Making The Transfer From Employee to Entrepreneur Liz Leffman Director Clothesource Management...
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Transcript of Making The Transfer From Employee to Entrepreneur Liz Leffman Director Clothesource Management...
Making The Transfer From Employee to Entrepreneur
Liz LeffmanDirectorClothesource Management Services
My Business History
Started out in advertising
Moved to marketing in the dairy industry
Joined Courtaulds and ran a couple of factories making clothing for Marks and Spencer
Became International Marketing and Business Development Director for Courtaulds Fabrics
In 1992, started a business sourcing clothing in Eastern Europe
Clothesource Management Services
Between 1992 and 2000, operated in Poland, Belarus, Romania and Bulgaria, finding clothing factories and managing manufacturing for UK clients
Disastrous expansion to the US in 1998 caused us to re-think the direction of the business
Since 2000, we have changed direction from hands-on manufacturing to consultancy
Our clients today are international and include many high-street names
Still have an office in Romania and provide quality control for UK clients, making womenswear, childrenswear and airline textiles
We sell “shrink-wrap packages” of information worldwide, and have consultancy clients in UK, US, Spain, Switzerland and Australia
Clothesource Today
Princes Trust Mentor
For 10 years, I have mentored young people starting their own business
The same issues affect every small business
Sometimes experience in a large company can be the wrong experience for a business start-up
Structure of this presentation
Transferring skills: employee to business owner
Key challenges in the early years
The challenge of growth
Conclusions
The Company Employee
Is trained for the job
Is surrounded by colleagues
Knows her place in the company heirarchy
Can rely on support
Can rely on a salary
Expects career progression
The New Business Owner
Is on her own
Often has no specific training
Does not have an automatic support network
Cannot guarantee a salary
Has no job security
Has to maintain the original vision while dealing with the day to day
Transferring Skills
The following skills I found particularly useful:
Sales and marketing Management accounting Production Sourcing
But not everyone has that experience
Learning New Skills
As an employee, I did know anything about:
Computers VAT Cash flow National Insurance Employee law
And Un-learning Some Old Ones!
The mistakes I made early on in my business were largely due to my large company experience
For example, paying to have a logo designed and buying headed paper
Spending money on hotels and meals and the other trappings of corporate life
Key Challenges in the Early Years
Balancing personal and business goals
Managing long-term goals v short-term needs
Getting support
Creating structure and systems
Understanding the importance of cash flow
The Challenges of Growth
Finding the right partners and suppliers
Learning to delegate (again)
Re-visiting the business plan
Balancing growth with cash flow
Course correcting when things go wrong
The Importance of Support
Many entrepreneurs value outside support
Mentoring has proven results Coaching can provide help with both long term plans
and short term pressures Local networking puts small business owners in touch
Conclusions
Many skills learned in a corporate environment can be of real use to the new business owner
BUT these skills alone will not guarantee success
Every entrepreneur must be prepared to make mistakes and course correct
Learning in a new business is largely about trial and error
Mentoring or coaching can be of huge benefit