Entrepreneurship vs. Intrapreneurship with Kata Cser, Wine Not The Brand
At Excelerate Marketing, we’re all about acceleration: solving problems while moving forward, instead of sitting at a standstill on questions and indecisions. But with any business, we had to start somewhere.
Taking that first step can be a game of mind over matter for entrepreneurs. This week, we’re providing some insights into how Excelerate Marketing started and what makes entrepreneurship go the distance, so you can set the right foundations for your business and hit the ground running.
Excelerate Marketing Director, Emma Reeves, sat down with Katharina Cser, Founder of Wine Not The Brand to talk growth, networking and how intrapreneurship can set the foundation for entrepreneurial success.
There’s No ‘Perfect’ Time To Start
So, you’ve got the business idea but not sure now is the right time to get started? We’ll let you in on a little secret: there is never a ‘perfect time’ and the right time is right now.
There was no perfect origin story to be found with Excelerate Marketing. In fact, Director, Emma Reeves, founded the business in July 2020, amidst the global pandemic and significant changes in her personal life.
Despite spending years working in teams within other companies, starting her own business was always a goal of Emma Reeves. After being made redundant in January, she searched high and low for a new role by calling up everyone she’d ever worked with, and a previous client was able to create a role for her.
Then unexpectedly, Covid-19 hit Australia and the economic impacts of this led her hours to be significantly reduced and for her to go on JobKeeper.
Budding entrepreneurs may have looked at this period of time as a no-go zone, intimidated by the uncertainties and potential challenges it could cause for a new business. Luckily for Emma Reeves, this was just the change she needed in her personal life to shift her mindset. She quit her job mid-pandemic and started Excelerate Marketing.
“I was influenced by the circumstances at the time. I was fortunate that I had a strong support network around me... and the stability to make that decision and the push from a couple people in my life,” explained Miss Reeves.
If you’ve been thinking of starting a business but have been putting it off for whatever reason, there’s no better time than the present.
It’s normal to feel uncomfortable because change isn’t comfortable. To buffer these feelings of uncertainty, you’ll want to ensure you have the right people around you for support. Whether this means emotional or financial support, placing yourself around friends and family who can offer stability in an otherwise nervous but exciting time is invaluable.
Entrepreneur vs. Intrapreneur
While an entrepreneur runs their own company, an intrapreneur strives to deliver value within an existing company.
Traditionally, most Australian business owners fell into the first category, but many now-successful entrepreneurs learned some of their best lessons and made key networking connections as intrapreneurs. You may be in a similar position right now and wondering whether to branch out on your own or expand your current role within your workplace.
While working for the global organisation Arbonne as a consultant, Kata Cser, knew she liked the idea of company structure and mentor support, but also had the vision to do more. This is a common path that those with entrepreneurial mindsets will walk, particularly before they launch their own businesses.
“I created a personal brand within the company. And I copped a lot for it, but it worked,” said Ms Cser.
“It was hard work, and one of the things I hear from people who do both network marketing and full-time work is that ‘I don’t want to work a business for somebody else’. People with that business mind can actually leverage the systems, the business, the teams and everything you have to build within that,” said Ms Cser.
Kata Cser was then able to take the lessons she learnt from intrapreneurship within Arbonne into her entrepreneurial path: founding Wine Not the Brand.
Intrapreneurship is often a great first step if you’re looking to run a startup. It allows you valuable opportunity to connect with key players in your industry, to understand the systems other businesses implement and how to leverage them.
And at the end of the day, it better helps you establish if you’d prefer to grow within another company knowing it’s not really yours, or if you want to step out on your own.
Wine Not The Brand Pairs With Excelerate Marketing
They say it’s not what you know but who you know. And if you’re an entrepreneur hoping to start a thriving business, one of the best places to start is through your existing network of contacts.
Not only can this save on marketing and advertising costs at the beginning of your business but also you’re more likely to partner with the right people. Because just like inside and outside of business, working with the wrong people can drain you financially and mentally.
When Emma Reeves was first getting Excelerate Marketing off the ground, she reached out to contacts she had established in her personal life and career first.
She first approached Kata Cser of Wine Not The Brand, knowing they had been friends for years beforehand and that this partnership would more likely succeed due to a better understanding of the core values of Ms Cser and her business.
“I remember Emma calling me and asking: if I offered these services, would they be helpful to you. How can I help your business and what is it that you need?” said Ms Cser.
“I vented to her for about an hour, and she came back to me with: ‘what if I could fix all of those problems in an hour?”
