8/13/2019 Adjusting Your Course

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Adjusting your course

[14]The major corporations are the ones that seem to be employing the millions of people: but inreality an economy becomes dynamic when you have enough entrepreneurs who actually start

new businesses and take risks with their own money to create wealth for themselves and others

[!1]And you need role models" high profile ones like #ichard $ranson who inspired me back inthe early %&'s to start easy(et and to carry on with brand e)tension

[44]$ut that*s not enough: you need to celebrate them and make them role models for youngerpeople At the end of the day+ an economy will only change structurally if you have loads ofentrepreneurs

[,,]-e need to learn to celebrate success and tolerate failure

[.']-e need to take a lesson from America in that respect+ in the sense that American culture

has been a lot more tolerant of business failure+ provided it*s non/fraudulent+ than we are in0urope

[2]3 think that*s why the American economy is growing that much faster+ and is doing so muchbetter The idea that an immigrant can arrive in America and within a few decades become thene)t $ill ates is what drives all these people

[55]6ou take risks in the process" you might fail and in America that*s considered part of thelearning process

[&!]3 think the entrepreneur is capable of taking risks that a normal corporation investing its ownmoney cannot take

[1'!]3t*s the ability to take almost an uncalculated risk 7ometimes you can put a lot ofspreadsheets together and analy8e /and paralyse / data" but at the end of the day it*s the gutfeeling that tells you whether it*s worth risking money doing it

[121]The process of adjusting your course in order to reach profitability within a reasonabletimeframe is+ again+ uni9uely the skill of an entrepreneur in the sense that it*s the entrepreneurwho stays up at night to make sure that the planes are full+ or the cars are out of the car parkrented to customers+ or the internet cafes are full+ or the cinemas are full+ or whatever else you*retrying to do

[14!]3t*s the entrepreneur who will actually cut the costs if the revenues are not there to match thecost base

[1,!]0ntrepreneurs have the ability to take a longer/term view y investment cycle is usuallymeasured in five to ten years

[1.!]3 invested in my first venture+ 7telmar 7hipping+ 12 years ago and it*s now listed on the ;ew6ork 7tock 0)change and 3 may e)it

[1!]7o my cycles are a lot longer than they are at a plc that has to report on a 9uarterly basisand have an ever/increasing earnings per share every 9uarter

8/13/2019 Adjusting Your Course

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