Advances in society have been the result of a combination of philosophers, legislators and debate on the one hand; of invention, research and technology on the other. When it comes to practical progress it necessitates finance of course to translate ideas into reality. Some budding entrepreneurs can be frustrated in their efforts to develop their businesses. Others have some good fortune to help the process. There are companies that are prepared to loan money to new ventures, unsecured at times. They will never look for equity as such. They are lenders who will not necessarily make their decisions based upon the applicant’s credit score.
When you think of Henry Ford, Bill Gates or Steve Jobs the first word that comes to mind is entrepreneur. They have all made a huge contribution to innovation in their respective fields. Ford is synonymous with the automobile and the other two with the huge developments in software and the resulting growth in modern technology. Ford recognized that the production line would help to make the automobile more widely available to the middle class. He got a patent from Detroit’s mayor for his carburettor and within it he was able to attract investment.
Gates actually dropped out of Harvard; he had to be hugely talented to get there in the first place but realized that he could forge his career without a certificate to confirm his abilities. Microsoft has become the first name worldwide in software. Jobs began by building a circuit board which he offered to a local shop at twice the price it had cost him to build it. The result was a guaranteed order for 50 complete computers from the shopkeeper and ‘Apple’ was born.
Vision
Entrepreneurs generally have a vision. If they can turn their vision into reality then success is virtually guaranteed if their product or service meets a need in the mind of the consumer or if it innovates and the consumer recognizes the strength of the innovation. The entrepreneur often needs to be persistent but in the USA there is a tradition of venture capital that can provide the material assistance to get a project moving. Likewise modern financial lenders often working online take a pragmatic approach to lending; the ability to pay back a loan takes priority over credit history.
Entrepreneurs inevitably have drive. They act while others dither. Some fear acting on their ideas in case they make a mistake and fail. An entrepreneur, even one with far less intellect and formal education will have no such doubts; fear of failure does not come into the equation. Even if initial attempts to raise finance fail an entrepreneur is likely to put that down to a lack of imagination on the part of the venture capitalists. There is still the next company to approach and then the one after. Disappointment is purely temporary; it is permanent in those who have few of the entrepreneur’s basic traits.
Hard Work
There is no right to succeed. Hard work and using the hours of the day to good effect should always be at the forefront of every entrepreneur’s mind. For a business to succeed it is important that an entrepreneur surrounds himself or herself with staff that is capable of developing a commitment to the project. That is likely to involve the ability to motivate and encourage staff to put in a similar amount of effort into a day’s work that an entrepreneur is doing himself or herself. If the business is highly incentivized it helps but reward should be only part of the motivation to work hard. Positive energy should always run through the business.
No Excuses
There is no room for excuses. There will be times when there are reasons why a particular course of action might not succeed. It is simply time to move on and learn the lessons. The cleverest of people may be full of ideas but if they are weighed down by excuses for failure they will never be a ‘Henry Ford’. Ford and every entrepreneur that has succeeded subsequently did not have the word ‘lazy’ in his vocabulary. The many traits that an entrepreneur must have include energy, persistence, imagination and charisma.
Finance is a prerequisite to success and often it is provided on instinct rather than a detailed business plan. The important thing for someone looking for a loan to remember is that there are companies today willing to listen to applications no matter the history of the applicants.
About Carson Derrow
