Up next in 10
An inside look with Enterprise Nation CEO on what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur
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Oct 7, 2024
In this episode of City A.M.'s ‘Behind the Business,’ we discuss what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur and small business owner. Emma Jones, founder of small business support platform Enterprise Nation, has experienced the journey firsthand. Get more of City A.M. 👇 🌐 https://www.cityam.com X(formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/CityAM Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cityam Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/city_am LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cityam
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0:00
The first piece of advice we give to anyone is keep hold of the day job and build your business at nights and weekends
0:06
You can start a business for less than £100 levering this technology. It has been the great leveller
0:12
The biggest thing that kind of business owners and entrepreneurs talk about is that mental capacity to keep going
0:17
It's so important. Welcome, everybody. I am with Emma Jones with Enterprise Nation today
0:22
And we were going to talk a lot about small businesses and entrepreneurship. So thank you for joining
0:27
and ignore our same colored outfits because we are a bit matchy today
0:31
but we didn't really, we didn't plan it as much as you want to think we did. So Emma, tell me about Enterprise Nation and a little bit about your story
0:38
Sure. So lovely to meet you, Jenny. And as you say, I'm glad we got the memo. So as you say, my name's Emma
0:43
I'm the founder of a business called Enterprise Nation. We've been going for over a decade
0:48
And we exist to do one thing, which is we help people start and grow their own small business
0:54
So we run business support programs. We've got a platform, enterprisnation.com, and this year we're on target for about 800,000 small businesses to come to that platform and get connected with resource
1:05
So Enterprise Nation is the name, and that's what we seek to do with Create an Enterprise Nation
1:10
Awesome. I love it. I love to see small businesses coming together. That support is so needed at the early stages of anyone's career and anyone's route to entrepreneurship. It can be a bit difficult, see some challenges along the way
1:23
Is there anything in particular that made you want to start enterprise? What was it that sparked that idea within you
1:28
Well, I'd actually started and then sold a business, which kind of gave me the idea
1:32
So I had worked for five years for an employer, so I was an employee for a while, but I started
1:39
my first business at the height of the dot-com boom. And funnily enough, actually, kind of sitting in the offices of City AM, the thing that
1:46
inspired me to get started in the early 2000s was the positive media messaging around starting
1:53
a business. people were leaving their jobs, it was the dot-com era, they were creating amazing new business models
2:00
And I was working for a big accounting firm and I thought, well actually I think I can do this
2:04
I'm super inspired to get going. So my first business was a dot-com company, started that, grew that to just five people and then sold that to a bigger business
2:14
I then did what was called a lock-in clause. So I kind of stayed at that company for 18 months
2:19
But throughout that period, I was looking for what the next thing would be. So the whole kernel for Enterprise Nation came from the fact of having started, grown a little business and then sold it
2:30
That's awesome. I think that's one thing that I see a lot speaking to entrepreneurs is that it's always that little drive that they have when it sparks from just one idea and they just stem from that
2:41
But it takes a lot of resilience and it takes a lot of drive and that initial want to go and do it
2:48
I would say one of my favorite things that I hear from people too is I would be a really best
2:52
employee and they just said this so they wanted to be their own boss. But that also comes
2:57
with its own challenges. So do you want to speak on what it takes to be your own boss, what it
3:02
takes to be an entrepreneur and kind of that resilience that comes with it? So I think it's a really
3:05
interesting point and I would say the things that you need to start, grow, scale a business
3:10
are different depending on which stage of the journey you're in. So when you start up, you kind
3:16
of need to be the multitasker. You need to be the HR director, the finance person, your head
3:21
of customer service. You're doing everything at the start, especially if you just start
3:24
yourself, build up a small team. Of course, as you grow a business, scaling is very hard to do
3:32
Going to your first employee is always a crunch moment, but then from kind of going to
3:36
employee 20 to employee 50, you've got growing pains throughout all of that. And you're right, Jenny
3:42
that what has to then kick in is you've hopefully got specialists who are doing jobs in the
3:48
business that you don't have to do anymore. And therefore, the biggest thing you need is a mental
3:53
attitude and resilience. The resilience that when somebody leaves, when you lose a contract
3:59
when things aren't going well, you have to have that commitment to say, I'm just going to keep
4:04
on going. And of course, small businesses have had a tough time over the past few years. They've had
4:08
Brexit. They've had COVID. We've had cost of trading challenges. And so the biggest thing that's kept
4:14
small businesses going is of course access to support, but the biggest thing that kind of business
4:19
owners and entrepreneurs talk about is that mental capacity to keep going. It's so important
4:25
Yeah, and it's a passion to say the least. You can't get up every day and do the same
4:29
