EVOLVE - What is a “Business Person”?
When you’re starting a business for the first time you realise very quickly how much you don’t know. If this is your second time starting a business, then you have probably already learned this tough lesson! Entrepreneurs have to cover a huge range of bases in the early days of their business, and there is not a career on earth that can prepare you for all of them. That’s why mindset is so important – developing an adaptable, proactive, learning mindset is key to surviving the first few phases of your business.
I had a great conversation with an Inception-stage entrepreneur this week. They said the reason they were looking for support was because they had never started a business before. They knew what their idea was, but had no idea about how to make it into a business. In their words, they wanted to become more “like a business person”. This is an interesting term that I have heard many founders use over the years, and it always makes me wonder: what is a business person? What do people mean when they say they want to become more like one, and where do they think the gaps are?
I’m going to explore this a little, and hope that in reading this you will gain confidence in your abilities and the direction to take the next practical steps as a founder.
When you google “Business Person” this is the first image that comes up:
…and in fact the whole first page of images are suit-wearing 30-50 year old men. I think I spotted a woman in a group photo somewhere! So google clearly has an idea of what a business person looks like, and it’s utterly wrong. But it’s fed by traditional narratives that are part of popular culture: that to get ahead we should be a suit-wearing, serious, smooth, confident and unflappable (man). And this seems to be what many entrepreneurs aspire to.
But we at Entrepreneurial Spark have worked with some incredible entrepreneurs over the last eleven years, and barely any of them fit this mould. First, around half of them are women. Second, barely any of them wear suits ever. A lot of them wear pyjamas a lot. They are real human beings who succeed because of their own unique experiences, mindset and behaviours, rather than because they fit some kind of profile.
That’s what you start to realise at Inception stage as you work on your business and meet other entrepreneurs: everyone (or nearly everyone) is winging it. Even the seemingly polished and confident “business person” can wilt very quickly in the face of a few difficult questions at Inception stage. No-one knows everything, even if they present like they do.
This is the reason one of the milestones in our Evolution Map at the Inception stage is “I have an adviser network in place.” The founders who really accelerate through this (and the next) stage are those who build people around them who can fill in the gaps. Rather than trying to be an expert in everything, they build a relevant network of people they can call on for support. This is essential for growth at speed because your capacity for knowledge is limited by your capacity for learning, which is limited by your time. The most successful entrepreneurs know they can’t learn everything, and there is no-such thing as a super-human. So they build a team of great, normal humans around them to help propel them along.
Now you may be saying “I’m working part time on my business; I can’t even pay myself, let alone anyone else.” That’s OK: we’re talking about a network here, not a team. Your network is comprised of people who support you for other reasons than because you pay them.
These could be:
Professionals who can give technical guidance and advice. You can find many professionals who are very willing to help early-stage startups over the first few hurdles, because growing businesses need advisers in future (or just because they enjoy it!)
Current entrepreneurs who may be facing similar challenges or opportunities and can connect you to someone else or make suggestions about what they tried (because you would do the same for them).
Experienced founders who have probably made all the mistakes that you’re about to make and can help you navigate them!
Funders or people with access to funders in their networks (for the cash need that arises in many growth businesses, even if you have no plans for it right now).
The theme here is “build the well before you need the water”. Developing a network takes time and effort, but it will pay off many times over when you need someone to talk to quickly. Imagine building a well when you’re already thirsty – you’re not as likely to get the best results because you’re in a rush to have a drink.
So to us, this is what it means to be a “Business Person”: having a great set of people around you who can help you achieve more than you could alone. At Inception stage when you’re working on your business part-time, the following actions can help to build your network:
It sounds obvious but I’m always surprised by how few entrepreneurs do this: go networking. There is no substitute for getting out of the house and into a room full of people (or staying in and joining a virtual room). Be strategic about the events that you choose, but there should be startup-focussed events near you that will contain all of the types of people above. If not, then you can join one of our Evolve Neighbourhood events to go virtual networking from the comfort of home.
If you find yourself spinning wheels and not meeting the right kind of people, try attending learning events instead. These can help you meet other attendees with similar interests, and also identify areas where you have a gap that needs to be filled.
Remember that networking is not a standalone activity. You’re not just “going networking “ for the sake of meeting people. Networking is ALSO business development, fundraising, learning, problem solving etc. You are in that room to exchange value with the range of other people that are there, so think about what you’re bringing to the table as well as what type of conversations you want to have.
In summary, being a “Business Person” is a bit of a myth. The best way to become better at business is to surround yourself with great people, listen, learn, and adapt your way to excellence.
To learn more, join our FREE EVOLVE accelerator. Find everything from super-focussed programmes to get you to your next growth milestone, on-demand support when you need it, free daily community activities and a place to call your entrepreneurial home.