It’s axiomatic, then, that to progress we need more
entrepreneurs, but many potential entrepreneurs don’t make it. Although any entrepreneur
will tell you theirs is not an easy lifestyle choice as it inevitably involves coping
with difficulty and failure, too often their pain is increased and chances
reduced by pernicious and unnecessary barriers embedded into society and its
institutions.
E-factors
A recently published UKTI report, written by The Economist
Intelligence Unit (EIU), ` Helping entrepreneurs flourish: Rethinking the
drivers of entrepreneurship’ looked at how to foster an entrepreneurial mindset
- both through education systems and business experience - and, crucially, the
factors that enable entrepreneurs to thrive.
It drew on seven in-depth interviews with entrepreneurs and
other experts, a lot of desk research and two surveys—one of established
entrepreneurs and another of people aged 18 to 25.
Its findings are illuminating, not least because they reveal
an apparent change in attitude to the business of wealth creation.
2020 vision
Far from being looked down upon, as it once was, as grubby `trade`
not fit for the attention of society’s most talented, entrepreneurship is now
viewed as a highly attractive job option. In the global survey of young people, the top
choice - at 30 per cent of the respondents - said that their preferred
occupation by 2020 would be running their own business.
Showing how much the tables have turned in recent years, amongst
this group 75 per cent are open to starting a company one day, and a further 7
per cent have already done so. Over a third of student respondents regarded
running one’s own business as a source of personal work reward (37 per cent) and a way to create something
new / innovative (35per cent.
Reality check
Something that will come as no surprise to anyone who has trodden
the entrepreneurial path is that part of this willingness or desire to become
an entrepreneur, however, may be a lack of understanding of the difficulties:
over half (57 per cent ) of respondents running their own business say that
aspiring entrepreneurs underestimate how hard it will be.
A factor that’s often overlooked by government and
policy-makers, perhaps because it’s so blinding obvious, is that existing
entrepreneurs are crucial in developing those aspiring to be, particularly through
mentorship and employment-based learning. Entrepreneurs believe that having
mentors who have built up their own firms is vital for success.
Do as I do
The growing number of mentorship schemes and the amount of
time existing entrepreneurs give away to help others is testament to the regard
for, and value of such activity. All
this despite the fact that the inevitable constraints of running a business restrict
the time available for anything else - including external mentoring.
Even more helpful, therefore, is example; running a company
in ways that instil and develop entrepreneurship in employees: 81 per cent of
entrepreneurs say that they acquired more entrepreneurial skills through work
experience than through education. It
seems the old mantra of `Those who can do, those that can’t teach` still
applies.
Intellect and
attitude
Respondents from both surveys for the report ranked passion
and determination as the most important attributes for entrepreneurial success.
Such attitudinal qualities like intellect are difficult or impossible to teach or
may not exist in conventional teachers.
This may help to explain why those who have started businesses are more
likely to say entrepreneurs are born rather than made.
On the other hand, those interviewed for this study point to
the numerous other factors needed to become successful. Policy choices and the
cultural environment can clearly support entrepreneurship by helping aspiring
entrepreneurs understand the hard and soft things they need to know to avoid
some of the many pitfalls of starting a business.
Education appears to have some positive influence on entrepreneurial
success, but this is currently limited. Those surveyed for this report have
seemingly contradictory views about the role of education in their development. This debate has raged at least since the 1850s
when it became apparent that that the UK was falling behind its, then, major industrial
competitor, Germany, and the United States’ place as the world’s biggest
economy was a couple of decades away.
University
challenged
Among entrepreneurs, for example, 79 per cent say their
university education aided them to start their own business. However, very few
cite their primary and secondary schooling as a top influence in helping them
launch their enterprises.
Similarly, nearly half of the 18-25-year-olds surveyed thought
an academic degree is important to entrepreneurial success (with that share
rising to two-thirds in North America), but just 19 per cent said their
university is effective at giving students the specific skills they need to
start a business.
Successful entrepreneurs, then, it seems, benefit from
education, but traditional academic teaching methods risk undermining attitudes
conducive to entrepreneurship as well as not engaging with the skills needed to
be successful.
Problem-solving,
communication and networking
The report concludes that entrepreneur-friendly education
requires a shift not only in how schools and universities teach, but also in
what they teach. The experts interviewed for the report recommend a greater
focus on problem-solving, communication and networking skills.
Crucially attitudes need to move away from a traditional
academic attitude of just educating those who may one day start a business somehow
at the expense of the rest of society. The good news is that these so-called
21st-century skills are increasingly being promoted within educational circles
and by business as beneficial for all students but change cannot come soon
enough.
You can download the full report here http://www.economistinsights.com/sites/default/files/Helping%20entrepreneurs%20flourish.pdf
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