive directors, justifying my plans and actions (or lack of) to them can be a challenging experience”
“For years we have struggled to articulate and write down the founding principles of the business, now that we have managed to do so we have a strong framework for taking the business forward”
“I was challenged by my coach to write a business plan, we meet regularly to see how it is going. To begin with I resisted the process but I am starting to see the benefits of such an approach”
“With a proper management team and strategic plan in place we are finding new ways to use our meetings to keep ourselves on track. Keeping on top of this process is paramount to our success but it is challenging to maintain”
“Appointing a non-executive Chair was a difficult decision for me. I mean how do you recruit your own boss? It has taken a while to understand how to derive value from the process but it is starting to reap rewards”.

So the final questions we ask are:

  • What needs to be in place for you to be held accountable?
  • What challenge and support do you need to keep true to your purpose and values?
  • Who is challenging you to drive the business forward?
  • Who keeps you honest for your actions?
  • How is your ownership structure supporting or inhibiting your growth?
  • How will the next leader(s) of your business be held to account and kept honest?

Find out what other business owners said at one of our Compass Meetings on this very topic.

Compass Meeting # 5 Holding yourself to account – outputs from discussion

Filed under Business Growth Networks, Themes of sustainable success

Ambition an entrepreneurial paradox

November 30, 2011 2 Comments

In business, the theme of ambition keeps coming up time and time again. But, my sense is that it is more than just an ambition that centres on size or on money. It is an ambition that brings with it: “an eternal sense of dissatisfaction with what currently exists, a strong drive to make things better”; “a passion for doing something that really makes a difference”; “a belief that you can make it happen or actually see yourself doing it”; an imperative to make the business a success – “there is no plan b”.

“Unless you drive a business forward, it won’t be sustainable.” And herein lies the first challenge – keeping this driving, ambitious energy alive.

Someone with whom I have worked very closely is frequently heard to say, “your business looks and feels the way it does because it is your business. If it were my business, it would look and feel very different” and believe me, he’s right.

More times than we care to remember, we have come across leaders of SMEs who have simply ‘fallen out of love’ with the business. They have become “worn down by the daily grind of the business”, “don’t have enough troops to get the job done”, get drawn in to the everyday activity, become “unable to see the wood for the trees”. The result? A business that has become ‘unloved’, ‘worn down’ and ‘stuck’.

It has been quoted on a number of occasions that “the CEO of a Fortune 500 organisation has a 10-15% influence on the performance of the business”. Well, in a smaller growing business the leader is the performance of the business.

A significant influence on this ambitious, driving energy, is personal life-stage and circumstance. This may seem an obvious statement, but the influence it has on the development of the business is strongly felt.

Consider the number of:

  • Young ambitious entrepreneurs with drive and enthusiasm but without the funds or experience to start a business or those who fail at their first attempt only to drop out of entrepreneurial life, battered and bruised by their experience.
  • Entrepreneurs trapped within organisations, unable to take the difficult and important step of leaving their job.
  • Businesses that stagnate or stall because the owner can’t risk going for growth, “I’ve got school fees to pay” or “my partner thought it was too risky to remortgage the house”.
  • Businesses that become focused on growth only 3-5 years before the owner wants to retire.

An intuitive, non-statistical interpretation of how this might look is summarised below. With it comes the introduction of the ‘entrepreneurial paradox’: young entrepreneurs with drive and energy but lacking the network, experience and funds to make it happen, versus older entrepreneurs with the network, experience and funds but lacking the drive or energy to make it happen.

Ambition – an entrepreneurial paradox

This driving, ambitious energy is a key component of sustainable success for ambitious owner managers, and key questions that seem worth asking are:

  • How clear are you on your ambition for the business? How does it align with your personal ambition?
  • What are you looking to improve or do better?
  • Where are you trying to make your real difference?
  • What do you passionately believe in?
  • How do you visualise success for you and your business?
  • What actions are you taking to keep the ambition and energy alive?
  • Does the ‘entrepreneurial paradox’ have meaning for you?
  • How might you resolve it?

Filed under Themes of sustainable success

Welcome

November 29, 2011 3 Comments

Telos Partners is a global team of business professionals united in one purpose – to create sustainable success for our clients, our business and ourselves. You can discover more about what we do by visiting our our main website.

This blog site has been established to capture and share the learning of our work with ambitious business owners and founder-led organisations.

If you are interested in discovering more, please contact adamcampbell@telospartners.com.

Filed under Thought leadership

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