Asking good questions gets great answers!

There are so many ways to develop a business and at times being an entrepreneur or business owner is quite isolated. When trying to get the best option, make the right decision, save time, conserve funds or any other business related matter that requires applied thinking it can be nerve wracking or potentially risky to take the next step.

One of the best ways to get ahead is to ask those who have gone before to give an answer to a question. If you are fortunate to have a collection of mentors, a business coach or a group of trusted business people around you or in your business it will be normal for you to ask them ‘How would you…..?’

How do you get the right answers?

There are lots of experienced business people who may have just the right answer or who may give you something else to consider which wasn’t in your thoughts and triggers a new direction, activity or opportunity to form new and better habits. Gary Lennon did this by entering a competition run by Virgin Media Pioneers who ran a competition to win a copy of Lara Morgan’s new book ‘More Balls Than Most: Juggle your way to success with proven company shortcuts‘.

His question  ’What is the best way to save time for new entrepreneurs in their first year?’ won him a copy!

Check out Lara Morgan’s answers in this video:

Lara answers the question with a video response, demonstrating a quick (24 hours later) response direct from her own experiences and she said she spent her most of early time only working on sales during the week and did admin on Saturdays and Sundays, to ensure she could build up a buffer of flexibility to enable her to invest and grow with others and accelerate her success.

You have to go in with your eyes open….cut out everything else except sales Monday to Friday

In summary….

What  a great answer! It seems that those who succeed know exactly what it takes and don’t hesitate to share it. So the lesson for anyone who is realistic about getting started in business must listen to the advice of those who’ve succeeded. Not everything is directly relevant for all aspiring business people but the context and gravitas honed through trying things out and making mistakes and passing forward advice to ‘short cut’ to better and more efficient ways of doing things should not be ignored.

Check out Lara Morgan’s great advice, tools and get your own KUTA (Kick up the Arse) too!

Case Study > Bank gains competitive advantage with E-Scan

 

 

Rabobank, the largest bank in the Netherlands, is very focussed on delivering value to its customers. The commercial team uses a comprehensive support package to engage start-ups with roadmaps, specific guidance for self employed and entrepreneurs and a Starters’ community to provide input for aspiring business people. Click here to view their Starter portal..

 

Please use the tabbed area below to view how Rabobank use the E-Scan to engage customers, enhance the experience with a co-branded ‘entrepreneurship’ option and how it leads to benefits for the visitor / customer and ultimately how it benefits Rabobank.

How Rabobank uses E-Scan

Rabobank provides a comprehensive package of support and services to attract new business start-up customers and to enhance its relationships with existing business account users.

By engaging the visitors with specific portals depending upon its target audience it focuses attention on how by increasing ‘entrepreneurial competence’ will improve business performance, plus give information on how their Rabo E-Scan will assist in the self development process (see ‘Rabobank Explains and Encourages’ below for more detail).

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How does E-Scan work for Rabobank?

• By quickly engaging and adding value, focusing on improving personal business capability (Entrepreneurial Competence)

• Using a personalised report, it enables the customer and Rabobank’s relationship team to discuss how the customer is developing their own capabilities    (Connecting People)

• Rabobank’s lending team may include the E-Scan report as part of of SWOT analysis

• Strengths and Weaknesses are assessed personally (E-Scan). Opportunities and Threats are assessed around the business and the lending criteria    (Enhanced Information)

• How will the business person react when faced with challenges? Do they take risks? Are they goal setters and have endurance? Do they know their market?    (Real Understanding)

• From here the bank is able to build an enhanced picture of what may happen in uncertain times    (Minimise RISK!)

Click here to view White Label Services                     Need more information? Contact Us to see how using E-Scan could work for your business

Co-Branded Approach

Rabobank, a trusted commercial lending provider, with recognised expertise and experience in supporting businesses start and grow recognises the benefits of working together with a specialist ‘Entrepreneurship’ brand to enhance its reputation and credibility with its customers.

When customers start a Rabo E-Scan they progress to Rabobank’s commercial hosted site, provided by Entrepreneur Consultancy B.V. which uses Entrepreneur Scan materials, articles and scientific information to wrap an ‘Entrepreneurial’ blanket around its service when using the Rabo E-Scan.

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Benefits of a Co-Branded Approach?

• The customer (visitor) experiences a seamless process, as an extension of Rabobank’s services    (Increasing Confidence)

• Additional entrepreneurship based information underpins the user experience giving relevant guidance ‘before’ taking the Rabo E-Scan    (Build Trust)

• By using a secure payment and back-end management system, both Rabobank and the customer understand their details are safe and personal banking information will not be accessible elsewhere    (No additional Risk)

Click here to view White Label Services                     Need more information? Contact Us to see how using E-Scan could work for your business

Customer Benefits?

