Stop and Smell the Roses!
It seems that writers are always haranguing small business owners to take time off and not work so hard on their business—“work ON your business, not IN your business” is the catch-phrase of the day.
Then I read a post today, by Jim Blasingame, in his The Small Business Advocate Newsletter, and it was so to the point that I wanted to share it in its entirety as follows:
Most small business owners wish they had a dollar for every time some “civilian” presumed to pass judgment on the way we spend our time.
Of course, we shouldn’t follow our dream to the detriment of family, health, or spirit. But civilians should remember that “stop and smell the roses” is a metaphor. And every human gets to define his or her own metaphorical “roses.”
In fairness, it’s not the civilian’s fault, because they are typically those who work someone else’s dream, as an employee. Since their “roses” are not likely to be found where they work, it makes sense for them to think a small business owner should get out of the business more, or to question why we work on weekends, or to encourage us to play more golf.
When you see small business owners working on their business on a beautiful Saturday, instead of playing golf, don’t presume that they aren’t smelling their roses.
Here’s what civilians often don’t understand about entrepreneurs: We don’t have to leave work to smell the roses.
Thank you for being part of my community. I’ll see you on the radio, and on the Internet.
Jim Blasingame
The Small Business Advocate
Small-business owners may work weekends, or into the late night hours…or arise before daylight to work in their business; but that does not mean they are not smelling their own metaphorical roses. Something that all the “civilians” out there need to understand.
American Capitalism?
It seems the U.S. has, for quite some time, prided itself in being the true Capitalist nation of the world. With relatively low taxes, fewer government controls, and that indomitable American spirit of freedom, entrepreneurs have a free rein to start whatever business they want in the U.S. This is the land of opportunity, and that is why we lead the world in entrepreneurship—right?
Sadly, the above comments appear to be part of a giant myth. John Schmitt and Nathan Lane, of the Center for Economic & Policy Research published a paper in August declaring that the U.S. ranked second to last out of 22 countries in the ratio of self-employed workers to the total civilian workforce. Not surprisingly, the U.S. also appeared near the bottom for workers employed in small-business manufacturing. Much more surprising, was that the U.S. was also near the bottom for computer related services.
Here are a few comparisons of self-employment as a percent of total civilian employment, as published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development:
- Greece – 35.9%
- Spain – 17.7%
- Britain – 13.8%
- Germany – 12.0%
- France – 9.0%
- U.S. – 7.2%
Of course, when throwing big corporations into the mix, the U.S. fairs much better, but what does this say about small business being the future of the American economy? What does this study say about the role of American small business in any part of our future?
So, what has happened to the entrepreneurial spirit in the U.S.? Why are our European and Asian neighbors beating us at our own game? Have we become so used to living the easy life, with cheap and abundant credit, that we no longer want to work the demanding regimen of the small-business entrepreneur?
It takes guts, passion, persistence, and very hard work to become a successful small-business person today—and it now appears that America has a dearth of people with these attributes.
What has happened in America…and can we retake our former position as a world leader in small business Capitalism?
The New Normal
“The New Normal—GET USED TO IT. The legacy of the financial crisis will be overregulation and slow growth.” These are the words of Mohamed A. El-Erian, CEO and award winning author of When Markets Collide, in a recent article in BusinessWeek. El-Erian went on to say; “…some may want to deny the new reality. That’s a mistake. But being caught in a regime shift with backward-looking beliefs and operating models, is much worse.”
Without a doubt, things are going to change dramatically over the coming years and we will be doing business within major new concepts. It can be exciting, or devastating, depending on how well we adapt to change.
So, because it is the weekend, I thought I would include something from one of my favorite entrepreneurs, Mark Johnson. This is one of the first performances Mark and his crew put together after he brought some of the “Playing for Change” musicians to the U.S. for a tour.
(email subscribers can view on my blog)
Change is a stimulus, and it can create tremendous opportunities for creative thinking and new innovations. The time has never been better for entrepreneurs than it is right now.
Entrepreneurship–Only For the Young?
