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IDINVEST PARTNERS’“ENTREPRENDRE” INDICATOR
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
SURVEY OVERVIEW AND DESIGN 5
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS 6
ENTREPRENEURIAL MOTIVATION 10
DOMESTIC ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND FINANCING CAPACITY OF BANKS 11
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND EU POLICIES 12
INDUSTRY OPPORTUNITIES AND SOCIETAL OPPORTUNITIES 13
SOURCES OF FINANCING 14
TARGETED INDUSTRY SECTOR 15
PERSONAL VALUES 16
REASONS BEHIND THE DESIRE TO START A BUSINESS 17
MAKING THE DECISION TO START A BUSINESS 18
IDINVEST PARTNERS’ “ENTREPRENDRE” INDICATOR 20
FROM DESIRE TO REALITY: A SCHEMATIC OVERVIEW 21
EXISTENCE OF A DEFINITE PLAN TO START A BUSINESS 22
TYPE OF BUSINESS CONSIDERED 23
LACK OF A DEFINITE PLAN TO START A BUSINESS 25
DISSUASIVE FACTORS 26
STARTING A BUSINESS: PERSONAL NARRATIVES 28
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SURVEY OVERVIEW AND DESIGN
OVERVIEW
Idinvest Partners and Le Figaro are pleased to present the results of the third
edition of their exclusive survey focused on entrepreneurial motivation.
This biannual survey of public opinion is conducted online with a representative
sample of French adults (5,000 respondents).
For this third edition, two additional surveys were carried out by Viavoice in the
United Kingdom and German, in order to compare the desire to start a business
as expressed by respondents in France with the views of their British and Ger-
man counterparts.
DESIGN
Survey conducted online by Viavoice on behalf of Idinvest Partners and Le Figa-
ro from October 16 to 29, 2015.
The survey was administered to three nationally representative samples. A nu-
mber of specific questions intended for persons having “a definite plan to start
a business” were only asked of respondents in France.
• France: 5,000 persons 18 years of age and over, representative of the
French population,
• United Kingdom: 1,000 persons 18 years of age and over, representative of
the UK population,
• Germany: 1,003 persons 18 years of age and over, representative of the
German population.
Representativeness was determined through the use of quota sampling and
applied the following criteria: gender, age, profession and region.
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Entrepreneurial motivation is much more widespread in Germany and the United Kingdom than in France
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
Entrepreneurship and freedom-promoting ecosystems
Entrepreneurial motivation often has an aura of mystery about it, as does
the decision to start a business. You don’t learn about it at school and it is
often misunderstood; yet at the same time, entrepreneurial motivation is
fundamental not just for a country’s economic vitality, but for the life of its
citizens. Idinvest Partners, in partnership with Viavoice and Le Figaro, put
together its “Entreprendre” survey with the aim of getting a better grasp
of this reality. The survey has now broken new ground by comparing en-
trepreneurial motivation in France, the United Kingdom and Germany. The
findings, which highlight major differences between the three countries, are
revealing indeed.
²
E N T R E P R E N D R EI N D I C A T O R
N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 5
300
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A clear-cut “entrepreneurial motivation” hierarchy between Germany, the United Kingdom and France
The differences are undeniable: 56% of Germans say that if they had the
option they would be “entrepreneurially motivated – i.e. motivated to start
their own business”, whereas 44% of British respondents express the
same opinion, and… only 30% of French respondents.
Two results have particular resonance:
• France’s score, lagging well behind its two main European partners,
and
• Germany’s pre-eminence over the United Kingdom, by no means
a forgone conclusion: with its ingrained culture of commerce, the
United Kingdom might have hoped to lead the rankings.
Sources of entrepreneurial motivation (1): the web of economic and po-litical circumstances, whether favorable or adverse
These differences between the three countries are mainly explained by a
combination of specific national factors that encourage, or hamper, en-
trepreneurial motivation. Among the leading factors are the following:
• The “economic climate” in each country, considered an “asset” by
57% of German respondents, 29% of British respondents and only
13% of French respondents;
• “Current government policy” in each country, considered an “asset”
by 28% of German respondents, 27% of British respondents and only
14% of French respondents.
It thus appears that when it comes to promoting motivation, France is pe-
nalized by its restrictive fiscal and regulatory framework, which not only
directly hamper entrepreneurial motivation but also, more indirectly, act
as obstacles to an economic climate that would itself be more favorable.
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Sources of entrepreneurial motivation (2): a desire for freedom outweighing financial ambitions
Combined with these factors is an essential value: a powerful drive for
freedom, which is more decisive than financial success. In all three coun-
tries, the desire to “be free and independent” is cited as the number
one reason that “currently motivates me to be an entrepreneur”: 51% of
German, 52% of British and 49% of French respondents rank this factor
ahead of the drive to make money (47%, 52% and 32% respectively) and
achieve personal fulfilment (41%, 36% and 41% respectively). And, very
revealingly… Germany is the country where the values of “freedom” and
“independence” are the most highly prized (51%), ahead of the United
Kingdom (43%) and France (38%). And this desire for freedom is trigge-
red by “a period of great self-confidence” (cited by 45% of German, 37%
of British and 31% of French respondents).
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Entrepreneurial motivation: cultivating freedom-promoting ecosystems
All the key findings of this survey converge on one key idea: entrepre-
neurial motivation is underpinned by a personal desire for freedom, and
comes to fruition under conducive circumstances:
• the existence of economic momentum (economic climate),
• a non-restrictive fiscal and regulatory framework, and
• where freedom is promotion as one of a country’s key values.
What is unique about these circumstances is that they feed off each other,
together forming an ecosystem that is more or less favorable to freedom
being enshrined as a fundamental value. Entrepreneurs questioned in indi-
vidual interviews confirm the importance of this desire for freedom, which
itself fuels ambition; in the words of Alex Saint, co-founder and CEO of
Secret Escapes, “entrepreneurs are masters of their own fate”. This free-
dom, the desire it stokes and the circumstances on which it depends are es-
sential, not only in entrepreneurial and economic terms but also because
they are the matrix for the world of the future: the freedom that spurs en-
trepreneurial motivation carries with it the promise of a reinvented future.
François Miquet-Marty, President, Viavoice
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ENTREPRENEURIAL MOTIVATION
TODAY, IF YOU HAD THE POSSIBILITY TO MAKE IT HAPPEN, WOULD YOU BE MOTIVATED TO START YOUR OWN BUSINESS?
