Skills for a Sustainable Business Enterprise

looking back

culture?

why?

Enterprise, Small Business and the Economy

Small businesses are the lifeblood of the economy…..Play a vital role in supply chainProvide competition in terms of new products and servicesSmall firms are the main providers of new jobs

Small businesses in the UK….3.7 million small businesses99.8% of all businessesover 50% of economic activity56% of non-governmental jobs (excluding financial services)52% of UK turnover (GDP)

SMEs AND ECONOMY

They help to diversify a nation’s economic base.

They assist in employment creation (counteract downsizing corporations).

They help regional economies overdependence on international finance and big business.

WHY SMALL BUSINESSES?

What is success for the individual or SME?

LifestyleGrowthMaximising profitsTurnoverManagement developmentInnovative products and services

Crisis and Symptoms: Pre-startup (Years –3 to –1)

Focus:Is the founder really an entrepreneur?

Selling:Does the team have the necessary selling and closing skills to bring

the business and make the plan – on time?Management:

Does the team have the necessary management skills and relevant experience, or is it overloaded in one or two areas (e.g., the financial or technical areas)?Ownership:

Have the critical decisions about ownership and equity splits been resolved, and are the members committed to these?

Startup and Survival (Years 0-3)

Leadership:

Has a top leader been accepted?

Goals:

Do founders share and have compatible goals and work styles?

Management:

Are the founders anticipating and preparing for a shift from doing to managing and letting go?

Early Growth (Years 4-10)

Doing or managing:

Are the founders still just doing, or are they managing for

results by a plan?

Focus:

Is the mind-set of the founders operational only, or is

there some serious strategic thinking going on as well?

Maturity (Years 10-15 plus)Goals:

Are the partners in conflict over control, goals, or underlying ethics or values?

Health:

Are there signs that the founders’ marriages, health, or emotional stability are coming apart (I.e., are there extramarital affairs, drug and/or alcohol abuse, or fights and temper tantrums with partners or spouses?

Teamwork:

Is there a sense of team building for a “greater purpose,” with the founders now managing managers, or is there conflict over control of the company and disintegration?

Harvest / stability (Years 15-20 plus)

Succession / ownership:Are there mechanisms in place to provide for management

succession and the handling of very tricky ownership issues (especially family)?Goals:

Have the partners’ personal and financial goals and priorities begun to conflict and diverge? Are any of the founders simply bored or burned out, and are they seeking a change of view and activities?Entrepreneurial passion:

Has there been an erosion of the passion for creating value through the recognition and pursuit of opportunity, or are turf-building, acquiring status and power symbols, and gaining control favored?