March 24, 2012

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en·tre·pre·neur / äntrəprəˈno͝or/

Noun: 1. A person who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on financial risk to do so.

Entrepreneurs are game-changers.

By your very nature, you are re-inventors, originators of fresh ideas.

In your day-to-day activities, you take risks and pursue your dreams so that you can continue to push the boundary in your industry.

We believe Baton Rouge is a very healthy environment for entrepreneurs.  There is a community here that truly embraces the entrepreneurial spirit.  Big Fish has been fortunate to grow up in this area, learning from and interacting with various entrepreneurs and businesses.  Along the way, we have picked up a few tricks of the trade that have worked well for us. Ultimately enabling us to help small business owners in their ventures, whether they are ‘entrepreneurial’ or not.

So, here are a few tips we’d like to share with you: The 3 T’s of entrepreneurship

1. Talent

Simply put, great work comes from great talent.  If you want the best for your business you need the best skills on your team.  You want the best hired guns to get the job done. You want quality, not quantity.  However, this doesn’t mean that you should always hire the brains over the personality. The group functionality depends on many variables.  A five-star team can be built in many ways, which leads me to my next “T.”

2. Team

A company is only as strong as the many elements of which it is made up.  The efforts of a single person or small group of people is definitely influential.  However, in order to make a true impact on the world, there has to be trust (which could be a fourth “T,” but odd numbers rule) throughout the entire organization.  One bad attitude or lazy work ethic can “ruin the bunch.”  Having a cohesive crew of hardworking people makes a bigger splash than a few extremely talented ones.

3. Trends

Most entrepreneurs exist because they want to change something.  We noticed something in our daily lives, and at one point said, “Hey, I can do that better and differently!” It is important to follow trends because it’s a great way a company can keep re-inventing itself.

Without change, without adaptation, companies would keep following the same business model, and eventually become stale and stagnant.  Now, the other side of this “T” is not always following trends, but setting them.  This is the more powerful side of trends.  Being a trendsetter is very risky, but if pulled off correctly will pay for itself tenfold.

So, there you have it, the three T’s of entrepreneurship.  Again, these aren’t commandments or even rules, but simply tips that have worked for us in the past and which we definitely look to in our ventures.

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