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SMEs - types of opportunities
| Guest post by: Dr. Rob Smorfitt |
Article Overview: Are all opportunities the same?
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Free Download - SMEs – SMEs struggling in South Africa. Why? By Dr. Rob Smorfitt |
SMEs - types of opportunities
The starting point for me with writing this document was
Prof Mark Casson from the University of Reading on the UK.
As an economist he wanted to know how many opportunities
there were and who decided who got which opportunities.
I did a little desktop research as I found the question
intriguing. My research revealed the following. Opportunities vary in
complexity. Therefore the skills, knowledge and experience needed to sell fruit
to people at a taxi rank in a developing country is minimal. However, at the
other end of the scale, identifying two companies for a merger, and then
succeeding in achieving a merger between the two, requires a high level of skills, knowledge and
experience.
So the first thing to note is that opportunities can be
graded from extremely simple through to extremely complex. Similarly, the
simpler the opportunity, the more of them there are, and the converse is also
true for complex opportunities.
The second thing to note is that as complexity increases so
too does the profitability in respect of both % and actual value. While you may
be selling oranges at the taxi rank for US $1, the merger could be a US $10bn
deal.
Therefore the question must be asked as to whether you are looking
for simplicity or complexity when looking for a new business opportunity?
Bear in mind that your ability to handle complexity will be
informed by your education and experience.
How complex is your business?
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Article Tags: complex, opportunities, simple, SMB, SME, SMME, Smorfitt
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About the Author: Dr. Rob Smorfitt RSS for Dr. Rob's articles - Visit Dr. Rob's website Have an MBA and a PhD in entrepreneurship. Three key areas of ongoing research are entrepreneurship and innovation in large business strategy, the impact of legislation on SME development and SME finance. Run my own SME blog at http://sme-smb-smme.blogspot.com as well as an entrepreneurship and innovation for large businesses blog at http://innoveur.blogspot.com I have been self-employed since 1982. I have started or purchased in excess of 50 businesses since then. Most were sold again and a few were shut down because of a lack of profitability. Many were run by staff or family while I worked full time in my bigger businesses. Author of 6 books. Written articles for various magazines, newspapers and websites. Experienced in research within developing countries.
Click here to visit Dr. Rob's website  
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Related Forum Posts
Re: In-House or Outsource?
- Unfortunately, in the South African context, very few SMEs see outsourcing as an option. They believe it is too expensive, and they are paranoid that someone will "steal their ideas".
I believe that the three main functions that cannot be outsourced are marketing, sales and strategy. These must be done in house I believe. If you do not have the marketing skills then get them. Hire a consultant or attend a course, but get the skills. Even if you use a consultant, you need to understand what marketing is about, as no one knows your market like you do. Marketing is made to seem difficult and complex, but everyone who really understands their markets, can easily learn to do their own marketing.
In South Africa, labour legislation is extremely inflexibile, and consequently labour broking is a large industry. This is an ideal starting point for SMEs in South Africa, as it is a legally complex area, whih comes with severe penalties.
I say do it!
Rob Smorfitt
In-House or Outsource?
- I've got a couple of questions with regard to outsourcing:
What are the types of things with your business that you can outsource (or which types of businesses should outsource at all)? What are the key risks and advantages of doing so? And how do you find a company that is right for you to work with?
Thanks!
Re: Best way to start a business?
- Hi Rob
Welcome to the forum, nice to see you in here.
I agree that many people have started franchises without prior business knowledge, but if one listens to what Robert Kiyosaki says in one of his interviews where he is discussing franchise and MLM types of businesses. He says that for anyone joining these types of business their first priority is to learn what the franchise or MLM company can teach them. This will give them a solid start of business knowledge which can then be used in starting their own businesses from scratch.
MichelleJ
Re: Paypal now Available to South Africans
- [quote="MichelleJ":2h5840vi]Hi Alan
Yes it has been very difficult. Until now we were able to make payments to people or companies but were unable to receive any payments, which effectively shut us off from many affiliate opportunities on the internet.
MichelleJ[/quote:2h5840vi]
That's too bad. At least now you'll be able to enjoy the new opportunities this will bring.
Re: Trade Shows - Are They Worth It?
- Hi,
Tradeshows are attracting different types of people. First, the visitor, which is the main reason of putting it on. Visitors come from all types of background: Buyers, prospective buyers, people who had a business and failed, directors, shopkeepers and even the public.
Secondly there are people who just like to meet new people, that is the best place to be. Exchange of business cards, make new contacts for future use.
Thirdly, the exhibitors are mixing with one another either help one another or just want to fine out the newest trend. It is also a good place to meet with competitors and learn from their strategies.
Finally, there are numerous seminars with excellent speakers, covering a wide range of information.
Taking these points in consideration, they are beneficial. Of course, not every exhibitor has the same success.
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