Captain's Blog April 4th 2006
There are Old Pilots and Bold Pilots but no Old, Bold Pilots!
An Entrepreneur is someone who organises a business venture and takes the risk for it. I recently heard this definition which was new to me. What struck me is the risk-taking; it sounds a bit scary. But I am sure there are some old entrepreneurs about and definitely some bold entrepreneurs.
But how do you get to be an old, bold entrepreneur?
A recent GEM* report shows that the number of entrepreneurs in the UK fell in 2005. The survival statistics are not good for small business. A Natwest survey shows 56% fail in the first two years; a three year study by Barclays revealed 20% folded in the first year and 50% in the first three years. The East of England Development Agency reported that 75% of start-ups taking accredited training never actually launched their business.
However, a recent Bank of Scotland report says that 88% of small business owners are confident about prospects over the next 12 months, despite a predicted worsening of trading conditions.
So are we fools rushing in where ignorance is bliss or just born optimists?
I heard a very interesting business speaker recently who shed some light on the subject for me. Ben Kench is “The CanCan Man”, an entrepreneur who believes there is no such word as can’t. He might look like a gangster but he speaks from the heart. He claimed that 80% of businesses fail in the first five years (source not revealed) and the main reason was poor sales and marketing technique. He likened business to skiing. When it gets steep and scary our natural instinct is to lean back. However, the most effective technique is the opposite; lean down the slope.
I reflected on the fact that I am much more risk averse in business than I am in my personal life. We pilots have another saying; “It’s much better to be on the ground wishing you were up there, than to be up there wishing you were on the ground.” I am embarrassed to admit to being in this situation more than once; being bold has come close to reducing my chances of being old. On one occasion, I found myself at altitude, scurrying back to Cambridge airport in an attempt to outrun a rather large, black, cumulonimbus cloud on a convergent course. Lightening forks that look beautiful from the ground are terrifying from inside in a flimsy, metal box at 5000ft. The potential to turn you into a pork scratching is impressive but not beautiful.
Being a pilot or an entrepreneur is a risky business but that’s part of the excitement and the challenge. However, ignorance is not bliss. If you have access to a weather forecast, it makes sense to check it before you fly off into the gloom. When we have a bright idea for business, our natural instinct is to rush out and start spending on websites, brochures, premises, office furniture, etc. Then 12 months or two years’ down the road when it’s not working we start leaning back, reducing our marketing spend and being reactive instead of pro-active. My experience in large corporates as well as proven research shows that when the going gets tough, the companies who cut back on marketing activity are the losers.
Ben Kench is right to pinpoint marketing as the single most important area of skills and knowledge where smaller businesses need help. We can’t all be good at everything but we can learn from someone who knows their subject, including me. I regularly attend workshops, seminars and courses with the best marketing minds in the world. It costs me a fortune, as do all the books I buy on this huge subject. But this is the way I lean into it and I can help you do the same. Your business won’t take off if it sits on the end of the runway with the engine at idle.
This is my recommended flight plan for a successful business launch and growth. Pop along to Cambridge airport and take a Test Flight with an instructor. They will guide you out to the threshold of runway 24, you will do power checks and then it’s brakes off and throttle forward to full power. The runway at Cambridge is 1965 metres long, that’s over a mile of tarmac. This is long enough for a Jumbo, which often fly in, so an excess of runway for a Cessna. However, the fact is unless you do push the throttle fully forward you can trundle as far as you like down that runway and you will not get off the ground. With the throttle at full power, however, a Cessna will literally take off by itself once there is sufficient airflow over the wing for the lift to exceed the drag. This is why marketing is so important in business. If you don't give it full throttle you will trundle along until you fall off the end of the runway. You need to get airborne if you are going to get anywhere.
The secret of being an old, bold entrepreneur is to prepare and plan; learn all you can about sales and marketing before your launch. Once you launch you will need full throttle to get yourself noticed, wow your customers and leave the competition far behind. A fully laden Jumbo jet weighs 400 tonnes and yet it gets off the ground and stays airborne. You can do the same if you have more LIFT and less DRAG.
