Financial Times

Sky's the limit for the budding entrepreneur
By Duruthu Edirimuni
Independence, freedom of choice or 'sky's the limit' were among the reasons given by some enterprising Sri Lankan entrepreneurs for venturing out on their own, during a lively discussion last week. Speaking during a panel discussion at a workshop on "Entrepreneurship - the road ahead" at the Trans Asia Hotel, Ravi Mahendra, CEO of ICBS (a business school) said he was driven by the need to be free, independent and manage people the way one wants.

Nilooka Dissanayake, a management accountant who runs the Athwela Business magazine, said she was also driven by a feeling of being independent. Dallas Joshua, Director, Kaizen Plus SkD (Pvt) Ltd - one of the main presenters - chipped in saying that some of the best entrepreneurs were those not liked by others in a company.

"Look around - some of the best entrepreneurs are those who were thrown out or eased out." (from their former workplaces) The workshop organized by The Sunday Times Business Club focussed on identifying creative opportunities and starting small businesses. Proceeds from the workshop would be used in a Business Club project to help small businesses ravaged by the tsunami.

Asked whether the climate in Sri Lanka is condusive for entrepreneurship and creative thought, some panelists said there should be a system of tax concessions and flexibility in labour laws. "The Inland Revenue dept is particularly harsh on the small firms than larger companies," Mahendra said.

Earlier Mohamed Azmeer, CEO, Conceptnursery.com, presented and led a lively discussion focussing on critical and creative thinking. "Critical thinking is the systematic mental activity of tolerant people who search with an open mind to enlarge their understanding," he said, adding that this is where creativity comes into being. "Creativity in general is the ability to come up with new ideas that are surprising yet intelligible, and also valuable in some way," he said.

He said that creativity is at the heart of entrepreneurship, enabling entirely new ways of thinking and working. He explained that entrepreneurs identify opportunities, large or small, that no one else has noticed and good entrepreneurs also have the ability to apply that creativity by effectively assembling resources to a single end. "They have a focus on creating value and want to do things better, faster, cheaper, while taking risks."

Explaining the barriers to creativity, he said, "There is often impatience with 'dreamers' and contempt for 'unusual' solutions which hinder creativity." He said that the ability to generate ideas comes from intuition, but it is improved by experience.

Dallas Joshua, Director, Kaizen Plus SkD (Pvt) Ltd., said among the principles of 'start up marketing', it is important not to reach to, too many customers, because they cannot be properly serviced. "Selecting a small group of customers to focus on initially and providing superior customer service is essential," he said, adding that it is also important to network and develop good PR skills while building long-term relationships. "It is vital to 'delight' the customers you serve and make them your referral points," he said.

Joshua said that while offering a 'differentiated' product or a service highlighting its unique selling point (USP), it is also important not to spend on wasteful advertising and conduct focused promotion. He explained that sponsorships with various companies involving barter deals, publishing interesting press articles and using word of mouth are some low-cost techniques for start up marketing.

Explaining the challenges faced by an entrepreneur, he said money to start up the business, lack of knowledge to run the business and the need to differentiate while offering superior value to penetrate the competition rank the highest. Mario Fonseka, Director, Kaizen Plus SkD (Pvt) Ltd, explaining the concept of strategic management, said it is a systematic process of management, where an organisation is managed from a long-term perspective, to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage, and have an edge over its competitors. "Strategic management helps avoid corporate failure, coordinating the efforts of different departments and individuals for a common purpose," he said.

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