By Reena Dayal
Are you serious about being an Entrepreneur in London? There are many reasons why London is seen as a vibrant hub for entrepreneurs. The networking forums, the accelerator programmes, the diversity of people, the openness in accepting entrepreneurism as a career choice, the advancement of cutting edge topics, the understanding by many government bodies that entrepreneurship is a viable ticket to London’s growth post-Brexit, the success stories of both young and old entrepreneurs...The list goes on.
Yet, we know that there are many entrepreneurs that simply ‘shut up shop’, contributing to the almost 80% of start-ups that fail. So why is this happening when London offers such a conducive playground? I hear some of you say that the environment is not that perfect, that there is some bias due to age, gender and ethnicity which works against entrepreneurship. I agree, and it can be a huge dampener, even more so when coupled with the hardships of running one’s own business. One could argue that the freedom to work with who you want to, on a topic you are passionate about, offers entrepreneurs an attractive counter proposition. For me, taking the decision five years ago to start working for myself, reduced my mental stress significantly, and I know this also rings true for many of your fellow entrepreneurs out there. Yet, we accept that the burnout and high levels of struggle that entrepreneurs often experience is very real. The concept of an accelerated ‘exhaustion curve’ can lead to fatigue, clouded judgement and, in the most unfortunate cases, exit from entrepreneurship. Why is that? I am not saying the eco-system is perfect in London or that it could not do with significant improvement, as there is always room for this. What I am eluding to is that, if you are an entrepreneur in London, or are thinking of becoming one, you are in THE right place. It is also THE right time and has huge personal benefits. The question comes down to whether you are THE right person? The truth is that for entrepreneurs to succeed it is not so much what happens in the ecosystem, but what happens inside the head of the entrepreneur. After all, we all want to be winners, we just might not always know how to be winners.
Today in London, Accelerator programmes are big business. However, what I have learnt, and what I have seen multiple entrepreneur clients of mine really benefit from, is the time and attention they invest in redefining, reframing and refining themselves.
The concept of self-leadership is undervalued. What I find lacking, is the quality of personal development or self-leadership training that is offered by some Accelerator programmes. Some of them have that entire module missing, or simply play lip service to it, failing to make a real connection between productivity, business impact, personal strategy and purpose. We know this soft stuff is now the hard stuff in today’s highly chaotic and disruptively opportunistic environment. If you reflect for a moment, it is actually the game-changer as it allows entrepreneurs to win. Think of world-class sportspeople and the efforts they make to excel in their art. They spend hours to develop a winning mindset, physically fine tuning themselves and practising their sport (with rules/strategies et al). Being an entrepreneur is a similar parallel. To be a skilled entrepreneur you need to train like a sports person and you WILL win. It requires hard work and discipline and structure and that’s why I ask the question - are you really serious about being an entrepreneur? London has a lot to offer and the time to disrupt and grow big is NOW. Make sure you are not getting in the way of the success you, your team and business can experience. "We must never become too busy sawing to take time to sharpen the saw.” Dr Stephen R. Covey announced his 7th habit of highly effective people ‘Sharpen the Saw’. I urge you to do the same - do it well - with rigour and strategic intent. You will be amazed at how good you are and the new ways you can put together all your talent and skills and experiences to become entrepreneurs of purposeful businesses.
By Reena Dayal, author of The Brilliance Quotient and is currently the Acting Chair of The Institute of Directors - London Region
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