Mary Ayisi - The Global Entrepreneur

THE
GLOBAL
ENTREPRENEUR

Mary Ayisi

AuthorHouse UK Ltd.

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403 USA

www.authorhouse.co.uk

Phone: 0800.197.4150

2013 Mary Ayisi. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 11/15/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4918-8369-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-8371-6 (e)

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Table of Contents

After the global credit crunch, we all realized how connected the international communities have become. So if you are starting a new business, it is very imperative that you have the globe in mind and do it right first time. This book is a step-by-step guide for setting up and managing a new business. It will motivate and guide you in starting a new or managing an existing business.

This book is for students, graduates, those new to the job market and anyone who is passionate about running their own business to think, plan and go global should their organisation pick up.

To find out more about how to find your passion; how to plan and start the business; how to prepare your own business plan; how to prepare an invoice, how to finance your business, then this book is for you. I have also included about 150 sample business ideas so people who do not have anything yet in mind can build upon that.

Certain realities of the current economy hit me recently as I learnt more about the mentality of many people towards employment.

I am a professional banker working with some of the UKs leading Investment banks. With my banking background and the opportunities offered me in the banking industry, friends and colleagues have sought my advice on many issues, especially about working in the industry.

What recently hit me was that since 2007, the global job market has been struggling, and there has been a significant drop in recruitment and employment of graduates, making the prospects for those taking their first steps on the career ladder look bleak. Because Im a fan of entrepreneurship, the advice I always give at the end of every conversation with graduates is to be realistic and set up their own businesses. We, as graduates, have to be creative and do make our childrens future brighter by putting structures in place for their employment. We have to think of creating employment in our businesses rather than looking for jobsof becoming employers rather than employees.

When you seek employment, you compete with a number of people for the same job, but when you become an entrepreneur, you rely only on your brainpower and guts as you step into the unknown. Most universities groom students, including the very brainy ones, to be employees rather than employers; as such, your competition as an entrepreneur is already reduced.

In UK and the rest of the world, fewer large national employers are seeking recent graduates than in the past. However, more small and medium-sized enterprises are using the services of university career offices to find new employees. The global financial crisis has impacted different employment sectors very differently, with declines in the number of vacancies being advertised by firms in banking, finance, law, and construction and increases in hiring in the public sector, social care, education, and engineering.

Therefore, anyone with an objective, vision, talent, ideas, and the drive to start a new business and the ability to research a businesss competition and potential customers in order to know a business ideas strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities in the market is in a good position. If a person has also developed a clear business plan and is able to put ideas into action, success is certain.

Richard Lowden, the founder of Eurodrive Car Rental, once said that every time something happens to him, whether positive or negative, he asks himself where the opportunity might be. For example, when people lose their jobs, their first feeling is fear, and little do they think that this event could be an opportunity for them to analyse their employment situations. Chasing after new employment may not be for them, but they will need to do a self-analysis to realise that and their potential for something else. Irrespective of their lifestyles and busy schedules, some people can take time out while theyre working to take stock of their lives and learn where they are and where theyre going. Unfortunately, other people are unable to do so, and for such people, redundancy could be the best thing that could happen to them, as it will force them to take stock.

Alex McMillan, who started his recruitment business in 1990, was requested by his staff to produce a list of questions to ask new candidates. One of these questions was, If you could get any job in the world and the necessary qualifications, skills, and experience for it, what job would you want? McMillans firm interviewed 1,000 people, and out of these, 912 of them said they would want to run their own businesses. This goes to show how much people value building a business, and any government should encourage entrepreneurship to secure the future of the economy. Unfortunately, most people are fearful of failure and the uncertainty inherent in setting up and running a business, and they allow that fear to stop them from becoming incredibly successful, realising their full potential, and feeling completely free.

Most people find a job and then go along a conveyor belt until they receive their pensions. They work only for money, not because theyre greedy but because they want to be financially secure.

This book is not being targeted at people who want to work only for money and ride the employment conveyor belt. It is for those who want to make a real difference for themselves and to create, excel, achieve, grow, learn, develop, produce, win, accumulate wealth, and make a big impact on their economy. If the latter description fits you, then please read on.

Entrepreneurs are people who set up business ventures using their own ideas. They take on the risks that come with the business with the intention of increasing the productivity of economic resources, money, labour and raw materials to increase yield.

Entrepreneurs are responsible for leading their firms and demonstrating leadership by choosing competent managerial staff to help run their businesses.

Entrepreneurs have different motives for starting businesses. One is to make money and create wealth, another is to innovate, using money to make their innovative ideas a reality and thereby make more money. Others also start new businesses to meet a need in the market and improve the world in some small way. Some entrepreneurs start businesses for a combination of both of these reasons, and many have entirely different reasons. To be an entrepreneur is to do your own thinking and making your own decisionsthus, you have to be responsible and trust your own judgement.

Two types of people become entrepreneurs:

1. People who identify new commercial opportunities around them by being creative, innovative, and having foresight.

2. Practical people who see and exploit existing opportunities in order to successfully make money.