30%
44%
56%
62%
50%
38%
8%
6%
6%
YES
YES
YES
NO
NO
NO
NO ANSWER
NO ANSWER
NO ANSWER
NOVEMBER 2014:
37%
APRIL 2015:
34 %
QUESTION ASKED OF ALL RESPONDENTS ACROSS THE THREE NATIONAL SAMPLES
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DOMESTIC ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
AND FINANCING CAPACITY OF BANKS
WOULD YOU SAY THAT EACH OF THE FOL-LOWING ITEMS IS CURRENTLY MORE OF AN ADVANTAGE OR MORE OF AN IMPEDIMENT TO STARTING A BUSINESS?
57%
28%
34%
29%
27%
14%
22%
13%
18%
78%
73%
72%
9%
13%
10%
51%
45%
51%
20%
28%
27%
32%
58%
49%
11%
14%
17%
ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN YOUR COUNTRY
CURRENT POLICIES OF
YOUR COUNTRY’S GOVERNMENT
CURRENT CAPACITY OF BANKS
TO FINANCE STARTUP BUSINESSES
ADVANTAGE IMPEDIMENT NOANSWER
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INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC
CONDITIONS AND EU POLICIES
WOULD YOU SAY THAT EACH OF THE FOLLOWING ITEMS IS CURRENTLY MORE OF AN ADVANTAGE OR MORE OF AN IMPEDIMENT TO STARTING A BUSINESS?
WORLDWIDE ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
EUROPEAN ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
CURRENT EU POLICIES
31%
32%
19%
20%
16%
17%
18%
15%
14%
52%
70%
51%
30%
15%
35%
65%
53%
63%
15%
31%
20%
54%
55%
65%
15%
13%
16%
ADVANTAGE IMPEDIMENT NOANSWER
QUESTION ASKED ONLY OF RESPONDENTS WITH A DESIRE TO START A BUSINESS
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INDUSTRY OPPORTUNITIES AND
SOCIETAL OPPORTUNITIES
WOULD YOU SAY THAT EACH OF THE FOL-LOWING ITEMS IS CURRENTLY MORE OF AN ADVANTAGE OR MORE OF AN IMPEDIMENT TO STARTING A BUSINESS?
63%
45%
40% 43% 17%
31% 24%
28% 9%
ACTIVITY OF THE INDUSTRY SECTOR IN
WHICH YOU WISH TO START A BUSINESS
CHANGING LIFESTYLES AND
CONSUMPTION PATTERNS
60%
54%
40% 35% 25%
31% 15%
26% 14%
ADVANTAGE IMPEDIMENT NOANSWER
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SOURCES OF FINANCING
WHAT SOURCES OF FINANCING WOULD YOU HOPE TO ACCESS IN ORDER TO START YOUR BUSINESS?
YOUR PERSONAL SAVINGS
ONE OR MORE BANK LOANS
PUBLIC SECTOR ASSISTANCE
CONTRIBUTIONS OR ASSISTANCE FROM
YOUR RELATIVES
PRIVATE EQUITY FUNDS
OTHERS
NOT SURE AT THIS TIME
NO ANSWER
45% 50% 48%
38% 20% 38%
33% 18% 31%
17% 17% 19%
11% 11% 11%
2% 1% 1%
21% 23% 21%
2% 3% 1%
45%
41%
35%
15%
10%
2%
21%
46%
39%
33%
14%
11%
2%
22%
FRANCE
APRIL 2015
FRANCE
NOVEMBER 2014
FRANCE UK GERMANY
QUESTION ASKED ONLY OF RESPONDENTS WITH A DESIRE TO START A BUSINESS
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27% 22% 21%
20% 18% 21%
18% 18% 17%
15% 21% 21%
13% 15% 14%
13% 11% 17%
6% 8% 10%
6% 7% 7%
6% 4% 6%
5% 6% 6%
6% 5% 5%
5% 5% 5%
7% 12% 6%
QUESTION ASKED ONLY OF RESPONDENTS WITH A DESIRE TO START A BUSINESS
TARGETED INDUSTRY SECTOR
IN WHICH INDUSTRY SECTOR WOULD YOU BE INTERESTED IN STARTING YOUR BUSINESS?
WHOLESALE AND RETAIL TRADE
EDUCATION, HEALTH CARE AND SOCIAL ACTION
HOTELS AND RESTAURANTS
ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND LEISURE ACTIVITIES
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION
REAL ESTATE ACTIVITIES
BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION
MANUFACTURING, ENERGY, WATER, MINING
FINANCIAL AND INSURANCE ACTIVITIES
FARMING, FISHING, FORESTRY AND LOGGING
TRANSPORTATION
NO ANSWER
SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES / ADMINISTRATIVE
AND SUPPORT SERVICES
FRANCE UK GERMANY
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FREEDOM AND INDEPENDENCE
MORALITY AND ETHICS
TOLERANCE AND KINDNESS
HARD WORK AND COURAGE
PERSONAL SUCCESS
SOLIDARITY AND SHARING
DETERMINATION
MODESTY AND HUMILITY
TEAM SPIRIT
ORDERLINESS
RISK TAKING
NO ANSWER
SELF-CONFIDENCE
PERSONAL VALUES
WHICH MAIN VALUES ARE YOU MOST ATTACHED TO PERSONALLY?
FRANCE UK GERMANY
38% 43% 51%
34% 36% 33%
26% 36% 31%
35% 14% 20%
18% 34% 33%
19% 26% 28%
27% 5% 21%
21% 32% 4%
19% 20% 10%
13% 17% 20%
12% 7% 26%
8% 3% 3%
2% 2% 1%
QUESTION ASKED ONLY OF RESPONDENTS WITH A DESIRE TO START A BUSINESS
AS THERE ARE SEVERAL POSSIBLE ANSWERS, THE TOTAL IS GREATER THAN 100%.
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REASONS BEHIND THE DESIRE
TO START A BUSINESS
WHAT REASONS ARE BEHIND YOUR DESIRE TO START A BUSINESS?
