This article is an extract from Transmission Private’s monthly newsletter, The Lede, which tracks the world of reputation management for private clients. You can sign up for the newsletter on our website via the tab at the bottom of this article or by completing the form here.
Good afternoon. 👋 Welcome to this month’s edition of The Lede, themed on entrepreneurs and founder-led businesses. Entrepreneurs want to revive our weak economy, create new jobs, and drive further wealth growth. But even the wealthiest founders find it difficult to access finance, talent, and the right opportunities. These are bottlenecks to wealth growth. 🍾
Are entrepreneurs targeting wealth growth in this market? Yes. Over half see the pandemic as a long-term positive for their business, according to research from KCL’s Business School. Only 7% said they saw their business shrinking over the next five years, while 20% said they would add more than 50 employees.
What is holding entrepreneurs back? But, even the most ambitious and, indeed, wealthy business owners face challenges. Their capital is tied up, their teams are not fit for purpose, and they cannot find the right opportunities.
How can reputation help entrepreneurs overcome these obstacles? Discussion about reputation has been hamstrung by a religious focus on managing negative stories. Instead, reputation should be seen as a possible route to give founders the edge in attracting finance and talent. Reputation campaigns can help entrepreneurs overcome these obstacles.
- Reputation amongst financial partners. Entrepreneurs can implement focussed, strategic reputation campaigns amongst investors, financial institutions, and other financial partners to raise their visibility and enhance their credentials to give themselves a competitive edge in accessing finance.
- Reputation amongst the talent pool. Entrepreneurs can implement thoughtful reputation campaigns to target the top talent. Rather than waste time and resource going out to the marketplace to find the best talent, entrepreneurs should turn themselves into a magnet to attract the best people.
- Reputation amongst deal flow providers. On a more surgical basis, the same strategy can be applied in enhancing an entrepreneur’s reputation among key providers of deal flow, whether restructuring firms and administrators, other business owners, co-investors, or relevant bankers.
The takeaway... many entrepreneurs see the downturn as an opportunity for wealth growth but, at the same time, fail to recognise the crucial bottlenecks to their success. Reputation is a targeted tool to overcome these obstacles. 🧰
