11 New business J How to add the human touch By Doug Richard ‘When thinking about how you start your business, getting the right team together will be the most 6 important and the most dif. ficult decision you make. ‘The reason is simple. No ‘one person has all the skills, experience, contacts 10 or reputation that are required to get a business ‘up and running. So, in ‘order to succeed, you will ‘have to forma core team of hhas only one or the other, you will either know what product to build or how to build it, but not both. Fourth, the team needs to have contacts, relation- ships, a network, Having people who can help you informally or formally will 65 help your business. suc- coed. Finally, you and your team must be fully aware that starting a business 70 means giving up two things time and money. It fre ‘Before that, however, you quently means working acon ktamietayeise evenings and weekends, you need by knowing your managing the flow of cash. ,, and belng last in line for strengths and your weak- It may be the accountant’s 7 Payment. Succeeding with 29 nesses. Having agreat bust- job todo your books, but it 4 thnovation-based com: hess idea does not mean 41s your respousibiity to Bay lakes everything: all that you have the skills to understand them so well Sf Sour timo, all your great manage others, The hard- that you use them to drive. ide8s, Tots of personal sac; est of all your decisions the business, pba 2% may betolet someone else _ Third, the team needs °F SOUrmaney. lead the company you 4 experience. There are three _,, There is no magic formu. i Jato building a business. It founded. types: customer experi- What, then, does the ence, product experience ,. 8 like putting together the team need? and startup experience. If ® Pleces of a puzzle. But it is 2% First, itneeds the ability _ you are going to sell an Worth remembering that to sell ~ and in particular 5 Internet service to restau- ‘he team is the most impor- the ability to persuade ofh- rants, youneed experience _t@nt Piece, ersto buy into yourvision. in. the development of Second, the team needs Internet services and the 4% the ability to count. The experience of running business is managed by ®9 restaurants, If your team FINANCIAL TIMES @ Read the article carefully. Then decide whether these statements are true (T) or false (F) according to the article. 1 Ifyou want your new business to succeed, you yourself first need to gain all the necessary skills and experience. 2 New entrepreneurs sometimes rightly decide to let another person lead the company they started up. 3 Good cashflow management is a necessary condition for a business to be successful. 4 Aneffective team will have experience in three key areas. 5 Youneed to put in a lot of time and effort before you can enjoy the rewards of owning a fast-growing start-up. 6 Building the right team is the magic formula to setting up a successful business. © Workin groups of three or four. Think about a business you could start as a group. Consider these questions. * What kind of business would it be? * What do you already have as a group? Think about =skills —experience — contacts * What other strengths do you have? What about your weaknesses? * What difficulties do you think you may face? How will you overcome them? 01