Dr Andy Richards

Dr Andy Richards reveals what he wished he'd known when starting up his business.

Euan, my son, I am writing you this letter because I believe that one day you could be an entrepreneur and that I thought you might forgive my indulgence by permitting me to tell you some of the things that I wish I had known when I set out on my journey into the world of business.

Not everyone can be an entrepreneur

Today, being an entrepreneur is very trendy, almost as fashionable as being a celebrity chef. It was not always this way, and I daresay that its status will change again in the future, but for now it is "in" and therefore deeply attractive to many. However, despite this new found cache and the fact that an entire industry that has been built itself with the intent of teaching entrepreneurship, we are told that there are still too few genuine entrepreneurs.

Quite obviously, not everyone can be an entrepreneur; in fact it is a privilege reserved (or deserved) for the few rather than the many. I really struggle to deconstruct the essence of those that make it. Most attempts to define, catalogue or characterise entrepreneurs seem doomed to fail.

Certainly, if I look at my own circle of entrepreneurial friends they are a pretty heterogeneous bunch with significantly less in common than more. So it is perhaps easier to define what does not make an entrepreneur rather than the converse; and it is ironic that almost anyone who has been on a course and tried to train in entrepreneurship is most likely not to be one!

Training and education

So what training and education do entrepreneurs have? Well, so often the entrepreneurs who are held up by the media as role models have "trained at the school of life". They are depicted as, and are celebrated for, being tough ambitious generalists capable of tackling any business opportunity.

They sit in their dragon's den and hire and fire on a whim. But these are rare (and often less than pleasant) beasts. Many of the real entrepreneurs that I respect most have built up deep expertise, a specialism and a core competence to build on. So you can be an expert and an entrepreneur and in many ways this is a far better ecological niche to be in.

These entrepreneurs are more comfortable with themselves and more pleasant to be around. So if you can bear it, be patient and become an expert in a subject, a skill, a capability a value chain or a sector before you embark on your journey.

I can see so many characteristics and qualities in you that we seem to share; you take risks, your thinking is quirky, many find you charismatic and others threatening; you are full of energy and have a love of the new and a passion to achieve within your rather perverse view of the world. You value most what you can succeed in and I know you are hungry to get started.

But don't be over eager and get sucked into the wrong opportunity and the wrong journey. Here "wrong" is more likely to be about the wrong people or the wrong timing rather than some dry business fallacies. Remember above all else that success is the journey and not about reaching the destination - so enjoy the journey.

Learn about yourself

Understand others, but more than anything, learn about yourself and how you interact with others. Learn how you sell - and then try to understand how you lead and how you motivate. The first of these is the simplest and probably the one that most entrepreneurs learn first.

I think all entrepreneurs have learned how to sell or more properly how they sell best, and everyone does this differently! You have to trust your instincts and do it your way - don't get drawn in by the stereotypes and the self-help books and the courses.

The big sell is then applying this and selling your dream/vision to those you want to work with you and join you on the journey; the motivating and the leading. I have always been too trusting and this has been both a strength and a weakness. Others will let you down but don't look backwards; there is no point in cultivating enemies, revenge is simply a dish best never served at all.

Contrary to the media stereotype, you do not have to be a bastard to succeed and clawing over the bodies of your colleagues to get there tends to detract from the journey!

There is something very Darwinian about fast growth businesses, they evolve under tremendous selection pressures and, of course, evolution is not about survival of the fittest, but more accurately, survival of those most adaptable to the changing environment.

It's all in the timing

The business environment is all about change. True entrepreneurs have a real feel and sense for changes in the environment and they respond early. They are at the front of the wave and get their timing right. Being lucky is often synonymous with getting ones timing right.

Business has its fads and its fashions, especially within the investment world. In so many ways we are all sheep, and we accept business theory or strategic dogmas that spread widely but with hindsight are clearly flawed - look out for these, but hesitate to shout the fallacy from the rooftops.

The business world loves its dogma's and so you will have to "talk the talk" and give lip service to the current business axioms to be an accepted member of the tribe. But know that when business seems certain, change is usually underway.

You and I love to experience the new and this makes us hyper-sensitive to new ideas and concepts. We see these early and often think them passé when they are still young. Many say that success in business is about luck but more than anything it is about timing. Ideas are rarely good or bad but timely and the timely idea is one worth acting upon.

Entrepreneurs are not quitters

Perhaps the most perplexing thing about successful entrepreneurs is that as well as liking change they have a dogged determination and perseverance to see things through; they are not quitters when times are tough.

However, because of this the biggest danger is often overstaying your welcome when things are going well; remember that success is the journey and moving on, or "exit" as it is termed, is part of the journey and to be relished.

All business theory goes on about exits, but for you the real exit route is more important than for anyone else. It really is worth planning for and not worth worrying over loss of control, or purpose, or status or identity; or worrying about letting others take on what you have started. Getting your timing right by "getting out" is even more critical than your timing on getting in.

Exit is a glorious part of the journey and almost always the start of a new one.

Enjoy the journey and whatever you do don't take the advice of [pompous old farts] too seriously.

Love,
Dad