FRANCEFRANCE UK GERMANY
BE FREE AND INDEPENDENT
GROW PERSONALLY AND PROFESSIONALLY
MAKE MONEY
MAKE BETTER USE OF YOUR SKILLS AND CREATIVITY
LIVE AN ADVENTURE / FACE CHALLENGES
FEEL USEFUL TO SOCIETY
PASS SOMETHING ON TO FUTURE GENERATIONS
CHANGE YOUR WORKPLACE OR WORK SITUATION
GO AGAINST THE GRAIN / CHANGE THINGS
WORK IN A TEAM WITH CLOSE ASSOCIATES
INNOVATE IN YOUR SECTOR
LEAD PEOPLE OR TEAMS
NO ANSWER
BRING A HEARTFELT IDEA OR VISION TO FRUITION
49% 52% 51%
41% 36% 41%
32% 52% 47%
24% 22% 27%
21% 15% 22%
19% 19% 12%
15% 10% 12%
12% 12% 13%
13% 11% 5%
7% 7% 8%
8% 2% 9%
7% 7% 6%
7% 6% 8%
1% 2% 1%
QUESTION ASKED ONLY OF RESPONDENTS WITH A DESIRE TO START A BUSINESS
AS THERE ARE SEVERAL POSSIBLE ANSWERS, THE TOTAL IS GREATER THAN 100%.
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MAKING THE DECISION
TO START A BUSINESS
ULTIMATELY, WHAT WOULD PROMPT YOU TO MAKE THE DECISION TO START YOUR BUSINESS?
FRANCEFRANCE UK GERMANY
THE CONVICTION, FROM A PERSONAL STANDPOINT, THAT
THE TIME IS RIGHT
CERTAINTY OF SUCCESS DRIVEN BY A HIGH STATE OF
SELF-CONFIDENCE
THE FEASIBILITY OF YOUR PROJECT, HAVING THOUGHT EVERY-
THING THROUGH CAREFULLY
A NEW IDEA, A PARTICULARLY INNOVATIVE CONCEPT
OR PRODUCT
THE CONVICTION, GIVEN THE ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND
ACTIVITY IN YOUR SECTOR, THAT THE TIME IS RIGHT
THE CONVICTION THAT YOU ARE SUPPORTED BY YOUR RELATIVES AND
FRIENDS IN PURSUING YOUR PLAN
A NEED FOR MONEY
FINDING AN ASSOCIATE WHO COULD START THE
BUSINESS WITH YOU
NO ANSWER
OTHER REASONS
42% 34% 42%
31% 37% 45%
29% 36% 15%
26% 27% 33%
25% 20% 25%
25% 30% 24%
22% 24% 31%
20% 23% 27%
3% 5% 3%
2% 3% 2%
QUESTION ASKED ONLY OF RESPONDENTS WITH A DESIRE TO START A BUSINESS
AS THERE ARE SEVERAL POSSIBLE ANSWERS, THE TOTAL IS GREATER THAN 100%.
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IDINVEST PARTNERS’
“ENTREPRENDRE” INDICATOR
RECENT CHANGES IN THE INDICATOR
30% X 10%
370 340300
The indicator is calculated as follows at each wave of the survey, in order to measure changes over time:
PERCENTAGE OF THE FRENCH POPULATION WITH A DESIRE TO
START A BUSINESS
PERCENTAGE OF THE FRENCH POPULATION WITH A DEFINITE
PLAN TO START A BUSINESS
²
E N T R E P R E N D R EI N D I C A T O R
N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 5
300
NOVEMBER 2014 NOVEMBER 2015APRIL 2015
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FROM DESIRE TO REALITY:
A SCHEMATIC OVERVIEW
30% ↘4%
↘2%↗4%
↗10% ↗3%
↗7%
32%
32% 19%
31%
58%
RESPONDENTS WITHA “DESIRE TO START A BUSINESS”
AMONG THE PEOPLE WITH A “DESIRE TO START A BUSINESS”:
RESPONDENTS WITH A“DEFINITE PLAN TO START A BUSINESS”
WITH AN IDEA FOR A PRODUCT OR BUSINESS THAT SEEMS TO HAVE
POTENTIAL
WHO HAVE TRIED TO SET A PLAN IN MOTION, BUT GAVE UP
WHO THINK THAT THEIR TARGET MARKET SHOWS HIGH PROMISE
RESPONDENTS LACKING A“DEFINITE PLAN TO START A BUSINESS”
FRENCH POPULATION
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EXISTENCE OF A DEFINITE
PLAN TO START A BUSINESS
DO YOU CURRENTLY HAVE A DEFINITE PLAN TO START YOUR OWN BUSINESS THAT YOU INTEND TO CARRY OUT NO LATER THAN A YEAR FROM NOW?
CORRESPONDS TO 10%OF THE TOTAL SAMPLE
32% 58%
YES NO
10%
NO ANSWER
APRIL 2015 :
28%
APRIL 2015 :
65%
NOVEMBER 2014 :
28%
NOVEMBER 2014 :
66%
QUESTION ASKED ONLY OF RESPONDENTS WITH A DESIRE TO START A BUSINESS
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TYPE OF BUSINESS CONSIDERED
FROM A PRACTICAL STANDPOINT, WOULD YOU PREFER TO . . .
START AN INDIVIDUAL BUSINESS
ACQUIRE “AUTO-ENTREPRENEUR” STATUS
START A COMPANY WITH ONE OR MORE ASSOCIATES
NO ANSWER
37%
34%
27%
39%
32%
25%
36%
32%
26%
4%
QUESTION ASKED ONLY OF RESPONDENTS WITH A DESIRE TO START A BUSINESS
NOVEMBER
2014
APRIL
2015
(a French status offering simplified procedures and tax benefits for starting a small business)
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YOU HAVE AN IDEA FOR A PRODUCT OR BUSINESS THAT YOU FEEL HAS POTENTIAL
YOUR TARGET MARKET SHOWS HIGH PROMISE
YOU HAVE THE REQUIRED PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
YOU WANT TO MAKE THE BEST USE OF YOUR TIME AND WORK VERY HARD
YOU ARE NOT CONCERNED ABOUT MAKING TOO MANY SACRIFICES IN YOUR PERSONAL LIFE
YOU KNOW PEOPLE YOU TRUST AND WITH WHOM YOU CAN WORK
YOU ARE CONVINCED THAT YOUR INCOME WILL INCREASE
YOU HAVE A NETWORK OF PROFESSIONAL CONTACTS
YOU ARE WELL INFORMED
YOU HAVE THE NECESSARY CAPITAL
YOU ANTICIPATE A GOOD RETURN ON YOUR INVESTMENT
YOU ARE UNEMPLOYED
YOU DECIDED TO ABANDON YOUR PREVIOUS PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY
YOU HAVE BEEN ENCOURAGED YOU TO PURSUE YOUR PLAN TO START A BUSINESS
OVERALL, THE ECONOMIC CLIMATE SEEMS FAVORABLE TO YOU
YOU HAD TO LEAVE YOUR PREVIOUS PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY
THE NECESSARY ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES SEEM SIMPLE TO YOU
YOU ARE BEING ASSISTED BY A SPECIALIZED ORGANIZATION
YOU HAVE ALREADY OBTAINED A BANK LOAN ON FAVORABLE TERMS
NO ANSWER
26%
29%
22%
14%
13%
15%
13%
15%
12%
14%
10%
9%
9%
7%
9%
6%
6%
3%
2%
22%
24%
25%
13%
15%
15%
13%
10%
12%
9%
8%
12%
10%
8%
7%
7%
6%
5%
3%
MOTIVATING FACTORS BEHIND
THE DEFINITE PLAN
WHAT ARE THE REASONS THAT LED YOU TO DRAFT THIS DEFINITE PLAN TO START YOUR OWN BUSINESS?AS THERE ARE SEVERAL POSSIBLE ANSWERS, THE TOTAL IS GREATER THAN 100%.
