Overrating the Entrepreneur

There's a trend - Governments in order to boost their employment figures are turning to the entrepreneur and implementing programs that overlap that lead to an often dead end road where the entrepreneur can't get what they truly need to get their business off the ground at the end of their education - MONEY.

The programs being touted in the media about entrepreneurialism seem to suggest that everyone has what it takes to be an entrepreneur. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Yes there are some great ideas out there in the minds of those that would be great if they can ever get off the ground. These individuals have neither the experience, the connections, nor the financial backing to realize their "dreams".

It is therefore against, this backdrop that this post is being put so here are some things that you need as a prospective entrepreneur to consider:

1. You need to research your business well. Having just an idea without knowing at least how phase one will work isn't enough. Business is not an arena that you can "fly by the seat of your pants". You need to know your business inside out. You have to provide the information necessary to enable your team to make sound decisions. If you need to get aspects researched, then pay to do it. You'll save yourselves lots of time by finding out what you need to know.
2. Your professional team is necessary as they have more experience than you do. You won't go to the doctor and ask for the syringe to administer your medication that you should have no access to, don't expect that your professional team is going to hand over the tools of their trade for you to botch it up - and then blame them. Also while helping you to understand the guidelines of their expertise, they will not train you in their area of professionalism. 
3. FUNDS - Have funds to start your business or GO HOME. Trying to start a business on the back of others using their assets is just not going to cut it. You need to understand that others are not going to have the need in place more investment in your business than you are. Pay your professionals and other service providers well and STOP LOOKING FOR HANDOUTS! We have to pay to access the information that we then provide you with to make important decisions. 
4. Too many "entrepreneurs" want to behave as if they are the bosses of their professional team members. Respect the personal time of your professional team members. Calling them incessantly after hours and on weekends even when paying fees can create a challenge. All professionals need down time to adequately prepare for the next work wave so they can be on top of their game. This is necessary when we ask nicely. 
5. Follow the advice that you're given - sitting in meetings taking up time and then not following through on the outcomes from that meeting, only to turn up again with incomplete tasks is tantamount to Bovine Faeces - wasting time and energy of all involved. 

Following these five (5) suggestions will go a long way in helping you build a strong and profitable business and in this instance is given freely. If you are lacking in these areas and are thinking about entrepreneurship there are agencies to help you get prepared in the areas you are lacking the resources. Go there first! 

Many professionals discuss these areas among themselves, it's time that you also know so that you can adjust your "business practices". Don't become another statistic just because they're overrating the entrepreneur as an employment solution. 

Greed to the Extreme = Chaos

Taxation has its place in any economy. It's what is needed in order for the nation to survive. However when taken to the extreme, it hinders rather than helps what the government of the day is trying to achieve. Politics has proven by way of the results, though packaged differently, that virtually are all parties seem to be the same - undeliverable promises made to capture votes.

There's something when the populous raises alarms that go unheeded. When the pain of a people is being heard and yet ignored. When people who are thought of as peaceful seem to be continually trampled by decisions that off ill effect. What is being put forward by the governments of the day seems to be win/lose rather than win/win. Macro economic policy seems to be decided upon by micro economic situations - hair extension brands, rims for vehicles, how much money small businesses make like hairdressers etc.

In short, government policies can help or hinder business development. There must be strategy to allowing businesses to develop and thrive so that collections can be made from profitable, sustainable businesses. Business owners must be allowed to have money so that they can make decisions that positively influence their businesses and the community within which it operates.

Caribbean businesses have not yet developed a profit mindset. The lack of strategies speak to this when one meets with the entity's decision makers and discuss the "methods" used to develop their business' model. Most businesses seem to adopt the "for me to succeed, you must fail" thinking. Yet others seem to have a need to spend when money is received to reset their accounts to pre revenue levels. Very few businesses have a plan as to what they need to do with any surplus cash - the result is then wastage.

When taxes can get to the level that they surpass the price of the service / product offered [see regional airline tickets] then we know we are really living in troubled times. Though it has not happened yet, the result over time can be chaos, when people are pushed to their limits and finally exceed their breaking points. We need to take heed and do so quickly.

[image was found on the internet]