In Colombia, being employed all your life is a thing of the past. According to a 2016 report by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor AGER - considered the main entrepreneurial researcher - this country has the highest potential for entrepreneurship compared to the regional and global average. Hence, it is not surprising why, every day, more and more people enter this business ecosystem, leaving aside traditional forms of work.
The entrepreneurial potential of the country - which consists of the ability and interest of people to create their own business - reaches 89% of positive attitude according to the study, far exceeding the 50% obtained by Asia, 47% from the United States and 39% from the European Union.
This is caused by several reasons, such as the national and global economic situation, the desire to achieve independence and different and more flexible routines, the scarcity of well-paid job opportunities and even the influence generated by the diversity of innovative ventures that have appeared in the Colombian market. Factors that motivate young people to test their potentials in developing their business ideas.
And this situation not only favors those who incur in this. As a study by the International Finance Corporation (ICF) explains, small and medium-sized enterprises account for more than half of the formal jobs in the world. While in the specific case of Colombia, according to figures from the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, SMEs occupy 95% of national companies, generating nearly 65% of employment in the country and exceeding 35% of production.
Given such a benefit that it brings to the economy, in recent years private and government initiatives have emerged created to accompany entrepreneurs at each stage of the development of their idea, supporting from the financial side, to education and training. Some of them are the Chambers of Commerce, the accelerator of digital startups of Telefónica, Wayra Colombia, the Emprende Fund of SENA and the Business Growth Management Unit of the National Government (INNpulsa), among others.
But, if the population is enthusiastic enough and the current scenarios favor the creation of enterprises, what is it that causes only 50% of the enterprises to survive after three years of their foundation? According to experts, the lack of organization of tasks and studies that allow them to cope with setbacks.
For example, in the fourth edition of the annual forum that brings together national and international entrepreneurs, the Colombia Startup & Investor Summit, among its conclusions, highlighted that, in general, Colombians have good ideas and offer quality products or services but are affected by the fact that they lack good strategies, preparations and studies that allow them to achieve their goals.
Therefore, if you are in the middle of a venture or about to start one, in this text we will group five keys to make your idea part of the percentage that does survive in this arduous but pleasant business mechanism.
1. Your product or service, in addition to being useful, must excel
Although it seems obvious to say that, it never hurts. In an environment where numerous ventures arise, competing in the market is a more complicated task than normal.
So, while you already have in mind what you want to develop or are deciding on what to do, you must ensure that what you are going to offer to the public solves a specific problem or need.
To achieve this, it is important to know very well what the market you want to target is like, both who your potential customers may be, and what they need to improve their daily lives. In what ways you can literally change his life. And this will not only serve to offer them what they need, but also to find out how profitable it is for you and your new business.
However, it will not be enough to deliver something they require, but this product or service should stand out from the rest of your competition (which you will surely have); What in eCommerce is known as Unique Selling Proposition: a unique proposal that will motivate customers to go to your offer and not to the others, no matter how similar they are.
An example in Colombia is the web portal for the sale of pet products, www.ciudaddemascotas.com, which was launched in 2013 with the purpose of offering pet owners a wide catalog, with better prices and personalized attention from qualified veterinarians, who It will also give them the comfort of not having to go to a store to obtain them. Its success was such that, today, it has more than 70,000 records.
2. Clarify purposes
Yes. We know that for you a great objective is to make the business profitable by itself and also generate good profits, preferably in the short term. But, if we want the idea to really be successful, the purpose should not be money. Without removing its indisputable importance, of course.
Being closely related to the previous point, good ideas are always attractive because of the conviction with which they are projected. People will always choose what they feel identified with.
If what you offer is really designed to satisfy your audience, since you even feel part of it, customers will feel belonging for that.
Now, if what you offer is mechanical products, you may wonder how it is possible to make your public potential feel connected to that. There the challenge will be in the way they are projected. Remember that not all ventures stand out as such for the product itself, but for a differentiating service that makes life easier for people.
Although this will not only serve you with customers, but also with the team that integrates your business. A purpose that goes beyond money and focuses on the experience of individuals will make them feel attracted and even inspired.
3. Value human capital, even your own
One of the biggest mistakes in entrepreneurship is that a work team is not formed but that the entrepreneurs assume all the tasks of the project, and although this does not mean that it is impossible to do so, it does make it difficult to achieve the objectives.
There are also those who think that meddling in this world will decrease their workload and, in truth, there is nothing more wrong. The lives of entrepreneurs, being the ones who take charge of their initiative, is full of long hours of work, especially considering that depending on how much they commit themselves, the desired results will be achieved.
Therefore, it is important to surround yourself with people who not only contribute to the achievement of the objectives, but also impress on the team the desire to excel. Thus, you will be able to assign to each one what they know how to do best for entrepreneurship and this will translate into benefits.
But, in addition to forming a team, you must offer constant preparation and education because, thanks to the world news and its progress, new tools and techniques emerge every day that can be used in your endeavor. An example of this are the forms of communication and how they reinvent themselves daily.
On the other hand, investors will always be more attracted to an initiative promoted with a good integrated team, than to someone overloaded with work who may not be able to cope.
4. Take action and be persistent
The path of entrepreneurship is long and winding since, like everything in life, there will be obstacles that will complicate the achievement of goals. That is why it is important that the main objective of an initiative does not focus solely on generating money, but on ideals of improvement or of changing the reality of people.
By being like this, you can maintain a persistent focus and take clear actions that will not collapse in cases of difficulties or monetary losses, but will learn from these situations to continue working to achieve success. Furthermore, having creative and strategic thinking, open to any situation that may arise, will prevent the project from stalling unnecessarily.
5. Don't stop looking for opportunities
If in general one should not let go of the opportunities, much less in the world of entrepreneurship since they are the ones that will allow, to a large extent, the expansion of initiatives.
At the same time, you should take advantage of the available resources, from who you know and those close to you who can benefit your business, to obtaining the support offered by the promoters that exist today.
The INNpulsa program, for example, was created so that innovative companies can redefine the country's economy with the aim of making Colombia, in 2018, one of the “most innovative and competitive economies in Latin America”. Hence, among its functions is to offer financing for ventures that promise to positively influence the country's economy and culture.
And how do you get these programs to support your entrepreneurship? Simple: Putting into practice each one of the mentioned points.
