Angela Itambo Company

To succeed in this profession as an entrepreneur; you should be acquainted with all there needs to be known about it. The brief stint I have been privileged to be in business both as an entrepreneur as well as a consultant I have made mistakes and lost money and some time the confidence of those I hold in high esteem and it is my belief that Almighty God used these experience to teach me to have empathy for those he will direct me to serve as my purpose here on earth.

I aware that most people that approach me in search of business opportunities to invest in especially as first time entrepreneurs pretty have an idea on what there want however because of the many successful failures of start-ups; has made some of them think twice and also seek the counsel of experts before investing a dime. It is based on this and many preconceptions of entrepreneurship advocated about by this column we have dedicated this month to expounding all the truths of entrepreneurship; we will do all within our reach to bring you the truth and nothing but the truth to enable you make the right decisions.

This week we want to clarify the difference between entrepreneurship and small business;

• Many wonder what is the difference between the two, let us start by saying that every entrepreneur that starts small is a small business owner, however not every small business owner today is an entrepreneur

• The difference lays in the motive; this can be proved in the definition of who an entrepreneur is, according to Dr. Kathleen Allen a professor of Lloyd Greif center of entrepreneurial studies at the Marshall School of business at the University of Southern California and author of many books which includes entrepreneurship for dummies as ‘ordinary people who do extraordinary things. They take every day ideas and give them some magic (spectacular)’. While small business especially those you see around are started for the main aim to provide a source of livelihood(immediate income) to the individual, examples are the scattered shops such as barbing salons, hair dressing businesses etc

• For those of you contemplating starting a business, you must undertake a through self evaluation of yourself to ascertain what is pressing at the moment, such questions as the following should be answered:-

• Where is my source of livelihood coming from?

• With consideration to my responsibilities in the family, is the income enough for even the basic and a moderate lifestyle or that I honestly envisage for my family?

• My reason for reading this column is it for the fun of it or to access information on entrepreneurship

• My reason for contemplating starting a business, what are my reasons?

• Is it to provide a job for me so I can provide the basics or the lifestyle of my family? Or is it to augment the one I have? Or is it to prepare a nest egg (portfolio of investments that will grow enough for succession to the next generation) before you invest a dime you should clarify your reasons for starting a business. In any way this will decide whether to invest in a small business or an entrepreneurial venture

• A small business is an activity of trade which is done to provide immediate returns on investments. It isn’t a new idea rather a common business opportunity which is replicated to generate income It isn’t time consuming especially to recoup the investments. Often atimes small businesses remain small in size or is restricted to a geographical area, their owners see no reason to do otherwise

• Unlike entrepreneurial ventures, it birth out of creativity, it is the ability of an aspiring entrepreneur to spot a gap or a need in the market place; this often results to quite a lot time and energy and money committed to ensure it succeeds. One downside to this is that the time to reap its yields takes longer time than small businesses. The reason is that small business are birthed based on laid down tested technical skills as well as business management skills, while most entrepreneurial ventures are transacted on entirely new un tested technical/ business strategies. And this often creates inertia. Therefore the need to start seeing money roll out immediately is unrealistic.

This kind of businesses are done by the side or let say you should have an alternative source of livelihood to provide for the basic needs until this venture can make money on its own especially if it has been ascertained there is an untapped market which if nurtured can mature into a profitable market share. Example of such a venture is Dell computers started by Michael Dell. Some businesses were started as small businesses but along the line the entrepreneur caught the entrepreneurial bug example is a Anita Roddick of the body shop who simply wanted a business as a source of livelihood for her family same as the founders of Sweet Sensation and Tantalizers
The question I ask now as a consultant, what do you really want? Is it a small business or an entrepreneurial venture or small business? Are you ready to wait for the long haul that comes with entrepreneurship or you just want something that will provide a source of livelihood for you and immediate family or are you of a vision to set up a venture that will grow to serve the purposes of poverty alleviation, job creation and wealth creation? Both are good. Think about it and decide.