I don’t think there is much awareness in the political world or even the business world about how difficult it is for small businesses to compete in the market place and how hard it is in today’s world to actually bring a product to market.
My old boss, Lord Sugar, commented that some small business owners are ‘moaners’. Before, I start my rant, I have to say that I am really fond of Lord Sugar and I respect the fact that he is a self made man and is one of this country’s true business icons. But I find it a pity that when people have made their ‘millions’ they tend to forget those early days when they had to compete against the bigger brands, had to work all the hours and keep a track of every penny, be committed and passionate about their product/service when others around them were filled with doubt, and sometimes were in difficult financial situations because customers did not pay on time and therefore putting a strain on their cash flow.
I can really understand why small business people do moan. I am a really positive and confident person, but let me tell you sometimes I feel that no matter how hard you work and how great your product is, one feels that the system is against you.
As a small business I have to compete on every level with multinationals who spend millions on PR, marketing, promotions, sampling and TV campaigns. In order to run a promotion with supermarkets, you have to pay for the privilege of running the promotion. In most cases this is around £1,000 and then on top of that you have to offer a high discount giving the retailer a bigger margin! Excuse me for moaning.
But, I do agree with Lord Sugar. I think business programmes like Dragons’ Den and The Apprentice have made business ‘sexy’ and some people enter it for all the wrong reasons expecting to be given money by the banks hand over fist.
I believe that you have to prove your business potential first before running to the banks. You have to prove that there is a market for your products, you have a growing customer base and that your product/service has a unique selling point and that you have invested your own money to get the business started – that’s where I completely agree with the business Czar – Lord Sugar.
Sometimes, when I am in business mode, I get caught up in the ‘how much money have I made today’ mantra and whilst the bottom line is key, there is more to me than making money for money’s sake.
This week I was asked to host three charity events, all of which made me grateful for the things I have. My first event was to talk to law students at Greenwich University during Skills Week (pictured). I had to take time out of my business and travel from Oxford to Greenwich which was a 2.5 hr journey. I was expecting to speak to about 100 students , but my heart sank when only about 15 turned up. The lecturers were a little embarrassed and I felt disappointed. Part of me just wanted to get it over and done with, but then my caring and sensitive side kicked in and I thought, ‘these kids have made the effort to come and hear you speak, don’t let them down’.
It turned out to be one of the best speaking engagements I have ever done. As I launched into my talk about my background, the obstacles that I had overcome and my experience on The Apprentice, I could see all eyes were on me – they were keen to learn, listen and ask questions. I would have employed any one of them. They were the ones that could be bothered to learn from someone else.
The students were from a mixture of backgrounds and from their feedback I felt that I had really made a difference to them that day. There was one girl who really melted my heart. She was a young Muslim girl blind but full of enthusiasm, self belief and confidence. She inspired me without even realising it.
On my way home, one of the students came running up to me and said, ‘can I walk with you to the train station?’ I agreed and as we walked and talked I learnt about his background. He was a Muslim boy, who was fighting cultural obstacles to achieve his ambition to be a children’s author. He told me how he was working hard to study, keep down a part-time job whilst writing in his spare time. He was saving up to get his work edited professionally. I admired his determination, his vision and above all his work hard ethic. He wasn’t moaning, he was getting on with it. We can all learn valuable lessons from young people.
My other two engagements in the week were charity events, one was a ladies lunch in Glasgow for Action Medical Research, a children’s health charity which funds research projects to help save the lives of children. The second was lunch for 250 people in Nottingham for the Macmillan fund.
When I recorded Celebrity Mastermind last week John Humphries asked me on the spot, ‘how much money would you like to make?. I couldn’t think of a number so I just said £50 million. I felt a bit crude saying it just like that, but after meeting the people this week and hearing their stories I did not feel ashamed that I was driven to make money in the pursuit to help others gain confidence in their lives and go on to recognise and realise their potential.
Saira’s website: click here
Miamoo: click here
Please click onto my little movies that show who I’ve met this week and what I have been up to:
Above: Women’s Enterprise Day at the Extraordinary Entrepreneurs Evening (click here for more information).
Tags: Saira Khan, The Apprentice
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