For nearly a decade DE, Inc. has focused on the entrepreneur community by helping small business owners prepare their businesses to operate without their direct day-to-day involvement. So, we created an entire line of small business tools and small business training to assist with the process. Over the years, national, regional, and local organizations catering to small businesses partnered with us to offer these tools.
I admit, it’s been a struggle to communicate what we do, then at the end of 2010 I had my first “aha moment.” It hit me that how you applied our tools and training was dependent on where you and your business were in the small business growth cycle. As a result of researching this hunch, The Small Business Growth Matrix was born.
Again, the light bulb went off finalizing the strategy for an upcoming marketing campaign. As we began trying to simplify the way we communicate how all the pieces we offer fit together, the definition of entrepreneurship sprang forth!
The Entrepreneur Defined
Think of the small business growth model as a map which you follow to successfully grow a small business. We laid it out for you, step-by-steps in order right so it’s simple to follow and easy to implement. We call it the BGS Growth Framework.
The growth framework provides the steps, but you must possess the skills to accomplish the steps along the way. In the model there are two sets of factors that directly impact business growth – leadership and management factors.
The leadership factors relate to skills necessary to lead your team in achieving the objectives for each stage of the growth cycle. At the time, this was part of our DE,Inc. tagline which related to “personal change and personal growth”. As an owner, if you are not ready to tackle the things necessary at your stage of growth, then your business will suffer as a result. So, personal growth is key to becoming an entrepreneur. This is why leadership topic is a major part of this blog!
When you address the management factors you need to ask critical questions: does my company have the systems, personnel, and financial wherewithal to accomplish the goal required at their stage of growth? Again, if you don’t understand these aspects of management your company will stagnate. That’s why we discuss these topic on management here on this blog.
We’ve given you the map which when you successfully applied it helps you become an entrepreneur. We provide you with the knowledge, tools, and assistance you to master the personal and business challenges you might face along the way.
How Do You Become an Entrepreneur?
Master the personal and business skills needed to navigate the map!!! If you successfully accomplish this you can call yourself an entrepreneur. Our free eBook – The Missing Component to Successful Entrepreneurship will give you the insights you need to get focused and achieve real entrepreneurship. You can download a FREE copy by clicking the button below.
What do you think? Is it really that simple? Notice I said simple, which doesn’t mean it will be easy to get there. In fact, I can tell you it’s very hard becoming an entrepreneur. But if you want it bad enough it’s all right there for you in black and white.
If you’d like to begin to applying our systematic SPARC process to your business check out our BGS Business Accelerator Masterclass. They will allow you to follow along no matter your stage of the growth model. Additionally, all of our e-books, videos and tools are all part of your membership. We look forward to serving you on your journey toward becoming an entrepreneur.
Great link Dino. I used to think that an Entrepreneur was anyone who owned a business but it’s much more than that. It’s about doing more for yourself than opening your doors and hoping you get enough sales to break even. Being an Entrepreneur is about connection, about seeing opportunities for growth and capitalizing on them.
I don’t own a business but this article will help me think like a businessowner in my day to day duties.
Dino,
I do very much agree that the leadership is required to operate a business. What I have found is that many people may have the necessary skills to lead when it comes to operating their own business they are lacking on the small business skill set. ALot of leaders have been misplaced from the corporate umbrella. Most are in the baby boomer generation and find it difficult to find a new corporate position so they embark on a entrepreneurial enterprise into starting and running a business.
Small business is most definetly not for the weak at heart. However the leadership skills can be learned. This is based on the research for my book into this subject.
Thank you for sharing this article.
Dave
There are plenty of failed entrepreneurs – it’s those that take the time to create a long term vision and create and follow systems (the boring part for most) that truly succeed.
If I had figured that out a long time ago I’d be on a beach somewhere exotic and not reading LinkedIn updates where I found your post!
[…] the skills necessary to address the challenges along the way and entrepreneurship is your reward! Are you up to the […]
Dino:
Great post!
One sentence in particular really resonated for me : “Personal growth is key to business growth.”
At some level, our contributions and our work are extensions of who we are. The more we grow as individuals and as leaders, the more we extend our reach, our influence and our contribuition. It only makes sense that this outreach helps our business grow as well! 🙂 Panteli
I think the interesting idea for wanna be entrepreneurs is that given the right environment many people are becoming intra-preneurs. Which is making/building/creating new products within an existing organization. Same start-up challenges, and the same feelings – just slightly less risk on the individual. A great recent book on this subject “Escape Velocity” by Geoffrey Moore talks about how to drive change within the ‘mature’ organization.
[…] If you are starting out as an entrepreneur in floral design or wanting to pass a certification examination, working for a local floral company or greenhouse will give you the time it takes to build your skills. It will be helpful to hone your abilities by practicing tasks like flower cutting, order taking, inventory care, flower arrangement and decorative technique which will boost your industry capabilities. […]
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