like, I mean, because you're not doing the same thing. You're doing multiple different things at one time, but it takes a lot. It's passion. And yeah, it's really important to think about
4:37
your mental health. As we enter the new year, I guess, we're about, we're very Christmassy right now
4:42
So we're about heading into December, January. It's a really important part of the year for small businesses
4:49
We have the festive season coming on, the spending, the local shopping, things like that
4:53
So I guess what do you see coming in the year of 2024
4:57
Well, the year tends to start with lots of startups. And in fact, at the start of every year, we always run a startup show
5:04
It's going into its 10th year on the 27th of January. And the reason we host that in January is, of course, thousands of people come back from
5:12
the Christmas holiday, they go back to their day job and they say, right, this is going to be
5:16
the year that I'm going to start my own business. So we tend to always start the year with a big
5:21
startup boom, which is great to see. And then, of course, as the year goes on, things then kick in
5:26
which is how do you hire, how do you get access to finance, how do you keep growing
5:30
What we would love to see next year, and I guess there's kind of a political point around all
5:35
of this because government support for small business is always of course important We going into a general election year next year So on the upside you could say that parties will be making lots of promises to small business so we going to look at that with interest
5:50
But what we would really love to see next year is small businesses exporting again
5:54
So this is a key thing that's been put on pause since Brexit. Small businesses have just found it too hard and too expensive to export
6:02
And in fact, I'm speaking to you in what is International Trade Week. So there's a big emphasis this week
6:07
our Minister for exports yesterday said he wants to see exports double and we're keen to see the
6:12
same. So how can we have small businesses, maybe started from the back bedroom, but they're
6:17
using online marketplaces to trade? How do we encourage them to enter new territories? Because
6:23
the great thing for small businesses, and there's so much evidence on this, small businesses
6:27
who export tend to be more resilient. They tend to be, if there's a shock in the UK, they've
6:32
de-risk themselves because they're selling elsewhere. They tend to be very open-minded because they're
6:37
dealing with different cultures. So there's a lot to show that businesses that export tend to be
6:42
just stronger as a whole. So yeah, hopefully we'll see the startup boom continue, but hopefully
6:48
we'll also see lots of small businesses growing through exporting and selling to bigger clients
6:53
Yeah, that makes sense. And, you know, especially with the new year coming on, everyone has their New Year's resolutions, they have new ideas, they wait until January 1st to go and start them
7:01
But yeah, it really takes that momentum to keep it going throughout the year and all the challenges
7:06
that come with different months. And the other thing I do think it needs, and of course, you know
7:10
this is where sort of media publications kind of come in is that access to peer support
7:15
because there's nothing more important. When most people start a business, they tend to start it on their own
7:20
And in fact, I saw you've profiled an entrepreneur and the whole thing that she was saying is she said
7:25
I start my business on my own, I work on my own. So what lots of entrepreneurs do talk about
7:30
is where do I go to get my sense of community, whether that be online or off
7:35
how do I create, kind of peer group and they're going to be the ones who keep me accountable and keep me going
7:40
So that's really important to find as well. Yeah, community is huge. That is one of the biggest themes I've found speaking to entrepreneurs from all over the world
7:50
So what are some of the common themes and challenges that you see entrepreneurs face
7:55
Yeah, well, there's kind of four things. And the reason why I'm kind of very quick to say kind of what they are is we've been doing this for many years
8:01
and we've tended to hear the same things year on years. So the key business challenges for small businesses tend not to change
8:08
Access to finance. So how do you raise and manage money? Access to contracts
8:13
So how do you get into new markets? How do you sell to government, bigger contractors
8:17
Access to people. And that's everything from how do I find an apprentice
8:22
through to can I get a mentor, so kind of maybe not even paid for people
8:26
And then the fourth thing, which we particularly see in this great city of London, is access to space
8:31
So whether that's retail space to start test trading, whether it's workspace. And pretty much across all of those, they're key things that small
8:39
businesses come to us looking for. How do I get access to all of these things that I need to do
8:44
So that's kind of what Enterprise Nation's job is to do. How do we help small businesses understand
8:49
their options, but also connect them to the people who can help? No, that's great. I think, you know, what you're doing is inspiring. I think it's really great
8:58
to have that support system. And like you said, community is so, so important to an entrepreneur
9:03
or if you don't have that, you do get lonely. It's a lonely world out there when you're working by yourself
9:08
or even from your bedroom or your sofa. I guess this might be a bit off topic
9:14
but what's some advice you would give someone that's about to start up their own company
9:17
Because I think a lot of people, they might lack that confidence or they might not see a bigger picture
9:23
when they're starting to, they just have that idea. So what's something you would tell someone in those shoes
9:27