Each business person that works alongside their bank wishes to know that the bank, it’s relationship and lending teams view them and their businesses as more than ‘lending risk’ or just an account holder.

Therefore Rabobank’s customers are pleasantly surprised by their engaging approach using a product like E-Scan to provide a different level to the relationship. Getting to know how your customer thinks and acts entrepreneurially sets the bank apart from its competitors, which is reflected to the customer who’s confidence grows in the support it receives.

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Real customer benefits?

• Bank employees ‘know’ them better, trust them more and support them further    (Real Relationship)

• Increased interest in personal capabilities motivates actions to improve personal performance, leading to better business performance    (Business Improvement)

• As business performance increases and lending opportunities arise the customer is more likely to receive a positive response    (Enhanced Decisions)

• When times are difficult, the customer is more likely to receive a better reception to requests for assistance    (Trust)

Click here to view White Label Services                     Need more information? Contact Us to see how using E-Scan could work for your business

Rabobank Benefits?

The competitive landscape for Rabobank is continuously being changed with new regulations, local and international banks foraging for their customers business and offering something ‘different’ can become difficult when trying to standout against competition.

Rabobank have a significant offer to their customers, with eCommerce packages like ‘iDeal’ or Business packages with specific offers of discounts and beneficial finance to those who sign up.

What are Rabobank’s benefits using E-Scan?

It’s popular to talk about entrepreneurs, even if the term is loosely applied to a lot of business people. However, having the opportunity to focus on ‘entrepreneurial competence’ and recognising the benefits of improved personal performance relates to better business performance gives Rabobank an edge.

Both the start-up business owners trying to minimise their risk of failure and the existing business owners, or entrepreneurs, who are seeking to grow the value of the business to increase liquidity for raising more investment, to sell the business or just to make more money recognise how using Rabo E-Scan means they improve personal and business performance.

Which means....?

• The bank gets more new customers

• The customers sign up for more services

• Loyalty increases, decreasing ‘switchers’

• Bank employees reach targets more easily, increasing motivation!

True Competitive Advantage

Click here to view White Label Services                     Need more information? Contact Us to see how using E-Scan could work for your business

Ben Dyer – Altogether Company

Ben Dyer – Small Business Owner

Waqas Baggia – Start up entrepreneur

John Wood – Serial Entrepreneur

John, who’s building another start up, Sprung Ltd, took an E-Scan and Entrepreneurial Review and saw the immediate benefit it had to him as a serial entrepreneur. John is a typical serial entrepreneur, being the sole driving force behind his business success with Sprung Ltd. He’s not afraid to make decisions and is willing to keep learning as he strives to build better businesses.

What did E-Scan do for John?

As with everyone who uses E-Scan, John became more self aware and recognised immediately how the benefits would affect his own entrepreneurial performance. As he states in his feedback, E-Scan helped John to identify where in his current business situation areas such as marketing awareness needed to be addressed. He prefers to use the ‘asking way’ rather than the ‘pain way’

See it for yourself:

View John Wood’s feedback on E-Scan

What’s happened after E-Scan?

Since using this E-Scan experience John’s business has taken off, all through his own endeavours and his changed relationships with his team. We look forward to watching the progress of Sprung Ltd as they move onwards and upwards. The next stage in the journey is new premises and new markets and from there an increased sales team – Brilliant entrepreneurship happening!

Examples of how E-Scan helped:

• Click here to see how E-Scan helped a start up entrepreneur, Waqas Baggia, who took an E-Scan and review as part of an entrepreneurs programme at University and his ‘entrepreneurial reaction’
• Click here to see how E-Scan helped a small business owner, Ben Dyer, who works with young entrepreneurs and is now integrating E-Scan into other areas of his business

Start-ups succeed with E-Scan

A recent pilot programme in March 2010 for SPEED WM (Student Placements for Entrepreneurs in Education – West Midlands) at the University of Wolverhampton used The Entrepreneur Scan (E-Scan), with excellent results.

