ENTREPRENEUR'S FAILURE FACTORS

The business success factors were commented in a previous post. Today we will talk about the factors that influence the failure of entrepreneurship.

Nobody likes that when he or she decides to start a business anyone tell that the idea is not as good as the entrepreneur thinks, that the chosen partner will give problems or that the business approach is not suitable.

Undoubtedly the illusion is the engine of entrepreneurship, but also can be the worst enemy. The entrepreneur must find a balance between illusion and objectivity.

The entrepreneur should be aware that 90% of the initiatives fail before four years. It is therefore important des-stigmatize failure and assume that this is part of success.

On the other hand, it is important to know that businesses do not usually fail for lack of technical skills, but mainly for reasons related to emotions and feelings. Among these reasons are:

1.  Undertake a business with a motive, but unmotivated. 

• Think about what really moves you to undertake. The business idea is important, but even more so are motivated entrepreneurs.

2.  Not having entrepreneurial character.

• Note that entrepreneurship is a way of life.

3. Not being a fighter person.



• The lack of entrepreneurial skills can be supplemented being a fighter person, with capacity for sacrifice and effort.

4. Having partners when you can do without them.

• Many times the entrepreneur looks for partners because of the fear of undertaking alone. Reconsider if you really need to share your business

5.  Choosing partners without define relevant selection criteria.

• If you really need a partner, you should choose someone who complements your skills. A honest person with and values ​​and ambitions aligned with yours. Note that disagreements will always appear! The important thing is to be able to solve them.

6. Thinking that success depends on the idea.


• The business model chosen to develop the idea is crucial for success. You must also be flexible to allow the evolution of the idea as the business progresses.

7. Planning businesses that depend on family needs and material ambitions.

• Be an entrepreneur if you have the support and understanding of your family. It is also important to include your salary in the business plan.

8.  Undertake a business without assume the impact that this will have in your personal time.


• If you undertake a business because you think this way you will be able to reconcile work and family life, forget. Entrepreneurship is an activity that absorbs much of the time the entrepreneur.

9. Create business models that do not provide benefits quickly and sustainably.

• Plan your business properly. What is really complicated is maintaining the business over time.

10. Being an entrepreneur and not a businessman and not pull out in time.

• If you have entrepreneurial skills but no business skills, you should know when is time to to stop being in charge of your company.

Author: Fundación Maimona

  

ENTREPRENEURSHIP; OPTION OR NECESSITY?

This era is characterized by two key elements. On the one hand, European Union faces its hardest challenge since its creation. Government debts, deficits, recession, unemployment and especially youth unemployment are the features that illustrate the epoch we live. The work environment is more competitive than ever and people try continuously to obtain new skills that will provide them a job. Masters, diplomas, trainings, languages certifications, and internships are piled in the CV but their professional future seems to remain uncertain.

On the other hand, global market trends change rapidly. New needs arise everyday and have to be covered by new professions and new businesses. Internet, Social Media, Globalization, etc. have given a different aspect to the work environment and the necessity of obtaining new skills that have never being learned in the traditional school and Institutes is crucial. This change also affect Vocational training: always more often young people that enter a Vocational Training Institute in a specific time and at the completion of their studies the market demands could be totally different. However, globalisation and the technological progress especially in the information and communication sector release great possibilities of new job opportunities.

In this regards, more than other type of learning, the Vocational Training field should respond to the need of creating new jobs.  Given the trends listed above, the possibilities of getting hired are getting less and less so the process of creating a job is essential if future professionals wish to have one. Creating the job is the first step and maintaining it is the second. But if young persons want to start or continue having a job this should be innovative and adapted to the technological framework of our area.

This process does not require special skills from the students, just the right training which unfortunately is not often provided by schools. Skills such as the students’ capability to recognize the markets trends, be able to reset themselves at any moment, and implement the ideas they may have are crucial nowadays. This is a procedure that can be learned with the right educational approach, the better didactic system and by well-trained educators. This entrepreneurial mind is not just about the creation of a company. It is about ‘’thinking out of the box’’ and creating something innovative out of scratch and try to implement it and reach it to a certain level of growth. This is a very useful skill that can be applied within a work framework, as well and it can be reached with a special guidance, mentoring and tools that educators can offer to students. Indeed, Vocational Trainers should not only be aware of these changes, but also try to go further and implement new educational approaches, exercises or projects that could give the students the above-mentioned skills. Knowledge should be offered outside the strict framework of books and exams. It should be useful, appealing, revealing the attitudes of every single student in order to lead them in their own path according to their skills.