QUESTION ASKED ONLY OF RESPONDENTS WITH A DEFINITE PLAN TO START A BUSINESS
NOVEMBER
2014
APRIL
2015
32%
31%
28%
21%
19%
18%
18%
18%
17%
13%
12%
12%
10%
9%
9%
8%
8%
5%
4%
3%
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LACK OF A DEFINITE PLAN
TO START A BUSINESS
TRUTHFULLY, IS IT THAT YOU . . .
65% 19% 12%
HAVEN’T TRIED TO SET A PLAN TO START A BUSINESS IN MOTION
HAVE TRIED TO SET A PLAN TO START A BUSINESS IN MOTION,
BUT GAVE UP
NO ANSWER
QUESTION ASKED ONLY OF RESPONDENTS LACKING A DEFINITE PLAN TO START A BUSINESS
NOVEMBER 2014 :
17%
NOVEMBER 2014 :
71%
APRIL 2015 :
72%
APRIL 2015 :
16%
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DISSUASIVE FACTORS
WHAT OBSTACLES ARE KEEPING YOU FROM CARRYING OUT A DEFINITE PLAN TO START A BUSINESS?
YOU DON’T HAVE THE NECESSARY CAPITAL
OVERALL, THE ECONOMIC CLIMATE SEEMS UNFAVORABLE TO YOU
THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES SEEM TOO COMPLICATED TO YOU
YOU LACK THE REQUIRED PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
YOU ARE CONCERNED THAT YOUR INCOME WILL DECREASE
YOU LACK NECESSARY INFORMATION
YOU DON’T HAVE AN ADEQUATE NETWORK OF PROFESSIONAL CONTACTS
CONCERNS ABOUT NEEDING TO MAKE TOO MANY SACRIFICES IN YOUR PERSONAL LIFE
YOU DON’T HAVE AN IDEA FOR A PRODUCT OR BUSINESS THAT YOU FEEL HAS POTENTIAL
YOU DON’T KNOW PEOPLE YOU TRUST AND WITH WHOM YOU CAN WORK
YOU DON’T HAVE A SPECIALIZED ORGANIZATION WILLING TO HELP YOU
YOUR TARGET MARKET DOESN’T SHOW ENOUGH PROMISE
YOU PREFER TO MAINTAIN YOUR PREVIOUS ACTIVITY, OR PURSUE A DIFFERENT ONE
YOU ARE CONCERNED THAT YOUR WORKLOAD WILL BE TOO HEAVY
YOU HAVE BEEN DISCOURAGED FROM PURSUING A PLAN TO START A BUSINESS
YOU HAVEN’T OBTAINED A BANK LOAN ON FAVORABLE TERMS
YOU DON’T ANTICIPATE A GOOD RETURN ON YOUR INVESTMENT
NO ANSWER
33%
37%
21%
18%
14%
14%
14%
15%
12%
9%
10%
8%
6%
5%
6%
5%
3%
37%
36%
22%
20%
16%
14%
13%
15%
14%
12%
6%
4%
8%
10%
6%
5%
4%
QUESTION ASKED ONLY OF RESPONDENTS LACKING A DEFINITE PLAN TO START A BUSINESS
AS THERE ARE SEVERAL POSSIBLE ANSWERS, THE TOTAL IS GREATER THAN 100%.
NOVEMBER
2014
APRIL
2015
44%
38%
29%
24%
22%
22%
21%
18%
16%
14%
13%
12%
9%
9%
8%
7%
6%
6%
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“I’M MOTIVATED BY THE WORLD OF TOMORROW AND HOW THAT WORLD WILL TAKE SHAPE.”
DIDIER RAPPAPORT, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO OF HAPPN
Didier Rappaport has always been
an entrepreneur – or not far from it.
After earning a degree in economics
and gaining some sales experience
at the family business in Bordeaux,
he quickly threw himself into cap-
turing new markets, with one gui-
ding principal: be among the first to
ferret out the markets of the future
economy.
After a trip to Asia in the early 1980s,
his yearning for the distant and the
new drew him to the booming textile
industry, which soon became one
of the spearheads of Asian growth.
“That’s when I decided to become a
commodities trader for the textile
industry, which I did until the age of
40,” he says.
In the mid-1990s, Didier recognized
early on the new opportunities offe-
red by the emerging Web. “I discove-
red the Web with a sort of fascina-
tion. While I was working in textiles,
I gradually decided to give it up for
the digital world – although it wasn’t
even called the ‘digital world’ at that
point.”
Carefully surrounding himself with
employees who had extensive expe-
rience in new technologies, Didier
created several businesses speciali-
zing in new technologies and social
networks. He co-founded Dailymo-
tion in 2005, joined Nomao in 2008,
a location-based social network that
he and his partners turned into a
search engine, then set up Happn in
May 2013.
According to this entrepreneur – a
role he insists on distinguishing from
company managers who take over
an existing and established enter-
prise – the key to growing a fledgling
business is its innovative, forward-
looking and visionary nature. “I’m
motivated by the world of tomorrow
and how that world will take shape”,
he says. “I’m very future-oriented.
