Take initiative

In the previous modules of the course we have outlined a general view on traditional craft in the landscape of our modern cities and followed with more specific insights into woodwork renovation workshops. Now we should consider how this knowledge and skills in using renovation techniques translates into concrete work opportunities. We don’t mean here job offers out there, ready to be ‘taken’. We rather mean opportunities which can only be discovered when you start looking around with an entrepreneurial eye. What is entrepreneurship then? What attitudes are essential to take up initiative and pave your own way through working life?

In brief, entrepreneurship means venturing into action with a creative mind, opening new venues for activity. To do this you must be able to:

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• sense an opportunity where the others may only see chaos, contradiction or confusion
• initiate a course of action rather than just watch, analyse or talk about it
• realise and develop your skills and talents that may help you successfully pursue this pathway
• know how to secure and manage resources needed to realise your goals
• make sure you don’t run out of them when you need them most
• take calculated risks and then do whatever you can to get the odds in your favour

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This definition shows that entrepreneurship is not limited to business ventures. It has a much broader meaning as best illustrated in the concept of social entrepreneur. This is someone who can discover and pursue new opportunities for the benefit of others, usually in the local community where he/she operates. In this module we will also consider the value of such activities but obviously we need first to focus on what you, as a young craftsman, can do to profit from your skills. You should begin with realising a number of challenges you will be facing and approach them in a constructive positive way.

Any progress in learning entrepreneurial skills has to be based on what we call experiential learning. This means learning through experience as the necessary attitudes and skills can hardly be acquired through studying books or attending courses. On the contrary, you have to take hands-on-projects and engage in a real life venture. You may not have an access to external learning opportunities in this field but you can certainly do a lot to learn yourself, taking a small order and trying to do the work as well as you can. The whole process which usually involves searching for such a job, agreeing on terms and conditions of the service delivery, getting materials, delivering the work and getting paid is exactly a case of experiential learning. Just remember to begin with a task of appropriate scale that you feel comfortable to manage the whole way through.

You will be operating in a certain environment which needs to be taken into account. This doesn’t only relate to the ‘market’ where there is demand for some services and a lack of demand for others. Entrepreneurship is always exercised in a human environment, in a social network of relations. The contacts you will need to establish to pursue your initiatives successfully will involve not only clients but also suppliers and, most importantly, your collaborates or partners. We put ‘most importantly’ in this particular place to challenge a common conviction that you might share that entrepreneurship is only about making money. Our point is that in this field relations with people are essential – entrepreneurship cannot be reduced to calculating profits.

Turning ideas into successful initiatives takes time and patience and it is a good idea to plan your enterprise is smaller steps instead of jumping straight away into deep water. Certainly a vision and an ambitious mission are paramount because without them you wouldn’t be able to get motivation to get started. But before you do, make sure that you have a map and compass to navigate your way through. You must not only have the necessary set of skills for a particular type of business but also knowledge of the context in which you’ll be operating. Hence it is much more advisable to begin with initiatives which doesn’t require you to set up your own business straight away. You can search for individual orders on the basis of short term contracts which wouldn’t require you to manage a large volume of administrative and accounting obligations which bear upon owners of private enterprises. Still you will be able to move forward from one contract to another and gradually develop understanding of the market, your own potential and how to calculate costs and profits. All this is required to lay a solid foundation for your own business or a joint venture with a partner/s.

Finally you will need to learn how to cope with failure which is a necessary evil on the way to success. Taking risks, experimenting, failing and learning from failures are all essential steps of the process of developing the entrepreneurial frame of mind. You might be advised by others to perfect your business plan before you start to eliminate risk taking. This is however hardly possible as a sound business plan has to be grounded in experience and practical knowledge of the field in which you’ll be operating. This looks like a classic catch 22  situation, doesn’t it? But there is a way out of this double mind. First try to identify a concrete need in the market you can satisfy with your services. And then come up with a service offer which you see as viable in terms of your current skills and resources. Be cautious but courageous enough to go ahead with an order which you feel you can deliver. Doing concrete work, validating results through feedback from customers and improving your services all form the necessary learning experience. A failure is an unavoidable part of this feedback loop as a catalyser of the tuning process of your services rather than a conclusion of a ‘perfect’ business plan.