Entrepreneurship
Over the past years, the term “entrepreneurship” has become widely popular, which makes us wonder who is really an entrepreneur? What are the most important qualities that he should possess?
Entrepreneur Lamya Alshammary defines “entrepreneurship” as building projects to solve a problem, which are by nature high in risks and profits, and therefore rapidly growing. Regarding the nature of entrepreneurs, Lamya Alshammary pointed out that there are basic qualities that a successful entrepreneur must possess, perhaps the most important of them are these two qualities: the first is that he is executive, meaning that when he makes a decision, he implements it, and he never postpones solving the problems related to his project, and the second is that he fulfills his promises. Alshammary stressed on this point in particular, noting that the entrepreneur who implements what he promises, gains the trust and respect of investors, customers and employees.
Thus, when his company is going through difficult circumstances (and this is common in any project), those around him trust his ability to overcome the challenges facing him.
Among the basic qualities that the entrepreneur must possess is also the skill of selling, as the guest indicated that this skill enables him to convince the investor with his idea, to convince customers with his product, and to convince the best cadres to join the work in his company.
Regarding the entrepreneur’s clinging to his idea, Alshammary stressed on the importance of the entrepreneur’s loyalty to the problem and not to the solution, noting that it is important for the entrepreneur to listen to others, and to be flexible to offer another solution, if the solution he presents is not feasible.
Challenges
And because the path of entrepreneurship is not without obstacles, it is important for the entrepreneur to know the challenges he may face in order to know how to deal with them, and at this point Alshammary indicated that one of the most prominent of these challenges is not to have a consultant, mentor, or other entrepreneurs in his environment. They faced similar challenges or had similar goals. One of the most important challenges facing the entrepreneur is his inability to access sources of funding and investment, and his lack of confidence in his ability to sell the product or provide an appropriate service to the customer, as Alshammary mentioned.
How to get funded
And because any project needs sufficient funding to succeed, Alshammary talked about the most important sources from which young people can obtain funding for their project, on top of which comes the savings of the entrepreneur himself in the first place, and then comes in the second place his family and friends, as they are the most faithful to his idea and most supportive to it.
Lamia also talked about angel investors who not only provide the entrepreneur with funding for his project, but also advise him, and act as mentors for him, not just investors.
The importance of business accelerators
And if the entrepreneur is looking for a single place that helps him solve all the challenges he may face, the answer here lies in “business accelerators”, which Alshammary stresses is not only a place to provide investment, but it can be a big shift in the way the investor thinks.
She pointed out that mentoring and directing the entrepreneur is one of the most important advantages that accelerators provide to entrepreneurs, and it is the great value that any entrepreneur needs in order to make his project a success.
The elevator pitch
Speaking about presenting the idea, Lamya Alshammary referred to the famous term in entrepreneurship, which is known as “elevator pitch,” stressing that it is divided into three parts, which are firstly the category that the entrepreneur serves in society, and secondly the problem that he solves for them, and thirdly the product or service that the entrepreneur serves. It offers to solve the problem.
She advised entrepreneurs to present their idea in the manner of a story, and leave a humane and emotional impact on investors and clients.
Advice for young entrepreneurs
In conclusion, Lamya advised the youth to be brave and take advantage of the many programs available to help young people acquire skills, find innovative solutions to the many opportunities available, and contribute in achieving Vision 2030.
