Too many new and small business are focused on the belief that an injection of cash will solve all their problems. A company is just like a building; if the foundation isn’t solid, the building will eventually collapse. You could have a great product/service, and all the money in the world but without the right support your business is doomed.
Entrepreneurs Don’t Need (only) Money…but they have been brainwashed to think this way.
We all know that it’s not how much you have, it’s what you can do with it (nudge nudge, wink wink). Having money is very helpful when starting a business, but there is so much more that is needed for a business to be successful. This can include mentorship or guidance from an experienced entrepreneur, access to business resources and support, and knowledge of one’s industry and market. If you’re not generating revenue, perhaps it’s time to take a step back, and redefine your target group, re-evaluate your USP and reinvent your marketing and sales strategy.
All aspects of business such as conducting operations effectively, investing in the right team members, improving the overall customer experience, and creating an excellent product or service are needed for businesses to be profitable and run smoothly. In fact, some of the most successful companies in the world started from the bottom but were able to leverage their limited resources and climb to the top of their respective industries.
Furthermore, most entrepreneurs are misguided in thinking that an Incubator or Accelerator will be the lightning in a bottle that they need. The unfortunate reality is that traditional incubator/accelerator models are broken. Most business incubators/accelerators simply share their contacts and resources and take a portion of equity, then tell the business owner who to contact to resolve their issues. Any service that is rendered based on a referral from the incubator/accelerator has to be absorbed by the entrepreneur and in reality, most (if not all) small businesses don’t have the free cashflow to cover these costs. Whatever happened to ‘paying it forward’ and helping support these small businesses to be successful without driving them into further financial peril?
That’s where we come in… Evolve’s Business Acceleration service provides the horsepower small businesses need (business development, social media, bookkeeping, marketing, administrative, PR and much more) without the cost of maintaining a complete workforce. Moreover, as part of our Start-Up Incubation service, we financially invest in our client’s business, make a working line of credit available and provide all the necessary resources such as marketing, finance, admin support, business development, and more.
Let’s face it – growing a small business is an ongoing process that involves perpetual trial and error. If you haven’t felt “the suck” and happily accepted it, you will never be a successful entrepreneur. There is no substitute for hard work, focus, determination, and an unwavering ability to say, “Fu*k It!” and keep following your dreams.
About Tom Greenwood
Tom Greenwood is a seasoned leader with more than 25 years of international experience driving growth, building teams, and executing innovative business strategies as both a senior in-house executive and as a trusted advisor. He is an expert in managing, structuring, and scaling businesses for explosive growth organically or through strategic acquisitions. Tom Greenwood’s thorough understanding of global business cultures, operations, markets, and sales channels; combined with his extensive network of senior-level contacts across Canada, the USA, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East; allows him to effectively bridge global business practices in order to achieve substantial, quantitative results.