You can read more about Ben Kench on http://www.abctd.co.uk/
*GEM – Global Enterprise Monitoring http://www.gemconsortium.org/
If you have any comments, feedback or requests for future topics please email me at mary@theflyingmarketer.co.uk or log on to www.theflyingmarketer.co.uk
An Entrepreneur is someone who organises a business venture and takes the risk for it. I recently heard this definition which was new to me. What struck me is the risk-taking; it sounds a bit scary. But I am sure there are some old entrepreneurs about and definitely some bold entrepreneurs.
But how do you get to be an old, bold entrepreneur?
A recent GEM* report shows that the number of entrepreneurs in the UK fell in 2005. The survival statistics are not good for small business. A Natwest survey shows 56% fail in the first two years; a three year study by Barclays revealed 20% folded in the first year and 50% in the first three years. The East of England Development Agency reported that 75% of start-ups taking accredited training never actually launched their business.
However, a recent Bank of Scotland report says that 88% of small business owners are confident about prospects over the next 12 months, despite a predicted worsening of trading conditions.
So are we fools rushing in where ignorance is bliss or just born optimists?
I heard a very interesting business speaker recently who shed some light on the subject for me. Ben Kench is “The CanCan Man”, an entrepreneur who believes there is no such word as can’t. He might look like a gangster but he speaks from the heart. He claimed that 80% of businesses fail in the first five years (source not revealed) and the main reason was poor sales and marketing technique. He likened business to skiing. When it gets steep and scary our natural instinct is to lean back. However, the most effective technique is the opposite; lean down the slope.
I reflected on the fact that I am much more risk averse in business than I am in my personal life. We pilots have another saying; “It’s much better to be on the ground wishing you were up there, than to be up there wishing you were on the ground.” I am embarrassed to admit to being in this situation more than once; being bold has come close to reducing my chances of being old. On one occasion, I found myself at altitude, scurrying back to Cambridge airport in an attempt to outrun a rather large, black, cumulonimbus cloud on a convergent course. Lightening forks that look beautiful from the ground are terrifying from inside in a flimsy, metal box at 5000ft. The potential to turn you into a pork scratching is impressive but not beautiful.
Being a pilot or an entrepreneur is a risky business but that’s part of the excitement and the challenge. However, ignorance is not bliss. If you have access to a weather forecast, it makes sense to check it before you fly off into the gloom. When we have a bright idea for business, our natural instinct is to rush out and start spending on websites, brochures, premises, office furniture, etc. Then 12 months or two years’ down the road when it’s not working we start leaning back, reducing our marketing spend and being reactive instead of pro-active. My experience in large corporates as well as proven research shows that when the going gets tough, the companies who cut back on marketing activity are the losers.
Ben Kench is right to pinpoint marketing as the single most important area of skills and knowledge where smaller businesses need help. We can’t all be good at everything but we can learn from someone who knows their subject, including me. I regularly attend workshops, seminars and courses with the best marketing minds in the world. It costs me a fortune, as do all the books I buy on this huge subject. But this is the way I lean into it and I can help you do the same. Your business won’t take off if it sits on the end of the runway with the engine at idle.
This is my recommended flight plan for a successful business launch and growth. Pop along to Cambridge airport and take a Test Flight with an instructor. They will guide you out to the threshold of runway 24, you will do power checks and then it’s brakes off and throttle forward to full power. The runway at Cambridge is 1965 metres long, that’s over a mile of tarmac. This is long enough for a Jumbo, which often fly in, so an excess of runway for a Cessna. However, the fact is unless you do push the throttle fully forward you can trundle as far as you like down that runway and you will not get off the ground. With the throttle at full power, however, a Cessna will literally take off by itself once there is sufficient airflow over the wing for the lift to exceed the drag. This is why marketing is so important in business. If you don't give it full throttle you will trundle along until you fall off the end of the runway. You need to get airborne if you are going to get anywhere.
The secret of being an old, bold entrepreneur is to prepare and plan; learn all you can about sales and marketing before your launch. Once you launch you will need full throttle to get yourself noticed, wow your customers and leave the competition far behind. A fully laden Jumbo jet weighs 400 tonnes and yet it gets off the ground and stays airborne. You can do the same if you have more LIFT and less DRAG.
You can read more about Ben Kench on http://www.abctd.co.uk/
*GEM – Global Enterprise Monitoring http://www.gemconsortium.org/
If you have any comments, feedback or requests for future topics please email me at mary@theflyingmarketer.co.uk or log on to www.theflyingmarketer.co.uk
posted by The Flying Marketer at 2:57 pm
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