With more and more boomers joining the ranks of the unemployed—added to the growing number of retirees whose portfolios have diminished (or disappeared)—we see a large block of “older” people searching for work. Actually, many of this older group are looking to become entrepreneurs…to experience that nagging drive to start a business that they ignored when they were in a comfortable job, or had all the retirement money they thought they would ever need. But, what chance does this older group stand against the energetic, well-educated, and creative younger entrepreneur?
Well, quite good actually. Consider if you will, that Herb Kelleher was 40 when he started Southwest Airlines; Gary Burrell was 52 when he cofounded Garmin; Harlan Sanders was 65 when he started franchising KFC; and entrepreneur Mortimer Levitt’s last book was titled “96 And Too Busy to Die” (he wrote his first book “How to Start a Business Without Losing Your Shirt” when he was 75).
Not to discourage young entrepreneurs—they are the key to America’s business future—but entrepreneurship does not belong just to the young. The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation of Entrepreneurial Activity reports that there are twice as many business founders over 50 than there are under 25.
To be successful, an entrepreneur does not need to produce an earth shaking new product that will change the lives of mankind. Richard Branson did not invent a new product, he improved a process, and Fred Smith simply improved how packages were delivered. Just because you don’t invent a new high tech gadget does not mean you won’t be successful. You can certainly replicate businesses that are already successful (that’s what franchising is all about). Or, you can simply turn your dream into a successful business, like Fraser Doherty (SuperJam), or Justin Esch and Dave Lefkow (Bacon Salt). There are no limits to imagination.
So, there you are…anyone of any age can start a business based on whatever their dream is. Don’t be intimidated because you have never started a business—there is lots of help available…and never tell yourself you’re too old to start a business (or too young for that matter).
Entrepreneurship!
Fourteen-year-old Fraser Doherty, of Edinburgh, Scotland, certainly understands the meaning of Entrepreneurship and Innovation—he won first place in the Global Student Entrepreneurship Award competition at the 2008 Global Entrepreneurship Week. Fraser’s company, SuperJam, makes fruit jam from natural products, and sells it globally.
Frasier is a serial entrepreneur in that this is not his first venture into entrepreneurship. He has even tasted the sting of failure—his first enterprise failed because a fox ate his assets. But, like any true entrepreneur, Fraser came back with an idea for his next venture, and turned it into a success. One can only wonder what his next enterprise will be.
This story is in sharp contrast to one of my recent posts, Scandals, Innovations, and AIG, which presented the dismal picture of the high rate of school dropouts in the U.S. Instead of trying to train our students to get high scores on their SAT tests, we need to prepare more of them for entrepreneurship.
Fortunately, there is one place where aspiring young (and old) entrepreneurs can connect and begin to turn their dreams into reality—Global Entrepreneurship Week. Seventy-five countries will hold thousands of events during this week, where entrepreneurs of all ages meet to share and learn. The short video below presents a brief montage of typical events that are held around the world during this week.
(email subscribers, view on blog)
The next Global Entrepreneurship Week will be celebrated November 16-22, 2009. What can each of us do to make entrepreneurship a goal for more young people, instead of the world of the dropout?
“…in a rapidly changing world that demands new ideas faster than ever, young people must not only embrace their prevailing tendencies toward entrepreneurial thinking—they must be inspired to act on them.”
—Jonathan Ortmans
President, Public Forum Institute
For Want of a Nail…Redux
Back in October, I posted an article titled “For Want of a Nail…” where I described a bad customer experience I had at a nearby coffee shop. I described the poor management of the business, and intimated that the business would not survive under its current management.
Well, guess what! Last month I drove by the coffee shop and saw a large banner over the door that read “Reopening Soon–Under New Management.” Since then, I have stopped in a couple of times and have been pleasantly surprised by the eager greeting, the good coffee, the great service, the offer to set up a frequent coffee card, and the visibility of the manager. All the things that drove me away before have been eliminated and replaced with an attitude of wanting to make me a loyal and happy customer.
Any small business that relies on repeat business to be successful, needs to concentrate on building a loyal following…or “Tribe” as Seth Godin would call it. Now, I predict that as long as the present manager continues doing the things he is currently doing, this business will do well. I am now one of their tribe.
How are you doing with building your “Tribe?”
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