After rising to become a consumer & business tech publisher, Mark then worked in the healthcare and financial media sectors. He sold his healthcare media business in 2002 & then formed a boutique M&A business, originally specialising in the media sector. Providing over 100 SMEs and corporations with strategic advice and orchestrating the successful sale of their companies and brands, has given him privileged insight into how businesses evolve and the lessons to be learnt. His passion lies in creating forums for communities to understand and react to complex but profound disruptive innovation. This led to the creation of his strategic advisory business, Big Picture Insight, which provides funding, Board level representation and mentoring. He recently invested in and became Chairman of Skills Of The Future, a business helping a passionate community of women, looking to develop their digital marketing and business skills in this fast developing and market altering sector.
‘25% of information businesses fail in year one, rising to 56% within 5 years,’ Source: 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Too many entrepreneurs have great ideas which are either not viable or require a rethink. There is a library of information on great business practice but don’t be deceived. Your business requires a unique sensitivity, so what & how you use this information is key.
Don’t kid yourself, no one has all the skills required and reading about great practice is not doing it! Do you imagine the sporting greats achieved excellence because they read or were told how to? No, they spent years honing their skills, slowly improving.
No wonder businesses fail, few have adequate experience, and all-encompassing skills to succeed without support. So let’s take an overview of what you need to create and grow an SME.
The Entrepreneur
Are you an entrepreneur? I always wanted to be an entrepreneur, I was so impressed and in awe of those who, out of the ether, risked all to create something valuable for customers, wow!
So, what are the key characteristics. Surveys and research indicate the desire to be their own boss and create something new and special. Other reasons include: dissatisfaction with their previous corporate roles, a passion for their ideas and the desire to innovate.
Successful entrepreneurs are risk taking optimists and fighters. I was fortunate to grow up in a community where I met successful entrepreneurs, I learned they never stopped trying and were not afraid of failure, in fact they said it provided invaluable insight.
Rebellious and impatient! This is certainly true of myself. My father drilled into me, never trust authority and do exhaustive homework to understand the world, don’t just accept what the majority think.
So, it is not about making money. It’s about working with a great motivated team to provide valuable products and services to whom you serve. However, commercial success allows you to reinvest and further improve your offering.
The Business Idea
Too many ‘great ideas’ sound wonderful but are not commercially viable. This will be a variety of reasons. You need to follow a rigorous process to help ensure the proposed investment of time and money is not wasted. Below is my ‘Quick Guide’ for following the right path to success. Apologises, for its limited coverage.
Your 3rd Eye
The right tools and expert support will help you make the right steps from the first day to the last. Many senior executives get buried in the minutia of creating and running their tactical operation. SMEs need the cool, trained & analytical strategic eye of seasoned successful third-party entrepreneurs and experts. NOTE: regarding your business plan, a so-called entrepreneurial expert who has not walked the walk is to be avoided. You want someone who has trodden a similar path, experienced the highs and lows: navigating effectively.
One unfortunate observation is that as an advisor, how someone interprets and puts into play your advice is subject to interpretation. That is why we all need ongoing support, helping to keep us on course. Ask Serena Williams or Lewis Hamilton, if you can.
Rules For Success
Background
Expertise. Become an expert in your sector by working for a market leader, before starting an SME.
Passion. 24/7 passion drives outstanding success. You don’t have to be Einstein, if you love what you do your work becomes a pleasure (well, mostly). Passion will allow you to overcome obstacles.
Philosophy. Inspired, viable new ideas require deep, deep knowledge & contemplation. Especially if linked to technology and disruptive innovation. Don’t jump to conclusions, really explore the options.
Remember, your mind wants an easy solution, resist!
Getting Started – Pre-Requisites
Investment Prospectus. Even if you are not looking for 3rd party investment this is a must. It provides a thorough analysis to assess the opportunity in a clear and rational manner.
Shareholder Agreement. A framework for the management and operation of a company. It outlines the rights and obligations of shareholders, provides safeguards, a policy for introducing future shareholders and the mechanism for the potential sale of the business.
The Opportunity
Mission. Create an easy-to-understand statement of intent.
Focus. Make one idea work before embarking on others.
Simple. Whatever your idea, it should be simple to understand and implement.
Research. Lots & lots of. Directly communicate with your T/A, in-depth and systemised. Positive research does not mean guaranteed sales. Even if buyers are keen: timing, budgets, authorisation process, competitive action etc can prevent or slow the sales of great products.
Business Concept. Let it slowly evolve, the more you understand the clearer the picture.
Business Plan. Detailed enough to provide both a working document to work to and potentially act as a guide to investors. The foundations of the business.
Budgeting. Detailed and conservative. Sales are often slower than anticipated. You need an inaugural budget that assumes things go wrong. Don’t then massage, if looks unviable. The chances are it is not viable!
Funding. Only progress if adequately funded. Include a fair amount for working Directors so budgeting is realistic.
Viability. Have a date when assess. If below minimum agreed target, be ruthless & pull the plug. No ego play, don’t gamble, admit defeat & cut your losses.
Business Practice
Financing. Never under finance.
Cashflow. Understand it. At conception organise activity to minimise negative cashflow to point when can assess company viability.
Accounting. Set up an easy-to-use system that you can align to management accounts.
Monitor. Have ongoing & monthly KPI’s. If way off budget act on, even if radically.
Refresh. Annually analyse your business and create a plan to improve your offering. Keep vital & keep ahead.
Growth Pains. Once successfully up and running, taking the business forward is fraught with potential pitfalls. You need to regularly assess, with the right 3rd party support.
Product/Service
USP. Vital, without any USP’s what makes your offering stand out?
Clarity. The value of what you have created should be crystal clear and idiot proof, in both external & internal communication. For example, is this obvious on your home page?
Value. What benefits will you provide to your marketplace?
The Team. From day one, have onboard a successful SME entrepreneur, as mentor and confidant. Outsource to bring onboard skills and flexibility.
Sales & Marketing. A minefield. Deserves a thesis. Lots of companies will offer you solutions, beware, do they really understand your business and how best to tailor promotion?
Creativity. Use picture power both in external communication and internally, such as Mind Maps. A picture is a clearer and quicker communication than lots of heavy text.
The Journey
So, you’ve created a growing SME, what next?
A successful business has a momentum of its own that no longer relies on a few key individuals. It is characterised by a strong team, with a robust company organisation and structure, promoting established brands.
Momentum is key. To attract and keep star performers, that help drive the business forward, requires exciting new horizons to reach for. Standing still is going backwards.
Some SME’s become large corporations, the majority that achieve success are acquired. Absorbed into the right company, with the integration handled well, enables the support, expertise, funding and synergies of the acquirer to accelerate growth, provide greater opportunity for the team, reach and go beyond previous potential horizons.
Reality Check
Perhaps I make it sound simple, easy, just put into practice great theory. However, every business needs to adapt theory to the sensitivities of its unique world and the personalities of you and your team.
I am painfully aware that because of the need for brevity for an article of this length, that the information provided might not be interpreted and implemented ideally.
If you wish to explore these concepts in detail and reflect on how they might apply to you and your business, please get in touch. I never charge for an intro chat and always enjoy hearing your unique story and vision.
If you have the entrepreneurial spirit, well done! Successful entrepreneurs are a rare breed but an essential ingredient in developing the world economy and in the right way.
You help prevent the negative impact of the drift towards oligopoly & mediocrity, breaking new ground in efficiency & valuable innovation, to the benefit of the community.
Now that’s worth fighting for!