When I saw the January issue of Entrepreneur Magazine I was
thrilled. Cover copy had a teaser on it
to the effect that entrepreneurs had been surveyed and inside were their
answers. I was certain that, finally,
someone was paying attention to entrepreneurs who were striving for a
successful business. It was time to hear
from us little guys!
I can’t tell you how surprised I was as I began to read the
article. Their idea of an “entrepreneur”
and mine were as different as night and day. I always classified an
entrepreneur as someone like the “Mom and Pop” coffee shop around the corner,
the family run produce market in town, or the 18 to 24 year old who had come up
with a fantastic “gizmo” and was scooped up into a corporation as their newest
genius. Let me give you a quote from the
article that will clue you into its idea of an “entrepreneur”.
To explain the method used for the survey they state,
“Entrepreneur magazine and PricewaterhouseCoopers “Entrepreneurial Challenges
Survey” is an annual telephone survey of more than 300 CEOs of privately held,
U.S.-based businesses recognized for their sustained, rapid growth. They average $31.5 million in annual revenue
with an average of 185 employees, and have an ongoing annual growth rate of
more than 23 percent……”
That definitely was not my picture of an entrepreneur. I
don’t know too many entrepreneurs who average $31.5 million annually, or employ
185 people. To me, that’s a pretty
successful company on its way to being a corporation. We should all be such entrepreneurs!
At any rate, I continued reading and I must say the
information was worth the read, and the business of doing business can apply to
those of us who aren’t quite making that $31.5 million per year yet. Here’s what the survey discovered.
What were considered their biggest challenges for 2006?
- 73% - Retention of key workers
- 38% - Developing new products/services
- 36% - Expansion to domestic markets
- 35% - Increased productivity
- 28% - Upgrading technology
- 23% - Creating business alliances
- 21% - Better management of cash flow
- 14% -
Expansion outside the
- 13% - Improving risk management
- 11% - Finding new financing
- 11% - Buying another company or launching a spinoff
- 7% - Preparing company for sale
- 2% - Going public
Now when you stop and think about it, that’s pretty much
what most entrepreneurs think about each year.
Maybe not to the extent of expanding to foreign markets or launching a
spinoff, but to keep your business
perking along the road of improvement - all the rest are considered.
The next part of the survey was interesting because
entrepreneurs were given a list of several “wild-card” factors that could
affect business in 2006. When asked
which three would be most harmful to their business, here’s what they said:
- 47% - Unstable U.S. economy
- 43% - Rising health-care costs
- 41% - Shortage of qualified workers
- 40% - Weak market demand
- 24% - Rising oil/energy costs
- 24% - Rising interest rates
- 22% - New government regulations
- 18% - Weaker capital spending
- 14% - Weakening world economy
- 12% - Increased global competition
- 11% - Decreased access to capital
- 10% -
Sudden drop in
- 10% - Tax increases
- 9% - Inflation
So maybe my entrepreneurs and those surveyed are not really
that much different in thinking. The
outlook of most entrepreneurs is probably optimistic, or will be unless more
unforeseen disasters strike.
Even after the huge devastation of 9/11, within two quarters
we were back to the same level of optimism as we had before. People get used to dealing with tough
circumstances and factor them in, but are not swayed by them. When you really think about it; isn’t that
what most entrepreneurs are like?
If they’re not, then they aren’t entrepreneurs by my way of
thinking.
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