Well, I suppose this could be a bit of a contentious response and we were chatting earlier
9:31
that our Prime Minister, last week said one thing that was wrong with the UK is not enough people were prepared to
9:37
give up the security of a salary to start unicorn businesses. And actually that's not a view we
9:43
share. So the reason why I kind of say this is the first piece of advice we give to anyone is
9:47
keep hold of the day job and build your business at nights and weekends. So this rise of the
9:52
side hustle that we've seen is phenomenal. And the reason why this is a good thing is if you keep
9:58
hold of the day job or maybe even go part-time in your day job, what you do is you do keep the
10:03
security of a salary and it just gives you time to build confidence in your own business ability
10:08
gives you time to build cash flow in your business. So I would say maybe don't jack in the day job
10:13
start the business as a side hustle. And then there's the slightly more admin-like things
10:18
We do think it's good to write a business plan. If you just kind of set out
10:22
this is the direction in which I want my business to go. That's great. And then I go back again
10:27
find your support group, find your tribe. And the way in which you can find a community
10:33
go to events like the startup show, find communities, city AM, Enterprise Nation
10:38
There's lots, many in cities, many across the UK now. So find your tribe, do the admin of things like setting up the company
10:46
making a sale, writing a business plan, but maybe do this whilst not giving up the day job
10:51
until you've got that confidence to go it alone full time. Yeah, eventually it's not going to be a nine to five
10:57
it's a 24-7 at that point because you're doing it all day every day
11:01
but when you're passionate about it, I guess it's worth it, especially since a lot of small businesses are out there to make a change
11:08
So it's really important to kind of keep that momentum going. Speaking of admin tasks, you know, the basic business plan
11:15
the things like scheduling or making your payroll or things like that
11:20
what's up with technology? I know that that a point you kind of mentioned that you wanted to discuss on but it huge now AI is a big thing technology is huge So how can small businesses use that to their advantage What the risks Well technology has been a huge leveler for small business
11:35
So one of the things, when I first started Enterprise Nation, not that many people were starting
11:40
businesses in the UK. That makes me feel very old. Kind of first forward and 2023, so the year in which
11:46
we're now in, we'll probably get to the end of this year with about 700,000 businesses having
11:51
started just this year, which is phenomenal. And one of the big reasons why lots of people
11:56
are starting businesses is because of enabling technology. And by that, what I mean is people
12:02
are starting using meta, TikTok shops, trading on Amazon, trading on eBay. That gives them their
12:07
start and it gives them access to this huge global customer group. So technology is great to enable
12:13
you to start, to get access to customers. And then, of course, other technology comes in
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which is really straightforward to use for small businesses and is low cost
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things like cloud accounting. So now to do your books, zero, quick books, Sage, Intuit
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these are kind of like the main products, eight pounds a month, you know, very much within the budget of a startup
12:34
So this technology that surrounds startups now makes it easier not just to start
12:38
but also to grow. What, of course, we're looking out with interest for next year
12:43
So back to your question about trends and themes for next year, what does AI mean for small
12:48
business. There's lots of conversation about AI at a big company level. And the key thing that we
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are very keen to work with our community on is what does AI mean for small businesses? Does it mean
13:00
you will hire? What type of jobs will you hire? What does it mean for marketing? What does it
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mean for content production? So I think that's still a little bit unknown. But yeah, small businesses
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are very good at very quickly adopting low or no cost technology that helps them meet new customers
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and, of course, engage with their existing customers. Yeah, if you think about it, it makes it easier
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So I guess that's the biggest thing for small businesses is time. Time is money
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Money is time. So if you really think about it, but I don't know what it would be like
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starting a small business 20, 30 years ago before we had the internet
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So I just, yeah, I guess it's changing. Things are changing. So this is how old it makes you feel
13:42
I do know what it was like starting a business 20 years ago. And this is the thing
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And I wrote a book when I started my first company called Spare Room Startup
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How to Start a Business in Your Spare Time. And I quite often tell this story that I'd kind of left this massive company
13:58
that I worked for on kind of a Friday and set up in my spare room on a Monday to start my first business
14:05
And at the time, and the reason why I mentioned the spare room startup book
14:09
which I wrote about the experience of starting this business, is there was no Twitter
14:14
