Launch Magazine - Fall 2007 - (Page 24) Quiz: Are You an Entrepreneur? While this test is by no means exact, it will give you some idea of whether you’re cut out to be an entrepreneur or not. Ask yourself if you agree (“Yes” or “No”) with the following 25 statements. 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) 11) 12) 13) 14) 15) 16) 17) 18) 19) 20) 21) 22) 23) 24) 25) I communicate with others easily and clearly. I can focus on more than one task or topic at a time. I often can persuade people to agree with me. I can work alone without direction. Family and/or people I’m close to understand that sometimes work has to come first. I enjoy trying to meet or beat a deadline. I can generate ideas/solutions from little information. My concern for other people is obvious to the outside world. When I read a book, I find it hard to focus only on the subject at hand and outside thoughts tend to creep into my mind. I have no problem listening to or acting on advice from a mentor or investor. I can quickly and easily adapt to a changing environment. I don’t need the security of paychecks at regular intervals. I am willing to take responsibility in any situation necessary. I tend to look for the simplest solutions. I constantly look for opportunities and then act on those I’m capable of handling. I assess risk and determine the best action before committing to act. I can think of creative solutions to real problems. I like to start projects on my own and usually complete them. I don’t mind working hard with the promise of a distant reward. Once I make up my mind to do something, I don’t let anything stop me. I like to build things (physically or conceptually). I enjoy planning and working on long-term strategy. I’m willing to learn and can admit my shortcomings. I often think of ways to do something better. Work to me is always more than just a job. now, the net positive churn is good for this economy.” While it’s difficult to get exact numbers (all Utah cities and municipalities don’t always report the number of failures), there’s no denying that Utah has a proportionally large number of startups and failures related to the rest of the nation. Why is this the case? Why do so many of our startups go under? If you take a straw poll of members in the business community, you’ll find a variety of contributing factors. Some of these factors are Utah’s portion of nationwide issues and some are likely locally based Utah-specific cultural issues. National Reasons According to a study by the SCORE program and U.S. Bank, over 70 percent of business failures are related in part to the following five reasons: 1) Not recognizing or ignoring weaknesses and then not seeking help; 2) Poor cash flow management skills/understanding; 3) Lack of a solid business plan; 4) Starting out with too little money; and 5) Being overly optimistic about sales and required funds. Businesses in Utah certainly mirror those national findings, but there are also some theories regarding cultural or social factors involved in the state adding to the problem. become entrepreneurs prematurely without much thought. Another issue is related to religion. Utahns of all religions (especially some members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) occasionally will start businesses based more on faith or personal feelings rather than facts. People are sometimes blinded by the belief that if they just do everything their religion requires, God will take care of them. “It’s the equivalent of diving headfirst into an empty swimming pool and expecting the Lord to put water in the pool before you hit bottom,” says John E. Richards, local entrepreneur, angel investor and associate director of BYU’s Center for Entrepreneurship. “You can’t ignore basic business principles just because you pay your tithing each month.” Remember, bad things do happen to good people all the time regardless of how religious they are. Good people die and good people have problems. Business is no different. Your business can thrive or fail regardless of how well you practice your religion. Cutting the Failure Rate What can we do here in Utah to prevent some of the failures? Simply put, if future entrepreneurs wait until they know the facts (or after learning the facts decide entrepreneurship isn’t for them) before getting started, we’ll see a big drop in the failure rate. Education is one of the keys. There are many state and private resources would-be entrepreneurs don’t take advantage of. Local organizations and Small Business Development centers have information and mentors. More entrepreneurs need to take time to understand the realties of business before taking the plunge. If you are considering starting your own business, please study the “Before You Dive In” advice section and “Are You an Entrepreneur?” quiz on the following pages. $ Click here for the HTML version of this article on launchutah.com. Utah-specific Reasons The “Pioneer mentality” as I like to call it is still alive and well in the West. People here have a fantastic, just-doit, do-it-yourself mentality. That’s not necessarily a bad thing (in fact it’s often one of our greatest strengths), but it can cloud one’s judgment at times. Ever walk past a $1,500 pre-built playground set at Home Depot and say to yourself, “I could build that for my kids all by myself for about $700 in materials and one weekend of my time.” That’s your pioneer mentality kicking in. If you’re like me, you’ll find out quickly that it really takes $1,200 and 60 hours of your time to build the $1,500 playground. It’s this mentality however, that sometimes encourages people to If you answered “Yes” to at least 20 of the above questions, you may be entrepreneur material. You may also want to click here to take a very good Entrepreneurial Quotient Test developed by Northwestern Mutual Life and published on the BYU Center for Entrepreneurship Web site. 24 launch fall http://marriottschool.byu.edu/cfe/startingout/test.cfm http://www.launchutah.com/article-coverstory-q32007.php
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