Small Business Entrepreneur Blog

Ever since I started to write and document doing business and entrepreneurship in regions like Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and so on it’s like someone opened my eyes. While entrepreneurship and business stories from US make the news, there are profound entrepreneurship experiences everywhere. And while media focuses most on US and public thinks about entrepreneurship in terms of doing business in US, the local stories hide gems of innovation, hard work, success and failure and completely different entrepreneurship rules and ways.

I’m from Eastern Europe and I’ve tried to make a mild description of entrepreneurship environment on several occasions. Through my entrepreneurship stories I’ve got to know how easy is to start a business for example in US. Let me give you my main thoughts on that.

5 reasons why is easier to start a US small business

• Business environment. There is no secret that it’s very easy to start a business and incorporate in US. Legislation, infrastructure is there to support small businesses. Plenty of supporting organizations.

Let’s take opening an online business – an shop for sporting gear. You will need an online shop, some stocks, marketing and internet merchant accounts . Online shops? The greatest ones are in US: Amazon for example. So you have some sort of a culture of well done online shops. Stocks? I don’t think there is any kind of merchandise you can’t get delivered in US. credit card processing ? That’s where it got invented. Elsewhere? Take Eastern Europe – people are not used to buy online, are afraid to pay by credit card and love to pay cash.

• Market potential. If you’re opening a wide audience business, you are already marketing and selling to millions of customers.

I was discussing last week with some local entrepreneurs and we were analyzing why there aren’t that many big investments in let’s say online shops over here.  Besides the things like less infrastructure, payment  methods and so on, frankly speaking if you are opening an online shop in Romania (I’m taking this example because it’s my home country) you are only selling to a maximum of 15 millions. If you take out people that don’t want to shop online, don’t use credit cards and so on, you are only left with very few millions.

• Entrepreneurial thinking. Generations of entrepreneurs created a strong “entrepreneurial culture”.

If your parents own a business, if your friends own a business and if you see even young entrepreneurs succeeding how willing would you be to start a business? I bet you are!  Elsewhere? People are used to work for the public administration. Stories say you could lose everything if you fail in business. Your ancestors have raised you saying you shouldn’t take any risks. Starting a business is an act of courage!

• Funding. Angel investors, venture capitalists, a banking system created to support small businesses.

Someone asked me a couple of days ago: What do you know about angel investors in Romania? Where can I find them? Any success stories? I didn’t know the answer – maybe because they don’t identify themselves as angel investors and belonging to a group. So most businesses around here start small and take long to develop. That’s way different from having a good idea, a good business plan and putting them to work with outside investment. That’s more likely to pay back!

• Education. Hands on education on how to run a business, plenty of supporting organizations, all great business teachers are in US

10 or 20 years ago the East European education system was praised for the quality of skilled force it delivered. Reality showed later that these so called skilled students know more in theory than in reality (at least this is my opinion). Have a look at this list of 200 Best Blogs, Free Courses and eBooks for the Business Student and you will see why you grep a better grasp of the reality with the entrepreneurial minded education system in US.

What to do if you are elsewhere?

Ok, so it might be harder to start a business elsewhere. But sometimes this offers just the right opportunities. I think I wrote in several occasions that if you take a small town in Germany for example is much harder to find an area that is not yet covered and make a business from it. Elsewhere there are so many needs that still don’t have a solution! Let’s take the above steps and see what if you are elsewhere.

• Business environment. It’s harder to start a business, more bureaucracy, expensive banking services and many more. The thing is that if the entry barriers are bigger, chances are that you could keep your market position for longer, have less competition and be more successful in general. Not sure if you ever thought about this before, but it really depends how you think about things. Sometimes being hard is good.
• Market potential. Ok, here we have a real issue that can’t be overcome that easily. If you want to start a mass business, let’s say toilet paper, you won’t get to sell that many in a small market and there is nothing you could do to sell more. Unless you plan for the begining to become a ‘regional’ player instead of a local one. On the other hand, niche businesses tend to do better. It’s far easier to take a niche business and make it mainstream in a small market.
• Entrepreneurial thinking. Your parents told you shoul get a safe 9 to 5 job. All your friends have a job. Thing is that if you get yourself to think and to feel that you are in charge with your life, and you get the power to go and do anything that drives you forward, entrepreneurship is something you could do. It only depends on your desire to take control of your own life.
• Funding. Yes, it’s hard to fund a new business. Good thing is that nothing pushes you forward better than being hungry. It makes you efficient, it makes you take more advantage of things. Don’t believe this is true? Read more about in the Interview with Mike Michalowicz, Author of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur.
• Education. Well, you can’t really change what you learn in school. So the only way to do it is becoming a self educated entrepreneurs. Luckily there is Internet.