Digital tools are an amazing tool for
the work world, business organiza-
tion and daily life. And Happn is an
STARTING A BUSINESS:
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incredible tool for bringing people
together.”
But the key to success does not
only lie in having an idea, as good
as it may be. “A lot of people have
ideas. The hardest part is actual-
ly doing it”, he says. And this re-
quires surrounding yourself with
multi-skilled, high-performing
employees as well as working hard
to grasp future challenges, needs
and opportunities. “You know, ha-
ving a flair for business actually
takes a lot of work. We plan and
develop benchmarks. The hard
part is that you need both business
and technology skills, and there
are all sorts of skills that contri-
bute to the success of a project.
After laying the foundations of a
business, you need someone with
experience, and by experience I
mean the sum of mistakes you’ve
made and will not repeat.”
The impetus that drives Didier is
a desire to take part in innovative
and even disruptive projects. “I like
new things, providing people with
something that’s currently unavai-
lable. That’s why I’ve never been
bored.” But he’s also motivated by
a strong desire for independence
and leadership. “I was basically a
leader and didn’t want anyone tel-
ling me what to do.”
If Didier were to give one piece of
advice to budding young entre-
preneurs, those who have not yet
started a business, he would re-
commend building up strong skills
and also surrounding themselves
with highly skilled staff. And he
would encourage them not to shy
away from opportunities offered
by the economy of the future, des-
pite any crises or doubts. “There
are different generations as well
as different sociocultural and
economic conditions. Each gene-
ration has its own difficulties and
opportunities. In any case, life is
a struggle for every generation. If
we create a business today, it’s be-
cause we have a vision, an idea for
a product or service that we find
fascinating and we want to see how
other people are going to use it.”
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STARTING A BUSINESS:
PERSONAL NARRATIVES
“IN 2013, I HAD A SHOP THAT WAS DOING WELL, WITH ABOUT 10 EMPLOYEES AND 20 HOURS OF CLASSES A WEEK.”
DAMIEN MORIN, FOUNDER AND CEO OF SAVE
When asked about his experience, Da-
mien Morin jokingly says, “You know,
at 24, I don’t have that much job ex-
perience.” Though making light of his
situation, reality is another matter.
While Damien graduated from the
European Business School (EBS) less
than a year ago, he already has exten-
sive entrepreneurial experience and
a strong vision for the future of his
company. His 400-employee company
recently raised €15 million in capital.
Yet, when recalling his past, Damien
feels that he’s still doing what he’s
always done – just on a larger, more
ambitious scale. “I’ve always been a
real geek”, he says. “My father was a
computer scientist and I got my first
computer at the age of three. I soon
began doing programming and then
my friends and family sometimes as-
ked me to fix their computer or solve
a problem. So while my friends were
babysitting, I was posting adverts to
fix PCs.”
As president of the Student Union in
his second year, Damien gained real
entrepreneurial experience, which
motivated him to continue down this
path. “It was really like managing
a small business, with a sizeable
budget, project launches, branding,
marketing and the like. When I left
the organization, I created Save My
Computer two weeks later. I did exac-
tly what I was doing before but much
more professionally, with technicians
who could step in for me.”
In February 2013, taking advantage
of the booming smart phone market
while still at business school, Damien
refocused on what he considered a
more promising market. “The smart
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phone market was exploding and
that’s still true today, not to mention
tablets, watches and more. We may
not realize it, but in the future billions
of connected objects will be part of
daily life. We’ve only reached 2% of
potential growth.” And this growth
has already been meteoric. First
doing business in the BtoB sector
(with Altran, PSA Peugeot Citroën and
Total, among others), then exclusively
in BtoC with the creation of retail out-
lets and corners in shopping malls,
Save now boasts more than a hun-
dred points of sale in Europe and is
growing at a rate of over 20% a month.
When asked what drives him, Damien
is not shy about mentioning money
even though he also acknowledges
that “it’s not a good reason to be an
entrepreneur, especially for start-
ups. It’s a risky endeavor that rarely
succeeds”, he says. Instead, he mainly
attributes his entrepreneurial spirit
to a “desire to create”. “My greatest
pride is going to a mall and seeing a
corner that I’ve created. Not having a
boss isn’t really my major motivation.
I could’ve joined Save as an employee
because I would’ve been attracted by
an innovative and stimulating project.”
So is Damien the new Mark Zucker-
berg with a French twist? The com-
parison might not be appropriate for
a young entrepreneur operating in the
“real economy”. “We aren’t like Face-
book, with a million new users joining
every week with just a few clicks. For
us, growth is in the physical world:
we open retail outlets, sign leases,
train employees, deal with logistical,
purchasing issues and so forth.” But
his ambitions rank up there with any
young strivers in Silicon Valley. “We’re
in the process of creating an empire”,
he says without batting an eyelash
when asked about his ambitions. And
he’s convincing enough, so watch this
space in a few years’ time!
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“CREATING A ROLE FOR YOURSELF AND CHANNELING YOUR AMBITION INTO AN ENTREPRENEURIAL VENTURE ARE WORTH THE WEIGHT OF ALL THE TRAINING AND EX-PERIENCE YOU CAN GET.”
PAULINE GOUZENNE, CO-FOUNDER OF LES FILLES SUR LE PONT
STARTING A BUSINESS:
PERSONAL NARRATIVES
After co-managing a roster of cultural
organizations since the early 2000s
– in film production (SMG), maga-
zine publishing (Zurban) and event
planning (Spectaculaire) – Pauline
Gouzenne co-founded Les Filles sur
le Pont in 2013 with Claire Ruszniews-
ki. The business, a limited liability
company (SARL), organizes cultural
activities and events with public and
private players and helps companies
and institutions promote their cultu-
ral projects. “We created Culture au
Quai, a festival that offers 100,000
visitors every year in late September
the full spectrum of cultural attrac-
tions in the Paris region, including
plays, museums, exhibitions, music
and concerts. So as you can see it’s
an event with a really broad reach”,
she says. “We also do programmi-
ng for cultural venues, in particular
Recyclerie, an eco-friendly site that
opened in Porte de Clignancourt in
June. We really try to turn individuals
into responsible and curious citizens,
through cultural and environmental
experiences.”
