Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 11

Thread: High Failure Rate in Business Start-ups

  1. #1
    New Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Pretoria
    Posts
    3
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Cool High Failure Rate in Business Start-ups

    The SA gvt is promoting and pursuing business start-ups among young entreprenuers - very well, I have no problem with that. The challenge I come across everyday is disturbing. Business start-ups are so prone to failure due to management shortcomings more than any other issues. Would it not be wise to promote training with the same amount of energy?

  2. #2
    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Durban, South Africa
    Posts
    22,648
    Thanks
    3,304
    Thanked 2,676 Times in 2,257 Posts
    Blog Entries
    12
    I'm inclined to suggest they should focus entirely on training and ignore promoting and pursuing entirely.

    Your question raises an exceptionally interesting related issue - the relationship between training and "entrepreneurial success." And this runs a serious risk of turning into a mini paper. But follow this chain of short points with me and let's see how we go.

    Entrepreneurial success is a mixture of entrepreneurial drive, ability and opportunity.

    Ability comes from knowledge and training is an effective way of getting that knowledge.

    However, a sound knowledge of the pain of business, particularly that of start-ups, reduces entrepreneurial drive rather than increases it.

    Opportunity is fickle.

    Therefor the critical element in ongoing entrepreneurial success is the entrepreneurial drive.

    Entrepreneurial drive comes from motivation.

    External motivation is temporary.

    Internal motivation is more permanent, and powerful.

    Complacency and comfort are the enemies of motivation.

    Therefor, sustainable entrepreneurial success requires a strong sense of discomfort, frustration or ambition.

    So how does providing easy opportunity promote sustained entrepreneurial success?

    Give the knowledge. The rest has to take care of itself. Some will respond. Some won't. There will be casualties.

    Now let's see what others might think of that little theory
    Last edited by Dave A; 20-Nov-07 at 10:38 PM.

  3. Thanks given for this post:

    pmbguy (22-Aug-13)

  4. #3
    just me duncan drennan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Cape Town
    Posts
    2,642
    Thanks
    119
    Thanked 94 Times in 77 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Dave A View Post
    Entrepreneurial drive comes from motivation.

    External motivation is temporary.

    Internal motivation is more permanent, and powerful.

    So how does providing easy opportunity promote sustained entrepreneurial success?
    So let's assume that "easy opportunity" is equivalent to external motivation.

    Assuming Dave's theory is right, then we are looking for internally motivated people to train (for highest chance of success).

    So how do we attract the internally motivate people to assist them?

    Raise the pain barrier to the opportunity just enough to demotivate those with external motivation.

    just some more thoughts
    [SIGPIC]Engineer Simplicity[/SIGPIC]
    Turn ideas into products | The Art of Engineering blog

  5. #4
    Gold Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Posts
    561
    Thanks
    32
    Thanked 49 Times in 32 Posts
    Bah! Humbug! Personally I believe that ALL the government should be doing is investing money in Staff Training!

    Kidding aside - welcome Zivhave.

    I don't agree entirely with Dave's theory either....I quote
    Therefor, sustainable entrepreneurial success requires a strong sense of discomfort, frustration or ambition

    IMO if either frustration or discomfort continues indefinitely no matter how much the ambition, there is no way the entrepreneur will be able to sustain it. Other relationships will falter and the balance of life will be disturbed.

    What I do agree with is.....
    Give the knowledge. The rest has to take care of itself. Some will respond. Some won't. There will be casualties.

    I am amazed on a daily basis how the simplest and what appears to be the most basic of concepts of good business management to some, are lightbulb moments to others. Yes, I believe that small business owners should be in training......the dilemma? They can often neither afford the time nor the cost, government investment in this could therefore be a good thing!

    Raise the pain barrier to the opportunity just enough to demotivate those with external motivation. Duncan, didn't know you had this cruel side to you! No more pain please!
    Regards

    Debbie
    debbie@stafftraining.co.za

    From reception to management training, assertiveness, accountability or interviewing skills, we have a wide range of training workshops available for you!
    www.stafftraining.co.za

    Find us on
    Facebook

  6. #5
    New Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Pretoria
    Posts
    3
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
    I believe Debbieble has a point. The economic environment has adequate controls to screen entreprenuers if the state intervention is minimal. Putting up artificial ristrictions may be dangerous to aspiring youths. The opportunity cost are not a joke even for the trialists.
    I am working on a project for a black lady who wants to access her fifth business start-up loan. She has used her 3rd & 4th disbursements to pay off the first two! Its awesome how business runs on SARS' nose.

  7. #6
    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Durban, South Africa
    Posts
    22,648
    Thanks
    3,304
    Thanked 2,676 Times in 2,257 Posts
    Blog Entries
    12
    Oh heck, zivhave. I had one marvelous group who stopped by my office looking for information on pest control. They had no intention of even starting a business. They simply needed to fill in a questionaire so that they could access a start-up grant offered by government. They were quite upfront about it all.

