Editor’s note: This article was first published in December 2010; it describes Steve Jobs in the present tense (he died in October 2011), and its remark about construction companies reflects the post-2008 housing bust.
When we ask ourselves what kind of business to start or set up, we usually fall back on what we know. Someone who knows about electrics tends to set up a business in that sector, a lawyer naturally thinks of opening a practice, and so on.
There’s one point we tend to forget, and it’s a very important one. It may sound inconsistent to some, but you don’t necessarily have to understand the business you want to start. I know it sounds contrary to what we’ve often discussed, but it’s a fact, and we’ll explain why.
Being an entrepreneur is a profession in itself, one that involves vision, enthusiasm and knowing how businesses work, but not necessarily knowing the activity itself. That said, if you understand the sector you’re entering inside out, you’ll clearly improve your chances of success.
Now, to give an example, imagine you’ve worked in construction for years. Right now isn’t the best time to set up a construction company in some countries.
The point I’m getting at is that a bricklayer can set up a law firm, a dance school or even a maths tutoring academy. You don’t have to understand the field, but you do need to hire people who do, and even put someone with the right qualifications at the head of your company to be its public face.
What I mean is that you can get into businesses that are proving profitable without having the relevant knowledge of the sector, simply by transferring your business model to the new sector you want to enter.
A good entrepreneur, as we’ve said many times, doesn’t have to understand everything, but does need the skill to hire people who cover the knowledge we lack.
To take my own case, when I started one of my businesses I had no idea about the sector, but I subcontracted some services to specialist firms. When I started out online I lacked (and still lack) programming skills, but that’s what programmers who studied the subject are for. I bring the idea and the business, and they bring their knowledge to grow it, in a collaboration from which we both benefit.
Applied to today’s landscape, Steve Jobs hasn’t understood most of the products he sells for years, but he has professionals behind him. Google invented the world’s biggest search engine, but it outsourced its marketing strategy because that wasn’t its field.
So remember: to start a business, all you need is the business idea, vision, passion and the art of hiring leaders and experts in the field.
Further reading
Featured image: Brice Blondel for HDPTCAR ( hdptcar.net ), CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