New educational methods should enlighten the survival skills of the vocational students, their innovation abilities, the implementation capacities and their flexibility. Educators should create multitasking students ready to face every change in the work environment in the future but also to be open in new ideas. Professionals should teach how to use technology, social media, and internet research with the aim of allowing student to internationalize their skills. It is a hard task, indeed. This might mean that the educators themselves need to change their mind-set and be more creative and aware of technological advances and the need of this new era.  This might also mean that educators should learn new approaches and try to foresee the setting in which that their students will be asked to work.  It is a huge responsibility and requires so much effort but it is really worthy when we finally see young people developing their charisma and going one step further in their life. When they offer to the society and develop the world a little bit more. The feeling that we have helped in this process is the best sentiment a person can feel.   

Author: Athena Pitta, Language teacher from Greece

WHICH ARE THE BUSINESS SUCCESS FACTORS?

There is one fact that should be noted: 70% of jobs are created by Small and Medium enterprises (SMEs). SMEs and, therefore, entrepreneurs are a key factor in the process of generating employment and wealth in any country. In light of this data, it is clear that we can not leave entrepreneurs without the support and adequate resources.

In this regard, knowing the views of entrepreneurs about success factors for a company and the main problems for the implementation of a business can be very useful for enhancing success and preventing problems.

In this post we will focus on the success factors according to the entrepreneurs. Let us see which factors are:

Author: Miguel Delgado

Source: Informe del Observatorio del clima emprendedor. Fundación Iniciador, http://iniciador.com/

Author: Miguel Delgado

Source: Informe del Observatorio del clima emprendedor. Fundación Iniciador, http://iniciador.com/

The previous data analysis confirms the importance of customer service and market knowledge which is even more significant than having our own funds. However, we can not ignore the importance entrepreneurs confer to training.

Regarding this last aspect, we do not doubt that Vocational Training can become a generator of business projects. So, it is time now for teachers of vocational training, in general, and teachers of enterprise and entrepreneurship, in particular, to transfer  to students the attitude and adequate training to embark on these ventures. The problem is that sometimes teachers do not have adequate teaching tools to achieve it.

The aim of the project ENTANGLE is to give teachers the appropriate tools and skills to guide future entrepreneurs in their way to success in business.

 

  

Miguel Delgado CETEI- Joan XXIII Foundation.

Empathy Map

A frequent used brainstorming tool in BDF’s incubator with start-up companies is the empathy map. The ENTANGLE consortium also used it as an exercise during the Amsterdam project meeting.

The empathy map aids you to get closer to your target group, in our case the teacher. It helps to better understand what a person’s feelings, needs and behaviour are.

The best way to understand its use is an example. Here is ours, a 45 years old teacher, married, two kids.

What does he see?

“He gets up in the rainy morning, ride his bike to the school. There he finds big groups of

students, with different personal problems and motivations. Distracted students, chatting,

using phone devices. Sometimes students do not attend the lessons.”

What does he say and do?

“Teachers tasks along the day involve of course teaching face to face the students, but also

coaching and counselling students, prepare the lessons, homework, meetings…”

What does he hear?

“Teachers perceive of their environment negative news about the economic situation,

unemployment, cuts on education budget…Also perceive the comments of the students,

and how the students evaluate them. And for last, teachers stand the problems of their

families.”

What does he think and feel?

“Teachers feel stressed, that nobody listen them and that they have to carry management

tasks. At the end of the day they are tired, but also satisfied”.

What does he want?

“Teachers want to achieve personal growth. They want smaller groups, motivated

students…”

What is his pain?

“Teachers suffer uncertainty because of the current situation. They do not have

management support, nor time to find or prepare materials…”

What is his gain?

“With ENTANGLE teachers will achieve motivation, new competences, support from other

teacher, motivated and engage students…”

The empathy map will alongside the Business Model Canvas be included in the ENTANGLE material.