Strong leadership, inspiration key

During Global Entrepreneurship Week BusinessDay puts questions to Wellington entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship experts. Today: Dr Claire Massey.

Professor Claire Massey is the director of Massey University's centre for small and medium enterprise research. A former business owner, she is also president of the Small Enterprise Association of Australia and New Zealand and senior vice president of the International Council for Small Business. She talks about the business environment and characteristics surrounding entrepreneurs.

What is the key strength of the Kiwi entrepreneur?

Being prepared to do anything and everything.

What about a key weakness?

Being prepared to do anything and everything. In other words, not recognising when outside expertise is needed.

Does entrepreneurship in New Zealand need government support?

. . . I'd prefer to think about the way in which government can provide leadership and inspiration while also making sure that the environment is as robust and enabling as it can be.

What are the most effective policy areas where the Government can give Kiwi entrepreneurs a boost?

Take a dual approach by offering clear leadership, for example on free trade agreements at the same time as tackling tangible problems, like broadband.

How does our government policy for entrepreneurship measure up internationally?

There is a huge variance in terms of what different governments offer but the most important comparison is between New Zealand and other countries that are in a similar position, economically, socially, culturally and politically. There is no clear way of assessing the differences here and it is too facile to simply measure it in terms of who does most.

If we did, New Zealand would certainly not be at the top of the list, but nor would we expect to be.

The most important thing is that we are making good policy decisions based on evidence.

What is the single most useful sort of help for any start-up?

The sort of start that comes before the business is even thought of, that being an environment that enables, encourages and inspires individuals to believe they can take a risk and that there will be a reward at the end. Not everyone can have self-employed parents (about the best start anyone can ever have . . . to be entrepreneurial) but a society that values enterprise could ensure that opportunities were provided to young people that would offer them an experience which was almost as good.

What typical pre-existing traits do you see in successful entrepreneurs?

Successful entrepreneurs come in all shapes and sizes and the research is not at all clear about why some are more successful than others. It is pretty clear though that if there is a good fit between a determined individual, who is a skilled boundary scanner and is able to mobilise resources and a market gap then there is the pre-condition for success.

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