Biggest Challeneges For EntrepreneursWhen I Saw The January Issue Of Entrepreneur Magazine I Was Thrilled. Cover Copy Had A Teaser On It To The Effect That Entrepreneurs Had Been Surveyed And Inside Were Their Answers. I Was Certain That, Finally, Someone Was Paying Attention To Entrepreneurs Who Were Striving For A Successful Business. It Was Time To Hear From Us Little Guys!I Cant Tell You How Surprised I Was As I Began To Read The Article. Their Idea Of An Entrepreneur And Mine Were As Different As Night And Day. I Always Classified An Entrepreneur As Someone Like The Mom And Pop Coffee Shop Around The Corner, The Family Run Produce Market In Town, Or The 18 To 24 Year Old Who Had Come Up With A Fantastic Gizmo And Was Scooped Up Into A Corporation As Their Newest Genius. Let Me Give You A Quote From The Article That Will Clue You Into Its Idea Of An Entrepreneur.To Explain The Method Used For The Survey They State, Entrepreneur Magazine And PricewaterhouseCoopers Entrepreneurial Challenges Survey Is An Annual Telephone Survey Of More Than 300 CEOs Of Privately Held, U.S.-based Businesses Recognized For Their Sustained, Rapid Growth. They Average 31.5 Million In Annual Revenue With An Average Of 185 Employees, And Have An Ongoing Annual Growth Rate Of More Than 23 PercentThat Definitely Was Not My Picture Of An Entrepreneur. I Dont Know Too Many Entrepreneurs Who Average 31.5 Million Annually, Or Employ 185 People. To Me, Thats A Pretty Successful Company On Its Way To Being A Corporation. We Should All Be Such Entrepreneurs!At Any Rate, I Continued Reading And I Must Say The Information Was Worth The Read, And The Business Of Doing Business Can Apply To Those Of Us Who Arent Quite Making That 31.5 Million Per Year Yet. Heres What The Survey Discovered.What Were Considered Their Biggest Challenges For 2006?73 - Retention Of Key Workers38 - Developing New Productsservices36 - Expansion To Domestic Markets35 - Increased Productivity28 - Upgrading Technology23 - Creating Business Alliances21 - Better Management Of Cash Flow14 - Expansion Outside The 13 - Improving Risk Management11 - Finding New Financing11 - Buying Another Company Or Launching A Spinoff 7 - Preparing Company For Sale 2 - Going PublicNow When You Stop And Think About It, Thats Pretty Much What Most Entrepreneurs Think About Each Year. Maybe Not To The Extent Of Expanding To Foreign Markets Or Launching A Spinoff, But To Keep Your Business Perking Along The Road Of Improvement - All The Rest Are Considered.The Next Part Of The Survey Was Interesting Because Entrepreneurs Were Given A List Of Several Wild-card Factors That Could Affect Business In 2006. When Asked Which Three Would Be Most Harmful To Their Business, Heres What They Said:47 - Unstable U.S. Economy43 - Rising Health-care Costs41 - Shortage Of Qualified Workers40 - Weak Market Demand24 - Rising Oilenergy Costs24 - Rising Interest Rates22 - New Government Regulations18 - Weaker Capital Spending14 - Weakening World Economy12 - Increased Global Competition11 - Decreased Access To Capital10 - Sudden Drop In Real Estate Market10 - Tax Increases 9 - InflationSo Maybe My Entrepreneurs And Those Surveyed Are Not Really That Much Different In Thinking. The Outlook Of Most Entrepreneurs Is Probably Optimistic, Or Will Be Unless More Unforeseen Disasters Strike.Even After The Huge Devastation Of 911, Within Two Quarters We Were Back To The Same Level Of Optimism As We Had Before. People Get Used To Dealing With Tough Circumstances And Factor Them In, But Are Not Swayed By Them. When You Really Think About It; Isnt That What Most Entrepreneurs Are Like? If Theyre Not, Then They Arent Entrepreneurs By My Way Of Thinking.