there was no Facebook. I bought a cheap laptop and in fact even before buying the cheap laptop
14:19
I got internet access I lived in Manchester at the time and I got internet access
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by going to the library I mean this is the thing I feel like a dinosaur in having done it
14:28
so how the technology has changed since then that it's just everything now
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and this is we quite often talk about this you can start a business for less than £100 levelling this technology
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it has been the great leveller and it's been incredible to kind of give
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that entrepreneur freedom to so many people who think, actually, could I take this kernel of an idea and turn it
14:50
into a way of making a living? Well, you definitely can. Yeah, that's, I guess I'm definitely not able
14:56
to tell how it was or how it's been changing, but it's really nice to see, you know, that perspective
15:00
as well, because in my head, technology is everything. It's been running businesses since
15:05
as long as I could remember. So being able to see that change and be able to help people through it as
15:09
well is really important. What's some, what are some tips and advice that you would give some startups
15:14
So I would say if you're starting a business, tip one, do it based on what you love
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because when you've got to put lots of hours into it, that's what keeps you going. So take your passion, your hobby, your skill, turn it into a way of making a living
15:26
Tip two, write a business plan. And we do talk about five things to include in a business plan
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What's your idea? The market you're going to serve. Operations you need to get going
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Any finance you need to get started. And your group of friends, that spells I'm off
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Idea, market, operation, friends. and finances. So write your business plan and then I'm a big believer in get out and make your
15:50
first sale. So whether it's to friends and family or a wider group, make that sale. And the
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great thing about starting a business is you've just got to keep on doing those steps. Make a sale
16:00
build your brand, keep affecting that product and just keep going. Do you think that you have to be
16:06
an extrovert to start a business? Is it okay? Like what if you're not a sociable person, but you
16:11
really have this passion and this love for something and you really want to get it going
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How do you get over that hump? This is a great question that I've had from many entrepreneurs
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So I used to teach something called Startup Saturday and the number of people who said to me
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I'm an introvert, can I be an entrepreneur? And the beauty of people starting businesses now is because so many people start a business
16:32
based on their passion, what that means is they've got a point of view
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And so they will find ways to communicate that point of view, whether it is through social
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media. It may not be through public speaking, but it does help. And so what I do say is take the
16:47
thing that's encouraged you to start your business and communicate that. If you really don't
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enjoy communicating, try and find a co-founder who does. So this is the other thing about starting a
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business is if you feel that someone can complement your skills, try and find co-founders and then
17:04
hopefully you got all those skills in one place Would you say to stray away from friends and family that kind of going with starting a business I know so many successful businesses that are friends and family and I interviewed an amazing business last week
17:18
called Look Fabulous Forever. Started by a lady when she was 65 years old called Trisha Cousden
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Both of her daughters now work in the business and her daughter came to be interviewed on stage
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and I thought she'd call a mum. She calls her Trisha. Anyway, of course when they're in family time
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she calls her mum and I said, how is it working together? And they said the great thing is
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When you're in family and in business, your trust levels are at their maximum level
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So if you start business with your family, there's great trust there. Just make sure you're writing things down
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Shareholder agreements, who does what, roles and responsibilities. And the same goes with friends
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Prepare for it not working, but hopefully if you're with good friends and family, it definitely can work
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And what's it like when the business starts to grow? I know a lot of entrepreneurs want to stay with the business forever
18:07
they want to hand off that baton and let someone else trust it
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But when it is your passion and your baby and you've built it to a certain point
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I guess, yeah, what's your advice in moving with the business as it grows? So it's really interesting because as a business grows