“I responded that you would be virtually irreplaceable in my business. And that’s what she did because this girl has follow through,” said Ms Cser
Your network is crucial to your success, regardless of your industry. If you want your business to get off on the right foot, partnering with the right people means you’re working smarter, not harder.
Looking for Solutions
Speaking of working smarter, not harder, entrepreneurs who are solutions-oriented may be better at finding the right niche to compete within their industry.
What this means is instead of trying to blindly compete in a competitive market, it can sometimes be better to take time to identify how best to support or provide for your clients intuitively. It’s not enough to assume your products or services will be automatically accepted; even by your close network. You need to have a clear understanding of the needs of your customers.
While Emma Reeves reached out to Kata Cser, she took the time to ask and understand exactly what problems their business was facing, so that she could provide tailor-made marketing solutions to Wine Not The Brand.
This process is what Emma Reeves has coined Intuitive Marketing Strategy, and is a key point of difference for Excelerate Marketing from other companies.
“I found that there was a need for people to come in and help take businesses through marketing strategy,” said Emma Reeves
“There are tools around SEO and you can go do digital marketing courses, but to actually get someone to come in, understand your business, implement a strategy and provide structure and processes was something that everyone I talked to just didn’t have”.
When you approach your network, come with a clear understanding of what your business can provide, and how you can tailor that for your customers. This has the potential to build more value in your business.
If they say no, find someone who will say yes
When you get your business off of the ground, it is inevitable you will hit a few barriers. But one of the best lessons an entrepreneur can learn is when they say no, you find someone who will say yes.
When Emma Reeves was getting Excelerate Marketing off of the ground, she didn’t just speak to one lawyer – she spoke to twelve.
“What I did was call around and I spoke to twelve different lawyers, and essentially got twelve rounds of free legal advice. And every single time I spoke to someone it helped me to articulate the business, and this helped me start to make decisions around how I want to structure my business.
“By the end of these conversations, I found a law firm that worked with start ups and aligned with my values and was flexible to my busy schedule. And I knew exactly what type of contracts to ask for and what rates to request. This was a highly valuable process to go through,” said Miss Reeves.
In the process of getting the information she needed, Emma Reeves was able to identify exactly the type of law firm she wanted to partner with that aligned with Excelerate Marketing’s values. She didn’t just settle on the first law firm she spoke with, which may not have offered the flexibility she needed.
When starting a business, you never want to settle on the first piece of advice you hear, or be disgruntled by the first setback you get. Entrepreneurs looking to build a successful business need to know when to keep pushing for a better answer.
Take stock before taking the leap
Recent figures found that 4.41 million new business applications were submitted in 2020. What this showcases is that increasing numbers of Australians are looking to break away from traditional work structures, think outside the box and own their lives again.
It also indicates that there may be an increasing level of competition within the industry you’re looking to enter. So, before you take the leap into entrepreneurship, it’s worth taking time to do your research and identifying what needs your business can meet better than any of your competitors.
“If you are passionate about something, if you believe that this something you should do and create for yourself then absolutely give it a go. Make sure that you've found something that you're not only passionate about, but is needed by other people,” said Miss Reeves.
Identifying your competitive edge will be individual for every single entrepreneur, but will allow you to experience more success in the long run.
If you’re not sure where to begin, consider reading the latest news within your industry, and following key figures or industry journalists on social media. You could also keep up with the latest data and insights through conferences and other online platforms designed for knowledge sharing and networking.
The time for action is now
That being said, try not to get bogged down in what your competitors and the industry are doing to the point where you’re overwhelmed with indecision.
Sometimes the best approach an entrepreneur can take is to take action now and ask questions later.
“I think so many people get analysis paralysis,” said Wine Not The Brand Founder, Kata Cser.
“They see [the business idea] and say ‘oh, what do I need to do, who do I talk to, how much is this going to cost’, but unless you actually pick up the phone and make the call, put the thing online, build the website and register the domain, things are not going to happen”.
Emma Reeves went on to state that: “[New business owners] might have to change direction, but at least moving forward if you have that momentum, it’s going to be in the trajectory that’s hopefully going to be a success for you.”
Taking a forward-looking approach in your business will allow you to avoid this trap of over thinking and over planning. As we originally stated, the right time is right now, and striving for perfection could mean your business never leaves the ideas stage.
By continuing to take action, even if it’s as small as making your first social media page or setting up your first client meeting, you’re moving forward. And if you’re moving forward, success will follow.
For more information, please check out the full interview HERE