A Perfect Entrepreneurial Storm
Entrepreneurial businesses have advantages over larger companies, and I believe there has never been a better time to exploit these in how they compete. Technology has never been cheaper, more available and more impactful than it is now.
The introduction of a number of software applications integrated with each other provides the ability for entrepreneurial businesses to access data and organise themselves to be more efficient than ever before. The rise of the subscription model enabled by cloud computing means you have the computing power at your fingertips without the financial burden and upfront lump sum of ownership.
Local markets, where many entrepreneurial businesses live, are a microenvironment where much of the industry conditions and buyer tendencies are well understood. The size of the market provides a greater opportunity to get to those buyers as they are in plain sight.
The accessibility and acceleration of technology over very recent years have enabled the types of efficiencies that not so long ago had been prohibitive for entrepreneurial businesses. Access to game-changing technology had traditionally formed part of the entry barrier to becoming a large industry player. It was extremely difficult for an entrepreneurial business to accumulate the resources to create economies of scale and increase efficiency. Not anymore!
Musk (Tesla), Branson (Virgin) and Knight (Nike) all had to take extreme risks in accumulating resources that gave them scale. Technology aligned with the software subscription model should provide many of the tools that have traditionally been acquired through high-risk gambles required to compete.
An entrepreneurial business with a well-thought-through strategic displacement game plan can now leverage business tools which have never before been available or have financially been out of reach.
Combine this with the agility of fast decision making, the ability to work very directly with clients and understand their needs, and the tools to understand and access larger, more remote markets without necessarily setting up commercial property. You have a perfect entrepreneurial storm. A pressure cell where entrepreneurial creativity meets business systems and structures. The road from chaos and overwhelm through the entrepreneurial ceiling to create Family Corporate enterprises has never been more accessible to those that decide to set out on this quest.