    Government funding for start-ups is being raped senseless.

  8. #7
    Diamond Member Justloadit's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Johannesburg
    Posts
    3,479
    Thanks
    134
    Thanked 695 Times in 593 Posts
    Blog Entries
    1
    Quote Originally Posted by Debbiedle;8991What I do agree with is.....
    [B
    Give the knowledge. The rest has to take care of itself. Some will respond. Some won't. There will be casualties.[/B]
    You can not give some one knowledge, look at our current exam results and the manner in which our education department simply ensures every one is promoted every year.
    To achieve you need to be in discomfort. When you are hungry, you are motivated to do something to eat.
    The internal discomfort is the feeling that what ever you currently have right now is not enough for tomorrow, and this is what keeps entrepreneurs on the go. My grandfather and father and their generations went through many years of hunger during the great wars, and this spurred them to always have more than enough for the possibility of lean years, and was the motivation for continuing to be entrepreneurs in their lifetimes.

    If you have not experienced discomfort, you will never generate the motivation. Look at the current generation of youngsters, they simply demand from their parents, as they have no idea how hard it is to come by. As soon as they start to feel discomfort their attitude changes.

    I have always ensured that my kids always worked for their money, my eldest daughter at 23 started her own professional business, my youngest daughter is studying and wants to have her own copyright/advertising business as soon as she is able to. This is the motivation that we are referring too in the above posts, its motivation started by the fear of starvation, or having nothing to eat, one of the discomforts referred too.

    There is a number of discomforts which can be attributed to motivation.

    Speak to any old timer, and ask them what drove them to become entrepreneurs, and what keeps them at it, even after retirement, you will be surprised by the fear of discomforts which motivates them.
    Victor - Knowledge is a blessing or a curse, your current circumstances make you decide!
    Solar pumping, Solar Geyser & Solar Security lighting solutions - www.microsolve.co.za

  9. #8
    Diamond Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Cape Town
    Posts
    6,329
    Thanks
    426
    Thanked 978 Times in 795 Posts
    The most important thing in life is SELF DRIVE. Nobody will ever succeed at anything unless they are willing to drive themselves and persevere, be it at sport, study or anything for that matter. We live in a society where 90% of young people are taught by their parents that the government owes them because they fought for freedom. Those young people never learn to drive themselves, they simply sit back waiting for the government to bring whatever they want to them.

    Why do Zimbabweans work so hard - because their parents never taught them to sit on their a$$es and demand, their parent had nothing and realized that the only way for the kids to do better is to drive themselves to accomplish something.

    Entrepreneurship means absolutely nothing if the "entrepreneur" is not willing to put his nuts on the line and take FULL responsibility for his endeavour. Nobody can force anybody to learn of think for themselves, people have to get off their a$$es and educate themselves. There are many libraries, lots of stuff on the internet and even businessmen that people can learn from, yet the so-called entrepreneurs sit back and blame the government for the fact that they cannot get ahead.

    And if you think that I had a privileged education because I am white then think again, I spent my entire youth stuffing about and doing nothing of value. It is not about what other people do for you, it is about what you do for yourself.

  10. #9
    Suspended
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Had enough
    Posts
    3,358
    Thanks
    114
    Thanked 213 Times in 201 Posts
    @ Adrian we are once again on the same chapter

  11. #10
    Silver Member
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    durban
    Posts
    419
    Thanks
    128
    Thanked 61 Times in 52 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by adrianh View Post
    I spent my entire youth stuffing about and doing nothing of value. It is not about what other people do for you, it is about what you do for yourself.
    No offence meant nor any debate intended but just think about this. Yours was still a "privileged" upbringing. you could choose to do nothing and i'm guessing here live on your parents or even if you had a very menial job you earned so much more because of your colour. & if by chance you needed hospitalisation you enjoyed the Cape waterfront (i forget the name of that hospital). makes you wonder

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. No more business plans please!
    By Vincent in forum Entrepreneurship and Business Management Forum
    Replies: 26
    Last Post: 12-Nov-10, 09:57 AM
  2. Fundamental business principles - Get and keep customers
    By Dave A in forum Entrepreneurship and Business Management Forum
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: 12-Oct-09, 08:20 PM
  3. A NEW BUSINESS CONCEPT FOR SOUTH AFRICA
    By Ashley Fischer in forum MLM Industry Forum
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: 21-Mar-08, 09:55 AM
  4. SARS intensifies Small Business Tax Amnesty campaign
    By Snoopy_inc in forum Business Finance Forum
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: 21-Jun-07, 10:00 PM

Tags for this Thread

Did you like this article? Share it with your favourite social network.

Did you like this article? Share it with your favourite social network.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •