TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE ABOUT YOUR ENTREPRENEURSHIP CULTURE

TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE ABOUT YOUR ENTREPRENEURSHIP CULTURE: Why some communities struggle to build an entrepreneurial culture

By Zachary Barker, CEcD, MS | Founder, Startup Support Center

Months have gone into the preparation. You and a variety of community leaders have met multiple times to devise an attraction strategy to engage the best and brightest entrepreneurs. “This is what these people want,” attests one of the community leaders, “especially the tech people.” With the location selected, the budget activated, food and drink outlined, the plan is put into action. Social media posts are flying, as well as emails from those same leaders to partners touting free beer and pizza at the upcoming entrepreneur event.

Flash forward to the day of the event. The selected emcee – a well-known person in the community amongst leaders - is working tirelessly to elevate the energy of a room half-filled, mostly with people from our partner organizations and a handful of hardcore networkers.

“Why does this community not want entrepreneurship?”, asks one of the local economic leaders. “I am told it is because we don’t have funding”, notes another community leader.

Everyone shakes their head in agreement.

“Why does this community not want entrepreneurship?”, asks the local economic leader. “I am told it is because we don’t have funding”, notes one of the community leaders. Everyone shakes their head in agreement.

Within 90 minutes of this same community, over 40 people are gathered in a cramped coffee shop, paying for their own drinks, listening to a presentation from a local person few have ever heard of, discussing a marketing strategy that works for a business that will never be featured in the local business journal. The event organizer set up a Facebook event 2 weeks ago with no location, budget, agenda, yet, here they are… and all excited to attend.

Two different communities, two different outcomes, but both with the same goal: Grow entrepreneurship in the local community.

Why does one community seemingly want entrepreneurship while the other is “obviously” disinterested? Answer: Authentic Culture

Why does one community seemingly want entrepreneurship while the other is “obviously” disinterested? Answer: Authentic Culture

Modern entrepreneur-led economic development strategies are built around two ideas: (1) money is needed to drive everything and (2) a belief that there is a deficiency in specific skills (think training on MS Excel, emotional intelligence, or lean product development). Yet, if you ask an entrepreneur what they need, they will often say, “I’m not sure, but money who help.” The real secret we entrepreneurs won't admit is that often we don’t know what we need… if we did, we would have a plan for getting it.

For those community leaders seeking to grow or build an entrepreneurship community strategy, it is time to address “two truths and a lie”:

TRUTH #1: IF YOU AREN’T AN ENTREPRENEUR, YOU SHOULDN’T LEAD THE CHARGE

Appreciate that entrepreneurs are a “special breed.” These are people who are ambitiously optimistic in the face of failure, would rather go broke than work for “the man”, seek independence over security, and value creativity over compliance. If you work for a community or government agency, fair or not, entrepreneurs see you as what they are fighting not to become. As such, when entrepreneurial efforts are led by outsiders, they are not seen as credible, valuable, or authentic.

To grow a culture of entrepreneurship, the community must be led by a champion of the entrepreneurial community.

This individual should be:

• Welcoming and inclusive to all, especially “wantrapreneurs”
• Magnetically charismatic and intelligent
• Serve the community, first, as a mentor/teacher/coach, then, an administrator.
• Passionately connect, problem solve, and advocate for the community members

Notice that they do not have to have sold a company, be a recognized community leader, work at the chamber/EDC, or possess an advanced business degree(s). Rather, they just need to be a person who is seen as one of those most willing to fight for the entrepreneur community members and their successes.

TRUTH #2: YOUR PROGRAMMING IS BUILT FOR EMPLOYEES, NOT ENTREPRENEURS

If you have not started and grown your own business, even if it failed, then you likely shouldn’t be developing programming as if you are the expert. See Truth #1. 

The truth of the matter is that standardized training is built for a collective (like a corporation), not individuals. Entrepreneurs are each very unique, their challenges deeply personal, often psychological or emotionally driven. Attempting to fit all of these misfit toys into your well-organized curio cabinet will not work. Programming must be driven around developing the natural skill sets of the individual while defining success metrics (and key performance indicators) that can be used to measure effectiveness while providing insight regarding additional areas of necessary development.

Consider this: many entrepreneurs have a great product or service (in their mind) but do not know how to generate leads or effectively sell their offering. Their need is for systems and confidence building, not MS Excel or pitch training.

THE LIE: WE NEED INVESTMENT CAPITAL TO MAKE THIS WORK

Investors are everywhere – investments are not... and quality means "return on investment."

Investors are everywhere – quality investments are not... and quality means "return on investment."

More importantly, not every return is about financial gain. For some, ROI means providing an opportunity for a M/WBE owner, others, improvement of their community, some just want to help, while some will seek a 7-10x return on their cash.

Recognizing that entrepreneurs commonly use money to buy services – website, software, product design, etc., we can identify that what is needed more than money, is guidance, proof of concept, quality co-founders, and sales. Once a company demonstrates it can sell its product (or build a massive database of qualified leads), the money will always follow.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Zachary Barker is an IEDC certified economic developer (CEcD) specialized in entrepreneurship-led economic development strategies and entrepreneur development training. He is the founder of Startup Support Center, which provides entrepreneur training focused on the development of the individual entrepreneur – building a resilient mindset, developing confidence in selling, and designing executable action plans. He is the prior Executive Director of Lafayette Economic Development Authority’s entrepreneur acceleration and incubation program – Opportunity Machine, as well as the creator of the Entrepreneur Blueprint Training system. Zachary holds a Master of Science in Economic Development from Murray State University and is a graduate of Oklahoma University’s Economic Development Institute (OUEDI).

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