To label yourself an ‘entrepreneur’ can carry a lot of baggage. Perceptions of what being an entrepreneur means can stir images of the likes of Richard Branson, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, or dare we say it, Donald Trump.
Do you have to be big risk taker? Someone who gives their life to their business? Are you tough enough to survive in a dog-eat-dog, ruthless business world?
Actually, beyond the usual business celebrities, the perception of entrepreneurship throughout the world is generally one of admiration and positivity. Telling anyone at a dinner party that you run your own business commands instant respect.
This is backed up by a new survey on global entrepreneurship by the Global Entrepreneurship Research Association (GERA).
GERA’s latest Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report for 2017 states that 70% of people hold entrepreneurs in high regarded and enjoy a respected status in their societies. Meanwhile, two thirds of people in the global economy consider entrepreneurship a good career choice.
In the UK the perception of entrepreneurs is even higher than the global average, where 75% of the population believe those to start their own business are worthy of respect. The underlying spirit and goodwill towards entrepreneurs in this country is still alive and well, and in fact is very positive, including in the media, the report says.
So recruitment agents who make the break from their existing job and strike out on their own will have the admiration of many. But why?
The GEM report suggests that people who start their own business are recognised as disruptors, and innovators – challenging the market with new ideas, more efficiency, or better customer service. Entrepreneurs employ people, the get the economy moving, and people respect what it takes to start something from scratch and make it successful.
Paul Mizen, Managing Director of the Recruit Venture Group, which supports recruitment agents who want to start their own business, said: “I’m not surprised at all at the GEM report findings which suggest that people who start their own business are held in such high esteem.
“We successfully helped start 43 such enterprises, and I’m proud and indeed admire every single one. So many people have misconceptions about what it takes to be an entrepreneur, but from the businesses we’ve supported, the one thing they all say is: ‘I wish I’d done this sooner’.
“We see so many recruitment agents under pressure, with huge workloads to manage, and dwindling resources, in roles far more demanding and less rewarding than being an entrepreneur. With our team of experts behind them, the start-ups we support are given the freedom to really flourish.”
The Recruit Venture Group is all about finding out what’s stopping people from taking that next step to entrepreneurship and breaking down those barriers.
Those barriers feed in to the one metric on the GEM report which is fear of failure. In the UK, 36% of the population is put off starting their own business for this reason – which is about average for the global economy.
The Recruit Venture Business model has been successful precisely because it knows what lies behind those fears. Finance clearly majors among those reasons, so Recruit Venture Group offers all the money needed to support the business plan and get the business off the ground. No living off bank loans and credit cards, or even contemplating re-mortgaging the house.
Its central services operation, led by experts in their field, takes care of the payroll, HR, legal, technical, IT and other back office support every new business needs, but often struggles with.
Paul Mizen added: “What we do is allow recruitment agents to make that leap and focus on what they do best – matching people with jobs. The results of the 43 businesses we support speak for themselves – we’re turning regular salaried employees into entrepreneurs.”
Source: http://www.gemconsortium.org/report