Discuss about the National Characteristics of Entrepreneur Behavior.
In the modern global economy, the young generation is highly unemployed while other, lot lack the resources to start their own business. This has led to unproductivity in the economy of many countries such that the population that is economically producing is less than that which is consuming and not producing. For Australia the case seems to be different, the young generation seems to be dealing with the problem directly. This paper looks at the young entrepreneurs who have defied the odds and norms to start their enterprises. For the purpose of simplicity, the paper focuses of the LifeStyle.com.au, an online retail business that was founded back in 2012 by two young entrepreneurs.
Max Fang together with Peter Xie founded the online business retail LifeStyle.com.au in October 2012. The retailer deals with furniture, lighting, kitchenware and rags. The business was launched to address the gap in online retail, particularly on good furniture by providing quality and branded furniture. The business has a membership of 260,000, leveraging simple marketing techniques as well as small business resources. The business generates over 2,500 0rders per month. A photo in the appendix shows Max Fang receiving the Australian Small Business Champion Awards 2014 in the first new business category, apart from this award, the business has also won the top 100 cool company awards and the BRW fast starters (Phillips & Phillips, 2017).
Max Fang is one of the founders of Lifestyle, who has previously worked as an online retailer for seven years. Max has also worked in the furniture industry for three years. The launch of lifestyle is, therefore, a logical step of combining the two fields of experience together. This shows that an entrepreneur ventures in areas which one has expertise. This is important in starting a business since it provides one with an opportunity to solve the problems and use existing networks to find a solution.
The most contradicting thing with Max is the low-key social behavior that this entrepreneur exhibits. Max is surprisingly private in his life such that not much has been written about him concerning his life. Unlike most of the renowned successful entrepreneurs, who write books and journals about themselves this one is a humble one. The humble nature of Max can be attributed to the entrepreneurs’ common phrase that states, “Nothing fails like success.” Once Max starts boasting about his success through books and documentary that is when failure kicks in, so he deals with new challenges day by day.
The great performance of the online retailer is as a result of proper planning of the business. As an entrepreneur, it is important to ensure that the business plan considers all the possible outcomes. In this case, Max and Peter developed the first plans of the business model and devised a schedule in July 2012.
Another characteristic that one serves in max that is also observed in many other entrepreneurs is the effort and techniques in mobilizing the required resources to start the business. According to Max, their first employee was a buyer whom they hired in August 2012. Next, they hired a graphic designer who was tasked with the duty of developing the website. The online business launched its website in October 2012.
Another trait exhibited by entrepreneurs is the trait of perseverance and consistency in business and customer service. In an interview with Power Retail, he explains that the value proposition of the online retail business has remained consistent from the beginning. The business provides customers with the largest range of products with highly competitive prices possible
A good entrepreneur is always finding was to better position the business regarding competition and pricing, or this case Max Fang is always facing a constant challenge of keeping the prices competitive as well as reduces the cost of logistics. Proper negotiation skills exhibited by this entrepreneur have enabled him to structure a proper relation with the suppliers to be able to supply Australia wide (Phillips, & Phillips, 2017).
The target market is also another fundamental consideration that entrepreneurs have to set during their business planning. Lifestyle according to how Fang explains it, deals with the medium and high-end market that has enabled the business to attract top brands, which deliver expected standards.
Networking and marketing contribute to the success of the business; Fang and his partner Peter have ensured that they use simple marketing strategies to make the consumers aware of their products. Some of the strategies include direct email and referrals from satisfied customers (Phillips, & Phillips, 2017).
Having a system that ensures that the internal controls are in place is a tool that aids the success of the business. The lifestyle company has been in the forefront to ensure that most of the functions are performed by software’s that process orders. The programs have been brought on board with the help of the in-house programmer of the company. The desire to progress in technology is made possible through the efforts of the entrepreneur t=wanting to know more about taking the business to the next step (Roberts, 2011).
Max and his colleague Peter are focused on making their businesses grow. They do whatever is in their capacity to eliminate any obstacles or distractions to the survival of lifestyle online business goals. They have adopted various strategies and have outlined tactics to help accomplish the goals of the business. To be successful entrepreneurship, one has to be disciplined enough to be able to take a step every day, however, small to ensure that one works towards the set goals (Shin, 2013).
