Tips for start-up success

Kate Shand, Business Women in Education founding member and chief executive of Enjoy Education, which she founded, offers her experience of scaling a start-up and explains why challenging the status quo is imperative to growing a business

The UK has always been a hotbed of creativity and innovation and entrepreneurship is in its citizens’ blood. The next generation is following closely in step with the current, with more teenagers than ever setting up their own businesses, perhaps inspired by the meteoric rise of technology giants. Increasingly, I meet people who describe themselves as entrepreneurs, founders or chief executives, and they seem to be getting younger and younger.

But founding and running a small company is not easy. Having a great idea is one thing, but translating that vision into a sustainable, profitable business requires a completely different skill set. Small businesses form the backbone of the UK economy, but a significant number fail.

My journey from start-up to established company has been an exhilarating and at times bumpy ride, but I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. Following a serious back injury that took me out of the working world for an extended period, I reflected on what was important to me, which spawned the seed that would later blossom into Enjoy Education, the tutoring and educational advisory business that I lead.

It started with a mission to transform students into happy, lifelong learners, and has grown from strength to strength into the established education advisory and tutoring business it is today. I’ve learnt a lot over my career; I’ve also made a lot of mistakes, but – importantly – I’ve learnt from them. So, for what it’s worth, here are my key takeaways for any aspiring entrepreneurs out there.

Believe in what you’re doing This may sound like a cliché, but I don’t know any successful entrepreneur who isn’t fired up about what they are trying to achieve.

The reality of starting and running a business can be simultaneously the most exciting and most demanding thing you can ever do in your career. You are the visionary, safety net and final decision-maker – the buck stops with you and the burden of this responsibility is heavy.

Through good and bad times, I always remind myself of Simon Sinek’s ‘Start with Why’: when you know why you’re doing something – what the ultimate goal is – you remain focused, motivated and inspired. And, importantly, if you’re able to tell people why, they’ll buy into you and what you stand for. For me, building a business that positively impacts the lives of thousands of students is the reason I get out of bed every morning.

Network and consult You don’t have to think everything up from scratch. Surround yourself with as many people as possible and actively seek advice to leverage their experience. Listen.

Continue to build this network of trusted advisors and mentors throughout your career – people you can call on at key moments to bounce ideas off and test your thinking. These relationships can lead you to surprising places and will help you make the very best decisions. Plus, it’s fun. Meeting and talking to people are hands down the best parts of my job.

I’ve made incredible contacts through EducationInvestor Global’s network of Business Women in Education, which connects like-minded, ambitious people, keen to share knowledge and support growth in one another’s careers.

Build diverse teams All businesses have to adapt, reinvent and respond quickly to new opportunities and challenges – more so than ever now, amid the Covid-19 pandemic. But if everyone thinks the same, how can you be sure that you’ve thought about everything you need to and come to the right answer?

In my experience, fostering a diverse team of distinct and confident thinkers is vital for positive transformational change. Diverse teams bring fresh ideas and creative solutions by harnessing people’s varying skills, experiences and backgrounds. Creating a culture of respect and healthy debate is critical to ensure contrasting views are heard and valued. In short, diversity brings you closer to reality. ▶

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▶It’s also important to recognise the value add from every level of the organisation. Some of our most insightful breakthroughs have come from new joiners who disrupt and challenge our ways of working and assumptions, for the better. they have the right skills to make good judgement calls. Greater responsibility also makes people’s jobs more motivating. Ultimately, an empowered team frees up your time to focus on other value add activities and achieve a much healthier work-life balance.

Empower your people What will the future hold for the next As a founder of a start-up, you are critical to the generation of entrepreneurs? business. Having kids was daunting as When I founded Enjoy Education, I struggled to figure out how I would social media, smartphones and mobile balance children with work. I looked broadband were relatively new. Today with interest at friends in the corporate they are so integral to how we work world with access to long maternity For me, leadership – and one thing is clear, the pace of leaves and the ability to implement an is when you change is accelerating. Over the past ‘out-of-office’ autoreply. Then, the lightbulb moment struck. are able to give few years, we’ve had to respond to more and more changes in technology and Teams often look to leaders to make control rather consumer behavior than ever before. decisions – to be that critical cog in than take control This is exciting. Technology is opening the machine. This doesn’t always make up new possibilities to a wider, more sense. The team is on the front line, diverse population of entrepreneurs. The much closer to the action. This means barriers are coming down and it will be they have the relevant information right harder to stand out from the crowd. The in front of their eyes to make great decisions. At the top, education industry is not immune to this – I’m sure we’ve you rarely have the same level of visibility and, in a small all seen an explosion in new competitors in recent years. business, you can’t be an expert at everything. Now more than ever, it’s important that we arm students

For me, leadership is when you are able to give control with the skills and imagination to be successful in the rather than take control. At Enjoy Education, we obsess rapidly changing world of work. The more we can nurture over devolving decision-making downwards. Empowering and equip children and young adults to challenge the the team means creating a culture of trust and ensuring status quo, the richer our society will be. n

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