Making The Transfer From Employee to Entrepreneur

1. Making The Transfer From Employee to Entrepreneur Liz Leffman Director Clothesource Management Services

2. 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

3. 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

4. Clothesource Today • 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

5. 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

6. Structure of this presentation • Transferring skills: employee to business owner • Key challenges in the early years • The challenge of growth • Conclusions

7. 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 Company Employee

8. 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

9. Transferring Skills • The following skills I found particularly useful: • Sales and marketing • Management accounting • Production • Sourcing But not everyone has that experience

10. Learning New Skills • As an employee, I did know anything about: • Computers • VAT • Cash flow • National Insurance • Employee law

11. 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

12. 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

13. TheChallenges 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

14. 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

15. 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