For Pauline, the first thing on the
agenda when she started a company
to “create my own job”. She wanted to
focus on a career path that she her-
self had chosen based on her prior
experience. “The company I was wor-
king for went bankrupt so I and ano-
ther former employee decided to start
a business to keep the same opera-
tions going. The idea was to maintain
professional continuity and create our
own jobs without having to report to
anyone. Lastly, we wanted to develop
our own business plan; rather than
going to an organization that already
had a plan, we decided to create a one
along with the necessary structure.”
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But she was also driven by the free-
dom of running a business, both in
terms of organizing its activities and
defining responsibilities. “I wanted to
be a manager so I could do my work
as I saw fit and to have the type of
role, profession and team that suited
me best.”
If all goes well, she would eventually
like to expand her business by hiring a
stable employee to help the two foun-
ders and let them further develop the
company’s activities. “The next three
steps will be hiring, hiring and hiring.
Having survived the stage of two foun-
ders and managing to pay our own sa-
laries, we need to grow the business
with someone who can help us with
some of our work and free us up to
work on development.”
She would particularly advise new
entrepreneurs to jump at the oppor-
tunity without waiting too long. “Take
the plunge very early even if it ends in
failure. I myself went through three
bankruptcies, but it’s important to un-
derstand that each so-called failure is
a learning experience. It’s not a failure
to go bust, it’s a risk you took. Crea-
ting a role for yourself and channeling
your ambition into an entrepreneurial
venture are worth the weight of all the
training and experience you can get.”
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NICOLAS BISCHOFF, FINANCIAL ADVISER
IN THE PROCESS OF CREATING A BUSINESS
²
STARTING A BUSINESS:
PERSONAL NARRATIVES
In some ways, Nicolas Bischoff’s
career has been unusual, even though
it is similar in certain ways to the
careers of many entrepreneurs. Nico-
las is highly skilled in a specific disci-
pline, mathematics, he specializes in
a certain field, and he discovered bu-
siness as a financial manager, which
instilled the desire for a new start. “I
taught math for 12 or 13 years then
went back to university to study for
another degree, one that would allow
me to specialize in probability. After
graduating, I decided to use my new
skills in finance instead of going back
to teaching, which is why I went to
London. That was in 2005. I worked in
various financial sectors for 10 years,
especially banking and hedge funds.
After spending seven months in Aus-
tralia, I decided to change careers
because I had pretty much learned
everything there was to know about
the financial sector. I wanted to get
involved with something that I could
do on my own, so I thought long and
hard about what I could do. I’m now at
a new stage in my career.”
Nicolas has yet to launch his business
even though he is working hard toward
that goal, while operating as an inde-
pendent financial adviser at the same
time. “I’m about to create the com-
pany, but it doesn’t have a name yet.
It will be based in France and will aim
to offer a full range of services for re-
cycling old petrol- and diesel-fueled
vehicles that are 10-25 years old and
convert them into electric vehicles.
It’s a huge project.”
His goal is to bring innovation to a fast-
growing sector – the green economy –
while offering new ideas and changing
our methods of consumption and our
relationship with sustainable deve-
lopment. “I’m driven by independence
and especially the ability to do so-
mething I believe in. The original idea
“STARTING A BUSINESS IS LIKE SETTING OFF ON A BUS TRIP AND DECIDING YOU’RE GOING TO DRIVE THE BUS.”
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was to use what we have instead of
making new things because the goal
is to be sustainable. But we cannot be
sustainable while we’re polluting and
not protecting the environment. That’s
what it’s all about – approaching the
concept of sustainable development
from a practical perspective. I think
that if this plan sparks enough inte-
rest in France and later in the rest of
Europe, we’ll be able to say that we’ve
shaken up the future of mobility for
good.”
This environmental commitment lies
squarely at the heart of his economic
model, but he also sees it as an obli-
gation toward the people with whom
he hopes to work. “People who agree
to get involved in this bold adventure
will be open to a different way of doing
things and will gain a fresh perspec-
tive. And they will also be more open
to the concept of sustainable develop-
ment.”
To achieve his goal, Nicolas is moving
ahead step by step to bring his ambi-
tion to life – the network and financial
requirements first, not to mention the
practical aspects he considers essen-
tial. “I’m trying to set up a network.
I’m spending a lot of time briefing ac-
quaintances because it will be a huge
project and I’ll need a lot of help. So at
this point, I’m working on sponsorship
and financing. But profitability won’t
be the major challenge. What will
really be important will be the ope-
rating risk, that will be the biggest
challenge by far because it involves
technology.”
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STARTING A BUSINESS:
PERSONAL NARRATIVES
“THE REAL TRIGGER WAS FINDING TWO PARTNERS WITH PERFECTLY COMPLEMENTARY SKILLS.”
ALEX SAINT, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO OF SECRET ESCAPES
Founded in 2010 by Alex Saint, Tom
Valentine and Troy Collins, Secret Es-
capes is an exclusive members-only
travel club based in the United King-
dom. It already operates in over ten
countries and specializes in luxury
travel at highly discounted prices.
The platform has received millions of
dollars in investments and is already
attracting the interest of Web giants
like Google, which this year invested
$60 million in the company.
When asked about the factors that
drove him to entrepreneurship, Alex
answers that it was a desire that
came from deep inside, as if he had an
“entrepreneurship gene”. “Even when
I was little, I knew that I was going to
do something different on my own. I
never dreamed of being a pilot or any
other profession. I just always felt it
and I also saw how my father worked
as an independent professional.”
This background gave Alex the tools
he needed to forge, almost without
trying, a notion of freedom and au-
tonomy that only entrepreneurship
could provide. “I become a little frus-
trated working for other people and
how fast they get things done. En-
trepreneurs tend to be energetic and
much more focused. They tend not to
beat around the bush. There’s also a
very competitive side to it, because
they’re masters of their own fate.”
To his mind, a good idea is not enough
to create a business. It’s especially
important to develop a sales strate-
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gy and have a solid team. “Some
entrepreneurs want to solve a major
problem but that wasn’t really our si-
tuation. We felt that we could create
something very promising, so we
developed a very detailed business
plan and determined all the variables
involved to persuade ourselves that
it would work. The real trigger was
finding two excellent partners who I
had the opportunity to work with, one
specialized in sales and the other in
technology. So we complemented
each other perfectly. To me, that’s as
important as coming up with a good
idea.”
While the team represents a decisive
factor, however, the co-founder of Se-
cret Escapes believes that providing
a real solution to his customers and
suppliers was the key to his success.
