Entrepreneurial Spirits
Indeed, these are challenging times as we wrote in our most recent newsletter, and that was before a recession was officially declared. But with challenging times comes opportunity. In many respects, this may be the right time to start a company.
Daily, it seems, there are stories in the online and print press as well as broadcast that talk about people who have either been laid off or about people whose companies have gone bankrupt that are looking on the bright side and saying it is time to unleash the entrepreneurial spirit and start a new business or take their lives in a new direction, unbound by the ties that were present before circumstances changed.
And it is not just limited to those who are no longer with their former employers involuntarily. There is a growing number of people who are taking a leap of faith and not waiting to be told their number just came up in the pink slip lottery.
Some are with small companies and others toil in the “factories” of large conglomerates. Many have since learned that working for a large company that may be in trouble “tomorrow” does not spell security as was once thought.
In addition to what is in the press, we have been hearing from a number of people who have made employment changes or are about to do so. These people are demonstrating the entrepreneurial spirit, too.
It is not an easy decision for many, as starting a new business is a challenge in the best of times, but for those who have an idea for a new product or service, there is no time like the present, as one of our key advisors likes to say.
According to prominent author Clayton Christensen in The Innovator’s Dilemma and The Innovator’s Solution, by definition, a disruptive product or technology is one that “when implemented as a product or service, eliminates existing markets, creates new markets, and/or drastically modifies market(s) structure(s).”
This is a time for innovative solutions. For example, there has been much in the press about green initiatives, alternative energy, and other disruptive technologies. Whole industries will develop and new ones will emerge from those over the course of the next decade.
An article in the LA Times on Sunday, January 4 entitled “Why Obama’s green jobs plan might work,” mentions Hemlock Semiconductor Corp of Hemlock Michigan that makes quartz-based polycrystalline silicon that is used in solar energy. This is but one example of the potential to look to the future and consider the possibilities rather than lament the dearth of opportunities in traditional markets.
While it is true that innovative products have been developed during times such as these, to be truly innovative and disruptive, it must be more than just an idea. It must be an idea that is implementable and marketable now and certainly in the not too distant future when the markets will be sure to be more favorable than they are today. Products started “today” will not likely hit the market for a couple of years.
Financiers, whose wallets may be closed now, are still keeping a watchful eye on potential new opportunities with well developed business plans and a clear direction, or plan for their businesses.
The true entrepreneur will follow his/her heart in working toward developing a new product or service during these times. Our advice is to also seek counsel from someone who can provide an independent and knowledgeable perspective.
People will need to invest some of their own money into the venture for certain. There are no free rides and for many the annual vacation to an exotic locale will be a thing of the past, at least for a period of time. Anyone who thinks differently does not have the entrepreneurial spirit.
