KEY POINTS:
According to the latest Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report, Auckland has the highest percentage of entrepreneurs in the world.
Dig a bit deeper and you'll see a large number of small businesses that are never going to be anything but.
A lot of them will not last, and there are not winners, just unpaid creditors and people with larger mortgages and crushed dreams.
As I see it we are failing these people who are prepared to have a go and take a risk.
On one hand we often make it too easy for people to start a business when they're not ready. On the other, we often fail to give them the type of education and support they need to be successful once they are up and running.
Meanwhile as they slowly go broke, they make it harder and harder for those who are also in their industry to make a profit or grow their businesses.
Academics cannot prepare people for business ownership. The reality is that by the time business theory finds its way into our universities and colleges, it is probably already out of date.
The pace of change, the impact of technology, new media, new social structures and changing demographics make traditional class room and university type learning unsuitable for business owners and entrepreneurs. Certainly any business education is a good base, however don't think your MBA or BCOM mean your ready to run a small business.
Programs like Icehouse, Onehunga Business School and others that bring business owners together and/or bring in other business owners and experts to teach in each area are what we need more of.
But it's easy to stand on the side lines and criticise, so I won't without offering some solutions.
Down on the Farm
Who does do it well? For my money the one thing that NZ is world leader in is pasture farming. How do farmers keep up with the play, learn about the latest innovations, improvements and ways of doing things? Simple, they talk about it. Having lived in farming communities most of my life, I've come to realise that the great advantage farmers have is the fact that they spend time with and discuss things with other farmers.
In reality, if you're in an isolated farming community you've got no choice. And yes they do have structured processes for sharing information such as discussion groups etc.
But in the main when farmers are at a BBQ, the pub, squash club, school function pretty well anywhere, they're hanging out with other farmers and talking about farming.
As a business owner who has had to get educated on the job, I've tried everything I can think of to upskill and learn more. I've been all over the world to seminars, I've done university papers on marketing, global market entry strategies, financial management etc.
I've been to short courses, done correspondence courses and even tried online learning (which is boring), I've read hundreds of books. All of the above were great to increase my knowledge, but applying it is a whole different ball game.
In my experience the two things that have worked best for me are discussing business with other business owners and having a business coach.
The Old "One-Two"
The first thing I would suggest to anyone in business is spend time with others who are in the same boat or are where you want to go. Listen well and ask good questions.
One of the best things I ever did was to join the Entrepreneurs Organisation (Formerly Young Entrepreneurs Organisation - but we all got older).
It's a simple concept. Business owners of US million dollar plus companies originally aged under 40, (now 50!).
The value is in the time spent with others who are dealing with the same issues.
I've had the privilege of meeting and hanging out with Entrepreneurs from all over the world who love talking about business. No amount of money can pay for that kind of knowledge.
There's tons of places to meet these people, whether it's arranging a dinner with some you already know, going to your local chamber events etc etc.
"Sure thing, Coach!"
Secondly, if you want to win, get a coach. And I'm sure everyone is saying "you would say that".
Let me just say I've had a number of coaches prior to joining the Results Group, and will have many more as I go forward. I actually started as a client of this company then joined some years later to help lead it. Yes - I loved the product so much, I ended up buying the company.
Coaching outperforms traditional education because you get knowledge at the same time you're trying to solve a problem or realise an opportunity, not when the course is teaching it.
You won't wait three or four years to apply that knowledge, which may well be long out of date. Nor will a good coach let you make excuses or side step pressing matters.
The best analogy I can think of for running a business is being in a boxing match. When you're training, hitting the bag, you look great, your combinations are sharp and everything works. Just like being in the class-room.
The problem with punching bags is that don't punch back. Come fight-night you're in the ring with a live moving target, one that hits back. He hits you right between the eyes, makes your nose bleed and is coming at you again and again.
You can quickly forget how well things worked in training, and your plan can go out the window really fast.
That's when you listen out for that voice in the corner yelling at you to get your hands up, throw your jab, slip the left and throw your right, punch to get out, find your feet and then get yourself back in there.
The coach is the guy in the corner who can see what you need to do while you're busy ducking punches.
A good business coach will have experience in business and in helping people deal with the things that you are dealing with. They'll be watching the game while you're in there playing it. They'll be the ones yelling at you, telling you when to duck and when to swing.
Kia kaha.
* Ben Ridler is managing director of The Results.Group