“In my opinion, Secret Escapes has
succeeded by doing something truly
valuable for our two target markets:
first, consumers, who save up to 70%
in luxury hotels and second, the ho-
tels themselves, which have learned
that in the end our site is bringing
them more customers.”
Alex views success as a virtuous cir-
cle in which every step of the way is
imbued with a professional mindset,
from idea to execution. “We take an
extremely analytical approach to our
business. We measure, optimize and
test everything… and this ability to
digitally measure all our activities is
critical to Secret Escapes’ success.
We’re trying lots of new services and
improvements and sometimes we
fail, but as they say, if you haven’t
failed, it means you haven’t tried hard
enough.”
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STARTING A BUSINESS:
PERSONAL NARRATIVES
“THE IDEA WAS TO MAKE MONEY, OF COURSE.”IYA*, FOUNDER OF AN ONLINE STORE SELLING SCUBA DIVING EQUIPMENT
Nothing in Iya’s background could
have predicted her embrace of entre-
preneurship – far from it. A psycho-
logist by training and profession, she
first worked for an airline in Australia,
only going into online sales of scuba
diving equipment out of passion for
the sport. “My education had nothing
to do with business,” she says. “I’m
basically a psychologist and as soon
as I had a chance to study abroad,
I moved to Australia. In addition to
studying there, I worked for Air Emi-
rates. I liked working there, but I also
practiced scuba diving, a sport I love.
It was a real hobby.”
She experienced a turning point in
her life when she had to leave Aus-
tralia for the United Kingdom to finish
her thesis. In the UK, she met many
scuba diving enthusiasts who told her
how difficult it was to find quality and
highly specialized diving equipment.
“I realized that many divers in the UK
had a hard time finding certain small
accessories, which are easy to find
in Australia. I helped a scuba diving
friend find the equipment he needed
because I knew people in Australia
who sold it. I helped once, then twice,
then three times and after a while,
one of my friends came straight out
and told me I should start my own bu-
siness. So that’s how I got started!”
Iya’s online store, launched while she
was writing her thesis, first developed
by word-of-mouth, which was not
really a problem, because she could
tap into a large network of diving en-
thusiasts interested in her products.
“I didn’t have a business plan or any
well-defined objective. I thought it
was easy to do because I knew where
to find scuba accessories and I also
knew scuba diving fanatics.”
What drove Iya to start a business?
The first priority was paying for her
studies and thesis, but she also
wanted to maintain a connection to
scuba diving, her passion. “The idea
was to make money, of course. I had
just moved to the UK and I was used
to a certain standard of living. When
I worked for Air Emirates in Austra-
lia, I was earning a good salary and I
enjoyed the challenge of starting this
business. It also provided an oppor-
tunity to stay in touch with Australia,
scuba diving and the people I knew
there, while earning money at the
same time.”
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She now has a good job at a univer-
sity and has set aside her business
for the time being but has not aban-
doned it. “After receiving my docto-
rate, I got a great job and my work is
very time-consuming. But my website
still exists. It’s a small site and it’s
been a long time since I’ve been able
to update it, but I still have customers.
Maybe an avid scuba diver will want to
buy it someday. If that doesn’t happen,
I’m just going to put it aside for the fo-
reseeable future because I have a lot
of work right now, much more than I
had a few years ago.”
For Iya, this entrepreneurial venture
has been both a meaningful expe-
rience and an opportunity with future
potential if she ever decides to change
careers and try something new. “This
experience made me realize that
there’s nothing horrible or scary
about doing business, as I tended to
think beforehand. In Australia, I was
focused on my studies, and business
and psychology have nothing in com-
mon. My work as a psychologist for
Air Emirates had nothing to do with
business. This experience showed me
that working for yourself and going
into business could be one option if I
ever want to change careers or I find
myself unemployed.”
(*) The person interviewed wishes to
remain anonymous so she asked us
not to publish her surname.
“I WOULD ADVISE PEOPLE WHO HAVE CONCRETE BUSINESS IDEAS TO START STRAIGHTAWAY BECAUSE WE SOMETIMES CREATE OUR OWN LIMITATIONS.”
LUDMILA STANGL, POWER ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES
Before starting a business, Ludmila
first carved out her own niche as a
manager by encouraging her supe-
riors to give her more autonomy and
greater responsibility when carrying
out her assignments. Seeing such
motivation as critical, she believes it
distinguishes the most highly driven
people from others and provides
them with more career opportunities.
“When I graduated from engineering
school, I took a job with a technology
company in Eshborn that has opera-
tions worldwide. I did a lot of training
for this company and often talked to
my colleagues about my experience
and knowledge. I then realized that I
had more to offer this company. I re-
quested a meeting with my boss and
explained to him that I would also
like to develop my own projects. He
showed confidence in me by starting
to give me assignments. Asking ques-
tions and having good ideas is a great
way to advance your career, but if you
never ask questions, you’ll remain
where you are and never get ahead.”
These ambitious goals and desire
for responsibility led Ludmila to qui-
ckly start her own company just a
few years after graduation. “I began
working for myself as a consultant. I
worked alone without a partner. As an
engineer, I had seen the many attrac-
tive opportunities available in Europe.
So I decided to go into technology de-
velopment in Russia. My ideas were
very appealing because 20 years ago
in Russia, research and the develop-
ment of new ideas were at low ebb,
with needs especially acute in the
field of aerodynamics.”
Like many entrepreneurs, she em-
phasizes the key role played by her
network and trusted people like the
partners, employees and customers
she relied on when launching her bu-
siness. “I was fortunate to meet very
open-minded people who I explained
my project to and they were ready to
support and work with me. You need
to have someone who believes in you,
in both your work and private life. If
STARTING A BUSINESS:
PERSONAL NARRATIVES
you don’t have confidence in your-
self, your plan will never succeed.
It’s impossible to be completely inde-
pendent because in one way or ano-
ther, we always depend on something
or someone.”
Ludmila believes that strong confi-
dence in yourself and your plan along-
side methodical organization are the
necessary ingredients for a success-
ful start-up. “The important thing is
your plan and your ideas. If you real-
ly throw yourself into your project,
things easily fall into place and there’s
no reason for it not to work. You sim-
ply have to follow certain steps. If you
decide to start a business, you can’t
focus on the difficulties. If you do that,
you’ll fail. If you have a plan in mind,
find the resources you need and put
all your energy into making it work.”
