Want to Start a Business? Be good at your job.

A lot of people I talk to, especially people who are in a job, but trying to start a business, seem to think  that there are two distinct kinds of people. One, the Entrepreneurial kind and the other, the employee kind.

They talk at length about why they can't become business owners, because they lack a certain something. Some of them call it risk aversion, some call it lack of drive, whatever. They seem to believe deep in their hearts that they are not qualified to start a business.

Well here's the low down;

The skills required to succeed in business are EXACTLY the same as the skills required to be a good employee

This is so important, I'm going to say it again, but this time in a dark shade of blue;

The skills required to succeed in business are EXACTLY the same as the skills required to be a good employee

Now I understand that this might fly in the face of everything you've heard before. From your parents, your teachers, your colleagues and your friends.

Even a lot of business owners I know will disagree with this, but they're probably just trying to reduce the competition ;)

But I'm going to attempt to prove to you that the skills to succeed at being an employee are no different from the skills required to succeed at owning your business.

But I'm going to go about it a little obtusely. I'm going to try to demonstrate that the factors that people see as obstacles to being a business owner are the very factors they are overcoming as good employees.

Here are some of the main challenges that people perceive on  their route to entrepreneurial success;

"I can't afford the risk"

My experience working with Government Owned companies like BEML and HAL are that their employees are rewarded not for being right, but for NOT being wrong.

The top guy in the company is usually the guy who has never made any mistakes. But what are the stakes?

A small but steady government salary, a small increase every few years and gold watch when you retire at 58.

If these are things you value. Don't read further. You and I can never be friends:)

If however, you want the best that life has to offer, the freedom to live to your full potential, get a job in a company where employees who take risks are rewarded higher. Even though they sometimes fail.

Marissa Mayer was offered both a teaching job and consulting job at huge and well-renowned institutions. Instead she took a job with Google, then a small internet company. Was that a huge risk? of course it was. Did it pay off? She's now the CEO of Yahoo. Although neither she nor anyone else looks like they're going to be able to fend off Yahoo's inevitable downward spiral, she's not going to end up too badly. All because of a risk she took with a young company in 1999.

Every day you go to work in your job, you are undertaking risks. The risk that they will not be able to pay you the salary they already owe you. The risk that the company you work for will close down before you have a chance to search for another job.

So in the end, it's only perception. The risks that you take as an employee are no greater than the risk of being a business owner. With similar consequences both negative and positive.

"I don't have drive"

When I worked at GE Capital, there were three grades in the appraisal system.
The lowest grade was NEEDS IMPROVEMENT. This meant that you were not doing your job well enough to keep your job. If you were graded NI three times in a row, you were either reassigned or sacked.

The second grade was MEETS EXPECTATIONS. This grade meant  that you were in fact doing just enough to keep your job. That the metrics of your performance matched some predetermined numbers and that perhaps you might get a small pay raise to match the inflation.

The highest grade was EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS. This grade meant that you were doing more than was expected of you. In other words, that you were helping your colleagues and ultimately the whole company to be more productive and profitable. Exceeding expectations was the only way to qualify for a large pay raise and/or a promotion.

If you are boss, what kind of subordinate would you prefer? One who can take charge and get things done or one who is constantly asking for guidance and support on how to do things?

If you're like me, you would want the people reporting to you, to broadly interpret your wishes and finish tasks assigned to them without too much help. And then go ahead and do some more things simply because they need doing.

Well this is exactly the same skill that a business owner needs too.  Except that the boss is the customer.


"I don't have money"

Let's get one thing straight. Hardly any business owners start businesses with their own money. Any business owner worth his salt should be able to attract funding. Loans, equity investment whatever. This means convincing enough people to open their purse string and part with their money.

Asking for money is no different than asking for any thing else.

No matter which level you are employed at, you need to ask for things. If you are a janitor, you need to ask for better cleaning supplies. If you are purchase manager, you need to ask your suppliers to reduce prices. If you are the CEO you have to ask your board for permission to run the daring new campaign that you have envisioned.

In the end it's all about asking and asking right. As an employee you have to ask for stuff. As a business owner you have to ask for money. It's the same skill.

"I can't do sales"

Everything which you have in life. Everything which you will ever have is given to you by other people. The more people there are in your network. The more they each give you, the more you have. It's that simple.

When most people think of sales, they think of the realtor or the insurance agent or the aunt who is part of multi-level marketing network trying to hard-sell you on stuff.

But that's not all sales is. Sales, simply put, is positioning concepts in  such a way that potential customers see the value in them. That's something you are probably already doing in your job. You are already selling ideas to the management. You are already selling a pay raise to your boss.

To be a good employee or a good business owner, you need to be able to convince people to invest their money and time in your ideas. That's not negotiable.

No matter where you are in life. No matter what you do, you have to learn to sell. To your boss. To your investor. To your customers. To your peers. It makes no difference.

"I'm not a crook"

It's a commonly held belief, around the world, but especially in developing countries like India, that in order to be a successful business owner, you need to have a somewhat ambiguous moral compass. 

Now I don't want to generalize, but I won't deny that I've met my fair share of business owners who wouldn't be beyond offering a bribe to get a prized contract or calling in some political pull to reduce the service level agreement in a purchase order.

But by far, the most corrupt people I've encountered are purchase managers and they're invariably employees. The larger the company they work for, the more corrupt they tend to be.

Want my advise?

DON'T BE CROOKED. PERIOD

Crime NEVER pays. It might look like an easier route to get what you want. It might appear harmless or 'victimless' but by far the best policy is honesty and being transparently above-board.

A good employee is not amenable to being morally corrupt. Neither is a good business owner.


"I'm not a natural leader"

Most people believe that leadership is a mixture of charisma, charm, public speaking and a certain undefinable quality which you are either born with or without.

In my opinion, that's rubbish. To me leadership has a single sentence definition;

"Exhibiting strength of purpose and providing encouragement and direction to others"

Any time you delegate a task to subordinates and ensure that the task is carried through to completion, you are a leader.

Any time you convince a supplier to reduce price and increase credit periods. You are a leader.

Any time you choose an option which is better rather than easier. You are a leader.

Whether you are a business owner or an employee if you have strength of purpose and and providing encouragement and direction to others, you are a leader.

till next time