Business Mentoring for Entrepreneurs

Bill Warner Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Approximately 26,000 new companies are formed each year in North Carolina. In that same year, over 23,000 companies fail due to poor management and operational mistakes. The statistics are worse in rural and minority populations. This means that good ideas go to waste along with the grant and investor funds that helped get these companies started. As a result, the potential growth of revenue and new jobs is lost also.

If we had assistance for entrepreneurs who are struggling to create successful businesses, the failures should decline considerably. Entrepreneurs should be seeking out business mentors that can help them through the early years of their business.

The Need for Entrepreneur Assistance

North Carolina has a comprehensive array of entrepreneurship education programs throughout the community college and university systems including various other private and public organizations. The problem is that we have little help for entrepreneurs once they have completed these programs and actually try to start a business.

The issue is that all of these entrepreneurs have need of business management and leadership expertise including:

Business strategy and planning to make sure their business is focused on a viable market with a winning product and/or service that has a competitive edge
Forecasting and financing ensuring that sales forecasts are realistic and that revenue, cost, expense and cash are well managed
Operational discipline and judgment to increase the chances of success by making fewer mistakes
Industry connections that can help accelerate the business and its operations
Start-up company experience that can instill the wisdom of what it takes to really start and manage an emerging business

Entrepreneurs often do not know where to turn to perform even the most basic things in creating and managing a business. They need help with such issues as:

Putting the legal and regulatory infrastructure in place for the company along with the necessary human resources programs
Financing the early months of the company in order to cover start-up costs, capital equipment and operating expenses, all before the company is cash flow positive
How to accomplish technology transfer and apply for patents and trademarks
Getting the necessary skills in place to execute their marketing and sales plans
Establishing industry relationships that will further enable sales and operational efficiency

EntreDot™ Connects the Dots for Entrepreneurs

This month we are featuring a new organization that is trying to address this issue. For the majority of the companies that fail, the missing ingredient that could have ensured their success is basic business-operations “know-how.” This is the void that EntreDot™ fills. At no cost to them, EntreDot™ provides business mentoring to entrepreneurs and helps them make the right decisions as they start and operate new companies.

EntreDot™ is a new non-profit organization designed to increase entrepreneurs’ chances of success by providing them needed business wisdom, resulting in increased revenue as well as job growth. They identify potential high-impact businesses and support them through their early stages of business development. EntreDot™ matches the needs of these emerging entrepreneurs with their seasoned business executives who establish long-term mentoring relationships and are available whenever needed. Their services include:

Advising entrepreneurs on the viability of their business ideas, helping them to get on the right track from the beginning
Identifying research to understand their market opportunities, creating the in-depth understanding of their customer that is always needed
Developing an effective business model and business strategy so they know how they are going to make money
Identifying marketing, sales, prototyping and financing needs to make sure the company has the right infrastructure to accomplish their sales goals
Helping establish appropriate business infrastructure so that the company has the necessary legal and regulatory infrastructure in place
Advising them on business operations so that the right support is in place for sales and customer support
Dealing with marketing and sales issues so that the hundreds of issues that always come up are properly dealt with
Identifying the needs for protecting intellectual property so that the company is not exposed to losing their differentiation and barriers to entry
Providing management guidance for their business decisions to make sure they are both thoughtful and effective
Referring entrepreneurs to business resources that will help them in both operations as well as reaching out to new customers and partnerships

Larry Larson, CEO of Larry's Beans was one of EntreDot™'s first entrepreneurs. EntreDot™ helped him get needed focus on his market opportunity as well as marketing and sales plans, all helping to put his business on a positive revenue growth path.

Early Focus on Rural North Carolina

EntreDot™ plans to focus on entrepreneurs in rural communities in North Carolina. There is a significant need to foster small businesses in rural counties by bringing the mentoring expertise from urban areas to the aid of entrepreneurs who are starting businesses in rural North Carolina.

"EntreDot™ fills a gap between the more academic aspects to entrepreneurship and the real life "rubber meets the road" experience, advice, guidance and contacts that only a true veteran of the business world can offer. Two of our local entrepreneurs are already working with EntreDot™ with many more in the months to come," said Tim Will, Executive Director, Foothills Connect Business and Technology Center in Rutherfordton.

We are pleased that EntreDot™ will assist businesses in Martin County. Small businesses are the backbone of the economy. As EntreDot™ helps individual businesses find opportunities, the Martin County economy becomes stronger," said Marvin Davis, Executive Director, Martin County Economic Development.

After initial meetings between mentors and entrepreneurs to establish a trusted relationship, the secret sauce is using advanced online community technology. Through the EntreDot™ Community Platform, entrepreneurs, mentors, experts, and partners can collaborate at any time. This greatly reduces the need for long distance travel, making it much more practical to provide mentors from other geographical areas. In addition to collaboration facilities, EntreDot™ offers a broad suite of entrepreneurial resources that help members of the community stay current on business issues as well as get information they need to operate their businesses successfully.

Learn More About EntreDot™

Supported by a generous contribution from Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, EntreDot™ just announced the availability of their services. Take a look at their website and see for yourself.

Filed Under: Business Operations, Business Strategy and Planning, Business Coaching & Leadership Skills, Raleigh Happenings, Starting a Business

Bill Warner is the Managing Partner of Paladin and Associates, a business consulting firm in the Research Triangle Park area of central North Carolina, and is the Chairman of the Triangle Accredited Capital Forum, an angel investor network with over one hundred members throughout the southeast.

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