According to Andrum Consulting, most entrepreneurs lack the organisational skills necessary to launch their ideas successfully.
In the course of its studies, the firm looked at 111 entrepreneurs and discovered that 80% of them had a minimum of two new ideas yet to be launched and 26% had at least four. 30% said they had not made their ideas a reality due to a lack of time management know-how, 39% claimed they needed more financial backing and 20% said day to day cash flow was holding them back.
A lack of sound business planning appears to be a problem among the entrepreneurial community. 43% of the survey’s respondents have not drawn up a five-year business plan, less than 50% had a strategy for using social media and only 12% had drawn up an exit plan.
Andrum Consulting’s partner, Richard Grafton, said it’s great to see entrepreneurs brimming with ideas, but if they don’t possess the skills to work out which idea is most viable and are unable to raise enough finance to get their idea off the ground, such innovation is hardly beneficial.
He went on to say that ideas are not enough. Entrepreneurs and contractors need to be able to scope the market, select the most promising idea and have the ability to make it happen.
Another of the firm’s partners, Anita Weyland, said that a lot of entrepreneurs complained that there were not enough hours in a day. This statement would be a red flag to many potential investors. Who wants to back somebody who is unable to manage their own diary, she asked?
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