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