18:21
you can stop doing the thing that made you passionate about starting the business
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My case in point, I love supporting small businesses. I don't do that now
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I run a business. That can put people off because actually they move too far away from the thing that drove them
18:36
but for those who want to stay in the business, I guess the biggest piece of advice I can give is as quick as you can do something that I talk about all the time, which is focus on what you do best and outsource the rest
18:49
And by that, what I mean is if your strong suit is not operations, find a really good person as soon as you can to take that on
18:56
If finance is not your strength, find a really good finance person. So as you grow the business, to keep you kind of anchored in the thing that you love to do, try and stay in the thing that you love to do
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try and stay in the thing that you love to do and find other people to take on those other bits
19:09
It makes the journey that little bit easier. My brother likes to say that you can be a jack of all trades but a master at none
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So a jack of all trades, a master at none. But you're doing so many different things
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I mean, like you said, if you're not good at finance, try to find someone that can take up that finance. But surely you can't be a master at all of them
19:27
Well, this is what I think is really interesting about growing. And we've been through this at Enterprise Nation
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It started with me. We're now a team of 45. So we've kind of been through this growth
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And one of the most difficult growing pains and phases is moving from what I call where you move to a team when you're about 12 or 15
19:44
You are all generalists. You're a small company. Everyone has to do everything
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The growing pain is then moving to a company where everyone is a specialist
19:53
You have to maybe get rid of some people and, you know, they've been with you since the beginning
19:57
And then you have to hire more expensive people because they're specialists in what they do
20:02
So it's a tough growing pain, but businesses who kind of break through that pain barrier, you then do see them flourish
20:09
Definitely. No, I am my brothers, I guess I come from a family of entrepreneurs, you could say, which is why I've been really passionate about this project
20:17
I've really been wanting to feature the people that are, you know, ticking at the bottom, making things work, making a difference with their small business
20:24
Not everybody starts to become a conglomerate at first. I mean, if it grows, it grows, but usually it's started because of that passion
20:32
that love that you have for something. And that's just so inspiring. So to be able to help that
20:36
is just, it's great. Well, and not everybody wants to become a conglomerate. I remember looking at an ad
20:42
and back to the kind of years when I first started business, I saw this ad from a bank who I
20:46
won't name. And the picture on it, it was a cartoon picture and it had a picture of a guy outside
20:50
a shed and he was like in shorts and looked a bit scruffy. And then he was standing outside a skyscraper
20:56
in a suit. And the advert said, as a bank, we will take you from here to
21:02
hear. And as I looked at it, I thought they have got that so wrong because actually a lot of
21:08
people want to stay working in their shed. I feel I'm in the shed environment right now
21:12
Hewlett-Packard started in the garage. Many people love the freedom and flexibility that comes
21:18
with being their own boss and not hiring people, not having the growing pains. So I think this is a
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big thing and important point that Enterprise Nation tries to make all the time is not every big
21:29
business is beautiful just because it's big. You know, people start small businesses
21:33
They want to keep them small, and that's absolutely okay. Yeah, definitely
21:37
I mean, it's, it's, it's, it's inspiring. It's, um, I did a, I had a small internship with a small press for this last year before
21:45
um, finishing school. And she did absolutely everything. She was hauling books to the book launches
21:50
She was mailing them out. She was doing it. And I just didn't know how she did it
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So I wrote 15,000 words on her for my dissertation. And I literally just highlighted
21:59
her and everything she did. And she was doing it for the love of what she did. She wasn't doing it to
22:04
make billions of pounds of money. Like she just did it because she really loved doing it. And that's so
22:10
just great. Respect. So Emma, we've had a really good conversation today. I've enjoyed speaking
22:17
about all of the points you had to talk about and all of the inspiring things that you do. Is there
22:21
anything else that you wanted to share with the audience or our viewers today? I'd love just to say, Jenny
22:25
first of all, thanks for having me. And I'm loving how City A.m. is covering. so much small business. So I've watched your own entrepreneurial journey at City AM and kind of
22:34
who now owns City AM. And so I'm looking forward to seeing even more enterprising content in your
22:39
own pages and indeed online throughout next year. Thanks for having me. If you're interested in
22:45
the stories and journeys of entrepreneurs, business owners and CEOs, you know where to find
22:49
us. So like, subscribe and leave a comment below
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