The candidate that will be used as
an example of an entrepreneur in the paper is my uncle, Rajinder Mann. The paper will illustrate Mann’s entrepreneur
behavior in direct comparison with the description by Jeffry Timmons, author of
New Venture Creation. In 1989, Mann
opened All American Cedar in Surrey,
British Columbia (Appendix A). His business supplies cedar singles and other
building materials, throughout the lower mainland. As a result of hard work and long hours, Mann
has put a huge dent in the roofing market in Surrey.
Born and raised in
small village in northern India,
he was the youngest of seven children. His
parents came from a long line of farmers; they produced just enough to get
by. Mann was fortunate enough to get a
grade eleven education, during a time where some would say his hands were deeply
needed on the farm. Attending school and
managing the farm, Mann learned the importance of hard work and
dedication. At a young age of twenty-one
Mann was married to my aunt and told to leave the farm and move to Canada. In 1979, Mann left his family and friends in India, and
settled in Fort St. James, British Columbia (Appendix A). In the small community of 2,000 he found his
first job as a lumber grader in a sawmill.
Mann realized quickly that line of work was not for him describing the
work as repetitive, tedious, and non-stimulating. He dreamed of moving to the big city and opening
a business, where he was in-charge and able to make more money. After working for nine years at the sawmill,
he moved his family to Surrey.
Mann’s wife never
worked outside of the home as she had her hands full raising three
children. Mann took a risk by leaving a well-paid
job with rich benefits. Without a job in
place, Mann realized that he had to move fast, in order to put food on the
table. Being the sole bread winner in
the family, Mann accepted a temporary job to drive a truck for Hayer Roofing. While driving the truck and making deliveries
Mann calculated that he could open up a business and compete directly with All
Canadian Cedar (largest cedar roofing supplier in the lower mainland). It appeared to the rest of the family that
Mann was taking additional risk opening a business. Mann replied, “Its all perception, risk is
minimal.” This statement is in accordance
with Timmons; in summary, entrepreneurs take calculated risks, and to them the
venture appears as an opportunity not a risk. As a result of Mann’s hard work and vision his
dream came true. Within six years, All
Canadian Cedar was put out of business after having been the dominant market
leader in Surrey for over twenty-four years. The owner of All Canadian Cedar had eighteen employees
(three truck drivers, six office personnel/salespeople, five-yard workers, four
forklift operators). Mann figures that
he is doing three times the sales of his predecessor and is proud to say that
he only has three employees (one sectary, and two truck drivers).
During the last
seven years Mann has pushed himself to higher limits. He has built over fourteen residential houses
while managing the roofing business, but more importantly, he has managed to
squeeze himself into a very competitive yet lucrative commercial development
market. Mann has built five huge
warehouses, opened a truck park, and currently has his hands full in two new
warehouse projects (one of which at completion will carry a healthy value of $48
million CDN and the other $14 million CDN). Mann’s future plans include making huge
warehouses, sky-scrapers, and expanding his roofing business. Although it is tough to swallow, Mann just as
Timmons, states it is important to think big.
He feels that the opportunity should be large, or have the potential to
be enlarged. Of all the concepts that I
have studied to this date, this is the hardest to digest. Working in commercial banking, I was trained
to tell clients to start off small.
With all of Mann’s
success and personal achievements he still works over twelve hours per day, six
days per week. On his only day off, Sunday,
Mann is mentally preparing for the week ahead.
One of Mann’s biggest gaps when he started his business was the fact that
he was brown. The majority of businessmen,
and if not all the employees at Surrey
City office were
white. Mann feels having an accent in
his voice has prevented him from opportunities.
This is in direct contrast to Timmons statement that race, creed, and
other differences play a smaller role for entrepreneurs. Secondly, having access to funds at critical
times was a shortcoming. Mann reflects
back and says “now the situation is the opposite, bankers and private investors
throw money at me.”
Mann sometimes
thinks of slowing down his business and perhaps hiring a manager to manage his
roofing business. He says that is very
hard to do, as he has spent so much time and effort in starting the
company. His clients treat him with
respect, and he still likes the challenges the company presents. Furthermore, he has a craving for the
commercial development arena and is determined to do a couple of big projects
before he steps aside. Mann considers
himself very entrepreneurial, but at times admits that in the past he was
managerial. Sitting idle is very hard for
him; Mann is always seeking new opportunities and ventures to undertake.
He is starting to
realize that his success has come at a high price; his health and family have
been left on the backburner. Mann’s has
gained a lot of weight in the last couple of years; nevertheless, three years
ago he started to go to the gym. When he
is extremely busy, he may go weeks without the gym. The main reason why Mann pushes himself to
higher limits is his family; he wants his children to have a better life than
he had. As the children are getting
older Mann feels that he has to slow down and spend more time with them. However, reflecting back on his success and
satisfaction from his business, he would not change anything.
Mann passes on
very valuable advice from his experience to his two sons. Both of the boys have a keen interest for business
and want to walk the path of their father.
One of the key lessons Mann passes on to his sons is a paradox that
Timmons discusses, “Entrepreneurship requires a bias toward action and a sense
of urgency, but also demands patience and perseverance.” Basically, one ought to have keen senses and
be ready to seize an opportunity, but that may mean waiting in the meantime.
Mann refers to any
newcomer into his roofing business as a blind person. He has a very loyal clientele and his
operations are very lean. His long-term
relationship with his supplier has allowed him to purchase goods at a very low
cost. There is not a roofer in the
lower-mainland that has not heard of his business. Consistent with Timmons’ description of
entrepreneurs, Mann can be characterized as very competitive and motivated to
excel. Many describe entrepreneurs as
people with huge egos, having known Mann for many years he certainly does not fit
that stereotype. He is very humble, generous,
and shares recognition with others.
Important
characteristics Mann believes that an entrepreneur should posses include:
desire, go-getter, very organized and time management skills. Mann clearly stated that one does not need a
passion for a particular venture; however, one needs desire. When Mann started his roofing business, he
claims he had no passion for selling roofing supplies. But over time, his passion has evolved, and
now he dearly loves the business. He
says it is like another child of his, which he has to care for and manage.
Reflecting back on
Timmons’ Model and Mann’s business, I would have to agree with the textbook
that a lot of balancing needs to be done.
As in Mann’s instance, the opportunity was huge in comparison to his
team and resources. He managed to
balance out the model and slowly nibble away on the opportunity. To this day his model is in constant need of
modification with regard to the commercial development ventures. Mann’s experience has allowed him to more
quickly and effectively shape the Timmons Model. Obviously, he is not aware of such a model,
but from the conversation one can quickly conclude that such a model is being analyzed. A key learning principle I have learned from
the model is that one should not get discouraged, but should be open-minded and
ready to make the necessary modifications.
PERSONAL THOUGHTS
I have known my
uncle for many years, and we have a very strong personal relationship. Even with his hectic schedule, he manages to
squeeze in time for me. After having
conducted the interview, I think of Mann from new perspective. I always knew that he put in a lot of time,
but we never discussed how he went about in establishing the business. I have more respect for my uncle, as he is
trying to juggle many parts of his life.
Having studied Mann’s entrepreneur struggle and rewards, I am more
interested in starting my own business. With
his experience, I know he will be a great coach and mentor. To say that Mann is anything other than an
entrepreneur would be a great injustice to the word.