While she acknowledges that women
seeking to become entrepreneurs
face greater difficulty due to family
constraints, she stresses the vital
role they play in the success of orga-
nizations that are less ambitious but
just as important to the economy and
jobs, if not more so. “I’ve noticed that
women behave differently from men.
They can start with a very small bu-
siness that begins slowly until finally
increasing in size, while men imme-
diately borrow €15,000 from the bank.
They think that without borrowing this
money they won’t be able to do any-
thing. I also read an article that said
women create 60% of jobs. Women
create jobs in social and other ser-
vices while big companies don’t ge-
nerate a large number of jobs even
though they make a lot of profit. No
one would be unemployed if big com-
panies created the same number of
jobs as the small businesses run by
women. And a major motivator for
people starting a company is creating
a job for themselves and another per-
son – and that’s already quite an ac-
complishment. It’s important to take
control of your life. We shouldn’t wait
until someone else does it for us.”
“THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ENTREPRENEUR AND AN EMPLOYEE IS THAT THE BUCK STOPS WITH YOU.”
PETER*, GOURMET RESTAURANT OWNER
There are a sectors where coming up
with your own plan and setting up the
business come more naturally than
elsewhere. Often, it’s your vocation.
For Peter, it’s always been that way
from the time he began studying hos-
pitality and catering after working in
several administrative jobs. Feeling
this experience was a waste of time,
he wanted to create something more
concrete. “I wanted to work with my
hands and be recognized for what I
was doing my own way on the job”, he
says. “I didn’t want to spend my time
in front of a computer doing work that
everyone else could do.”
After graduating from the program,
he worked at a number of jobs to gain
skills and develop his ideas. “I worked
as an apprentice chef, hotel manager
and twice as a restaurant manager. It
was clear to me each time that the job
was temporary. My goal was to even-
tually open my own restaurant after
getting enough experience to offer
something of high quality without ma-
king too many beginner mistakes.”
His restaurant project finally got off
the ground in 2007. Plans called for
a gourmet-oriented restaurant with
traditional roots with a broad reach.
“My restaurant is pretty conventio-
nal. I make no claim to reinventing
cuisine. I lean toward traditional, very
well prepared dishes and enjoy rein-
troducing people to recipes from their
youth and region, which are not always
well made in other restaurants.”
He began hiring a year later – first
one, then two employees, first in the
dining room, then in the kitchen, but
that wasn’t a goal in itself. “I have no
plans to grow into a large restaurant.
My customers value the simple and
cozy atmosphere, which makes them
feel at home.”
STARTING A BUSINESS:
PERSONAL NARRATIVES
What about the risks? “There are
always risks. From the moment you
create your own business, you have
to accept the risks.” But Peter has
always been self-confident, he knows
his profession and he understands
people’s expectations.
What frightens him more than the fu-
ture is being the last recourse if any-
thing goes wrong – a real change from
his previous jobs in the profession.
“The difference between an entre-
preneur and an employee is that the
buck stops with you. There’s no one
to tell you, that it’s better to do it like
that or do it that way. So you manage
the best you can at the beginning and
then when you have problems that oc-
cur on a daily basis once the business
is up to speed, you know how to deal
with them.”
(*) The person interviewed wishes to
remain anonymous so he asked us not
to publish his surname.
“YOU HAVE TO CONSTANTLY KEEP MOVING FORWARD”
HELENA GUSTIN, SELF-EMPLOYED ENTREPRENEUR IN
TRANSLATION, SUBTITLING AND WEBSITE CONTENT WRITING
While Helena Gustin acknowledges
that she had always considered set-
ting up her own business, the begin-
ning of her career did not necessarily
point in that direction. “After getting a
degree in linguistics, translation and
interpretation, I applied for a job as a
communications specialist in the hu-
man resources department of a com-
pany located in Luxembourg”, she
says. “I served as an administrative
assistant to the HR director and wrote
his reports in German. I worked as a
communications specialist for one
year, then took on-the-job training to
specialize in human resources. Over
the following three years, I gradually
worked my way up to a pure HR job.
That was the only experience I’ve ever
had as an employee.”
After having her third child in Ger-
many, a country often criticized for
its dearth of child care options, she
sought a more flexible line of work
that would allow her to organize her
time the way she saw fit and also re-
duce her travel time. So deciding to
work for herself seemed the obvious
choice. “I have very good memories
of the four years I spent working in
the HR department of the company in
Luxembourg. I really felt appreciated
by the company, I loved working on
a team, they had a lot of confidence
in me and to tell you the truth, they
were a bit upset the day I told them
I was leaving. I didn’t quit because I
didn’t like the work but because I had
to commute really far every day and
with a third child, it was no longer fea-
sible. That’s what led to my decision to
create my own business.”
STARTING A BUSINESS:
PERSONAL NARRATIVES
With few legal hurdles, a growing
market and customers on tap, it was
relatively simple at first to launch her
business. “In Germany, it’s very easy
to work for yourself, all it takes is five
minutes to set it up. I was enormously
lucky in fact. The same day I sub-
mitted my resignation, I went online,
landed on a French-German transla-
tion portal, applied for an assignment
and immediately got it. On the day I
left the company, I already had two
customers under my belt.”
This success, coupled with a desire
for novelty, encouraged her to offer
new services, including subtitling and
Web content writing, and to seek new
customers, especially abroad. “Over
time I’ve diversified my business, in-
cluding writing content for websites
– when, for example, an e-commerce
company needs to describe each pro-
duct. It’s pretty specific. You have to
use key words that will appear in the
company’s Google listing. And then a
few months ago, I did a subtitling pro-
ject for the TV channel Arte. My ser-
vices are now diversified enough that
I’ve become quite versatile. And I have
as many clients in Dubai as I do in my
own town!”
Gustin finds that while being her own
boss gives her considerable flexi-
bility and the ability to do the things
she likes, it also means daily time
constraints and the need to keep mo-
ving forward. “You have to be very de-
dicated and persistent, you can’t sit
around and daydream, and you have
to constantly keep moving forward. I
feel very comfortable with what I’m
doing, I have assignments in the pipe-
line, I love challenges and I hate rou-
tine – it’s part of my personality and
I’ve always been like that. I feel for-
tunate that I don’t only do translation,
otherwise, I’d get bored. I enjoy diver-
sifying my services.”
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