E-Scan enabled the programme manager Sarah Taylor and the mentors to leverage the entrepreneurial profile of each student, helping them to adapt and accelerate the successful delivery of the SPEED WM programme. The benefits of using E-Scan in this pilot programme were enlightening:

• 97% said that taking E-Scan had enabled them to learn more about their strengths and weaknesses
• 95% said taking E-Scan had helped them understand more about what it took to be a successful entrepreneur
• 85% said E-Scan had made them more determined to be a successful entrepreneur

Click here for E-Scan and SPEED WM pilot programme full report

Direct feedback from the people who matter – entrepreneurs and programme manager:

Feedback from Waqas Baggia, a participant on the programme:

Feedback on entrepreneurial characteristics and thinking styles:

Feedback from Sarah Taylor, SPEED WM programme manager:

View the special offer we have for Universities

Written Feedback

Lisa Abrams – “Due to my prior scepticism I was surprised by the accuracy and intelligence of the E-scan. It reinforced my confidence and self belief”

Hannah Williams – “It has inspired me to go further with my business idea and put more effort into some areas like market research and risk taking which came out as my weaker areas.”

David Baines – “I didn’t think I would get anything out of this, but I have to admit I was wrong.  I would highly recommend that prospective entrepreneurs also take the scan. It will reveal your strengths and weaknesses and help you concentrate on your own targets”

Sarah Taylor, SPEED WM programme manager, said about using E-Scan with the SPEED WM programme – “It helped me to understand more about how entrepreneurs think, what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur and how the programme can be adapted to take this into consideration”.

How this has helped us:

Following the success of the pilot, we have been working with University of Wolverhampton, Birmingham City University and University of Worcester, in using E-Scan and reviews to develop the emerging talent of entrepreneurs from these Universities.

We are also in discussions with another 15 Universities for roll-out of including E-Scan during 2011 and beyond.

If you would like to speak with us further please Contact us

Research articles

Summary PhD thesis of Martijn Driessen

A summary of the PhD thesis of Martijn Driessen, which led to the creation of the Entrepreneur Competency Model and ultimately Entrepreneur Scan.

Measuring Characteristics and Traits of Entrepreneurs

This paper is about Entrepreneur Scan. The paper, co-authored by E-Scan creator Martijn Driessen, describes the tool and discusses the results of E-Scan for more than 21,000 start up entrepreneurs and 60 potential successors.

The role of an entrepreneur in small business success

This paper discusses the role of an entrepreneur within a small business and the role of Entrepreneur Scan. It looks into the E-Scan theory and the theory in practice.

The impact of entrepreneurship education

This paper is about young enterprise and how it worked in the Netherlands. It analyses the impact of a leading entrepreneurship education program on college students’ entrepreneurship skills and motivation

Succession planning in SME’s: are entrepreneurial characteristics important?

This study tests factors which could account for successful SME transfers and analyses 130 entrepreneurs who succeeded in transferring their business.

Supporting disabled adults into self employment: An assessment of the use of psychological tools

Research into potential tests that could assist disabled adults into self employment led to the selection of E-Scan as the most appropriate.

How E-Scan helps Entrepreneurs

The entrepreneur is the pivot for the success of a business, whether it’s a start-up or a mature and thriving concern. Therefore having direct insight to one’s own inherent traits and characteristics will increase both understanding and opportunity to improve entrepreneurial competence. E-Scan helps entrepreneurs to gain an awareness of their strengths, weaknesses and predominant thinking styles, all of which affect entrepreneurial capability.

Most other psychometric profiling tools concentrate on leadership, management or ‘role’ qualities and characteristics and these have mostly been developed for large organisational needs, analysing whether people will ‘fit-in’ when being recruited or as part of strategic objectives. E-Scan was developed to focus on small business, or entrepreneurial team activity and is closely aligned to the culture and nature of this environment

What will it achieve?

The purpose of E-Scan is to establish the impact an entrepreneur will have on their own business success, which is a fundamental element to how the E-Scan can be applied. This in turn means entrepreneurs will increase their performance which will then convert into higher and faster business success.

The most unique aspect to E-Scan is it provides an insight to how the entrepreneur thinks and how this correlates to how they react to situations, issues and opportunities. This is a reflection of the Hermann analysis and looks at whether a person has a preference for reason or emotion, logic or intuition The overall score is reflected in four key Thinking Styles, Pioneer, Salesperson, Manager and Specialist.

The main benefits of E-Scan and an Entrepreneurial Review:

• An understanding of personal entrepreneurial strengths and weaknesses = awareness
• Self awareness and plan of action leads to quick and effective focus on behaviour and activity = empowerment
• Increased desire and determination to build understanding of entrepreneurship and own capability = better business performance

This can either be self development or with greater impact under the guidance of a business coach, mentor or as part of a development programme offered by a specialist training company, business academy or University.