A good and willing entrepreneur trust in his abilities he does not ask questions about whether he can succeed or whether they are worthy of success. They care less about other people’s opinion regarding their abilities. They are confident in themselves that they will make their businesses succeed. They show that confidence in everything they do. Regardless of the age and experience that Max has, he is confident enough to start the business and propel it to its success (Wadhwa et al., 2014).
Entrepreneurs such as Max Fang realize that every event and situation that people see as a problem is a business opportunity. Entrepreneurs are constantly generating new Ideas are about workflows and efficiency, people skills as well as potential new businesses that can be merged to create a solution for a problem. Entrepreneurs possess the quality of analyzing their environment and aligning everything around them and focus it toward their goals (Yong, & Wang, 2013).
Entrepreneurs recognize that something needs to be done to counter a certain problem and that they are the motivated by oneself. This prompts them to organize and plan themselves by setting parameters that ensure that the project follows the desired path. They are proactive and do not wait for any anyone to give them permission (MacGregor, 2011).
Many companies are formed based on the fact that an entrepreneur has realized that he can do a job better than another and that they need to win at the sports they play by shining at the business that they create. An entrepreneur will build an outstanding company’s record of accomplishment by their own (Levine, 2012).
Entrepreneurs are observed to have a quality of creativity that helps them see the possibility despite the logic behind the move. Creativity is the ability to make connections between seemingly unrelated events or situations. Entrepreneurs often find ways to come up with solutions, which are a synthesis of other items. Entrepreneurs repurpose products to market them to new industries aiming to solve a problem in that industry that has slight similarities for the original industry (Hines, 2014).
Entrepreneurs are not put down by their defeats whenever they encounter a failure. They view defeat as an opportunity to start again wiser and stronger headed for success. They are propelled by the determination to see all of their ventures succeed. This makes the entrepreneur try several times until the business succeeds. They have the mentality that everything is possible and that it can be done (Grimm, 2011).
The entrepreneur has mastered the quality of strong communication skills to sell the product and keep the employees motivated. Successful entrepreneurs acknowledge that the success of a business is directly related to the success of the employees as well as the sales. For this reason, entrepreneurs have mastered strong communication skills to be able to motivate the employees. They are good at emphasizing the benefits of any situation as well as coaching others to their success (“Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice,” 2017).
Successful entrepreneurs will always the first person to arrive at the office and the last one to leave. They even come during off days to ensure that everything is in order and the outcomes have met their expectations. Their mind is continuously in their work, whether they at work or on their off days (Boutillier, & Uzunidis, 2017).
Passion is the most important character of the successful entrepreneur. They genuinely love whatever they are doing. They are willing to put in those extra hours and effort ensure the business succeeds because there is a joy they derive from the success of the business that goes beyond the money. The successful entrepreneur never stops learning once school is over he will always be reading and researching ways to make the business better that is why most of the entrepreneurs own a library of books.
The successful entrepreneurs will want to see the view at the top of nay Business Mountain that he sets to climb. Once they spot it, they want to go beyond that level. They know how to motivate the employees, and make their businesses soar as a result (Be A Great Entrepreneur, 2010).
Conclusion
The individual I have analyzed in this paper has a lot in common with many of the entrepreneurs, especially young entrepreneurs. This, therefore, leads to the conclusion that to be an entrepreneur one ought to possess various traits to be successful. Most of the common traits include communication skills, confidence, discipline, and passion. Max Fang together with his colleague and the business task force has taken the business to greater heights, to such a point that the Australian market has rewarded their efforts. The analysis also shows that the bigger business does not exist in the physical form but rather as an abstract form in the mind of the entrepreneur. The entire progress of the entrepreneurial thinking of Fang and his colleague is what has guided the business to where it is to date. Therefore in most of the countries where the youth are complaining, that the economy is rogue. They ought to emulate the efforts portrayed by Max Fang. The case of Max Fang shows that age is not a limitation to entrepreneurship and wealth is not limited to a certain age.
References
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About Us | LivingStyles. (2017). Livingstyles.com.au. Retrieved 22 March 2017, from https://www.livingstyles.com.au/tbcart/pc/about.asp
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