Slow starters will go the distance

An entrepreneurial journey is best begun when all the preliminary but crucial steps are taken

December 21, 2017 04:17 pm | Updated 04:17 pm IST

Mihir Balantrapu

Mihir Balantrapu

In our personal and professional space, turnaround times have shrunk. Every day, in every sphere, some new gadget arrives with the promise of making an existing process shorter and quicker still.

And in the world of business, speed has become the omnipotent presiding deity, with all other virtues reduced to demigod status. “It's not the big swallowing the small anymore, but the fast swallowing the slow.” We have surely come across something similar on Pinterest boards, under the section on business.

Amidst this mad rush to do it all and have it all with the least expenditure of time, we will do well to pause and think of those things that cannot be rushed.

All around us, in existence, there is evidence that certain things have to run their time-consuming course to be successful. Ask the mother of a premature baby and she’ll tell you what this means. An entrepreneurial journey is among things that cannot be rushed.

And when an entrepreneurial project begins to fit the image of someone taking one step forward and two steps back, it’s time for a harsh review. Invariably, speed — undue speed, actually — would be the culprit. Certain necessary steps would have been bypassed. Let us start with the basic building block of an entrepreneurial enterprise — a business idea.

‘SWOT’ it out

In the first flush of youth, everyone will look attractive. That’s the same with an idea. Before they lose their hearts to it, entrepreneurs have to try out an idea or ideas. Under dispassionate scrutiny, most ideas will display “warts”. Some will die a natural death. There is no struggle involved in letting go. The problem is that, in most cases, emotions get the better of an entrepreneur. Someone who has spent decades within a cramping 9to5 routine may clutch at a straw of an idea as it promises him independence and sometimes, freedom from a humdrum work life.

Similarly, optimism and a sense of invincibility can blind a youngster launching a start-up, straight out of college, to possible roadblocks on the entrepreneurial journey. So, either a bad idea is carried forward or a hedge of protection is not placed around a good one. A simple SWOT analysis can prevent such embarrassing entrepreneurial gaffes.

However, when an entrepreneur is attached to his idea, he may be disinclined to attack it. Even it he does, he’ll pull his punches. That's where a mentor — a veteran of many entrepreneurial enterprises — can do for him what he can't, for himself.

Thumb rule #1: Never get started on an entrepreneurial journey without the wise counsel of a mentor or mentors. This process many delay the journey, but it will spare you costly breakdowns along the way.

Think small

Those taking this journey for the first time, especially the ones shifting gears from a 9to5 professional set-up, should go through the process of early failures. It sobers them and makes them humble enough to focus more on what will work than what they are capable of doing. When they start focussing on what works, they’ll push themselves out of their comfort zone and start acquiring new and necessary skills. It is more like the fail-fast feature in systems design.

It is just that they have to ensure that they fail early on, only in a manner that does not jeopardise the future of their entrepreneurial dream. For that, they have to take small and slow steps, especially in the area of investments, both in terms of money and people. In traditional business communities in India, a family inducts a youngster into its business by first giving him a paltry amount to conduct the trade. In most cases, this money would be lost, but valuable experience gained.

Thumb rule #2: Early on in the entrepreneurial journey, invite situations that will cause you to fail, but make sure they don’t rob you of your dream.

Partners matter

In an entrepreneurial journey, distance divided is distance reduced. However, this is true only when someone has taken the time to find the right partners to go along with. Two people may have a common background and even share a vision, and when they start out, the skies will be clear. And it takes a whole lot of observation to know if the partnership will go the distance. They say, the past is a good predictor of the future. So, it certainly helps to study the partner’s track record in similar entrepreneurial partnerships earlier, or in his career. When an organisation is mired in partnership wrangles, it’s image among customers will take a beating. So, choose your partners wisely.

Thumb rule #3: Any two people can start a journey together. The question is: Will they complete it together, happily?

Stick to it

This is the age of serial entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs get something started, and are in a hurry to hand it over to others to manage it.

And, they move on to another project. Sometimes, a great idea nurtured with care in one pair of hands, may die a sad death in another that did not grow it.

So, serial entrepreneurs should be willing to invest in an enterprise as much time as is necessary to make it failure-proof, even when it has been taken over by a “foster parent”.

Thumb rule #4: Give your entrepreneurial idea a full gestation period, before handing it over to a foster parent.

Keep those lessons

Most of the time, an entrepreneurial exercise will by characterised by limited resources. Boot-strapped, it may require each of its employees to carry out multiple functions. As the resources are stretched to keep the enterprise running on a day-to-day basis, thought may not be given early on, to putting in place processes that will make it a learning organisation. Though this may be a difficult task in the initial days of an enterprise, the entrepreneur has to create a system whereby events, especially failures, are well-documented so that it serves as a collective knowledge bank of the organisation. In the absence of such a system, flawed styles of functioning can become entrenched and these will be difficult to dislodge when the organisation has grown in size.

Thumb rule #5: Early on, take the time to put processes in place that will make your enterprise a learning organisation.

Find that follower

The first-follower principle has now gained considerable ground in management. It is about ensuring that someone who shares the founder’s vision and has the attitude, expertise and charisma to execute it is given a position of importance almost on par with the founder himself.

Sometimes, a fledgling enterprise could be so dominated by the founder that there is no room for the first follower, who believes wholeheartedly in the founder’s vision, to play a meaningful role that will drive its growth.

Thumb rule #6: Take the time to find out who your first follower is, and cloth him with sufficient authority to run the enterprise.

Create future leaders

Sometimes, an enterprise may be running on empty, in terms of leadership. Small enterprises run by one or two people may often face this situation and they may not realise it until the organisation grows bigger and is staring a leadership crunch in the face.

So, the time taken early on to create a leadership pipeline is time well-spent.

Thumb rule #7: The best way to create a great future is to create leaders who will usher it in.

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