Speaking before a banquet for business people and students attending the BYU-Hawaii School of Business' annual entrepreneurship conference on February 2-3, the president of the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau urged even those in conventional environments and jobs to be entrepreneurial.
"I've never been an entrepreneur in the purest sense of the word. In fact, I feel a little out of place, due to my conventional background. But I've always thought of myself as an entrepreneur. It's been a theme in my career," said John Monahan, who is also a member of the Polynesian Cultural Center board of directors. "To be ultimately successful, you must develop your entrepreneurial spirit. Each of us must develop that spirit from within, in whatever environment we begin from."
Monahan described entrepreneurs as risk takers. "If you have an aversion to all risks, you can never truly be entrepreneurial. The key is to take calculated, well thought out risks. You absolutely must have a solid plan."
He also said they are "consumer oriented and product driven. Entrepreneurs are keen observers of consumers. They have a nose for new and innovative products, and they're not afraid to improve on old established products. When I say products, I include all goods and services."
Monahan used his own experience as former head of Liberty House in Hawaii to trace the department store industry's dynamics. "Prior to 1985 there were dozens of small department stores across the country. Here in Hawaii it was Liberty House," he said, listing other examples such as Bullocks and the Church-affiliated ZCMI. "These stores have disappeared. They used to rule the retail world, but they got complacent and felt they could dictate what the consumers could buy, at what price."
"All kinds of new and innovative businesses arrived on the scene and began beating the department stores. Rather than focusing on their core elements…they focused on cost containment, thus damaging their service," Monahan continued, sharing the following phrase from a former financial advisor: "You can't expense your way to prosperity. You can't continue to cut costs and work your way to sustainability."
Monahan explained department stores moved to "growth by acquisition," and today "there are just a little over a dozen chains, but the industry lost a lot of market share to retail formats that are more customer oriented and product driven. In short, these new retailers are more entrepreneurial."
"The good news in all this gloom and doom is there's opportunity for entrepreneurs in a conventional company environment, as well as for entrepreneurs who create their own businesses. Being an entrepreneur is a state of mind. It's my belief that every business must be entrepreneurial, or suffer the wrath of the consumers."
"You're very fortunate to attend a school of advanced entrepreneurial thinking," Monahan told the students at the banquet, encouraging them "not to be afraid to do the entrepreneurial thing."
In support, he cited the example of David Glass, who ran Wal-Mart, which started in a little town in Arkansas in 1962 "and has grown into the world's largest company. It has changed the face of retailing forever. He said, 'the best thing you can do is the right thing. The next best thing you can do is the wrong thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing.' "
Earlier in the program, School of Business Dean Brent Wilson recognized all of the donors and entrepreneurs who had come to the two-day conference, many of whom took the time to meet with and mentor the students.
Dr. Gregory V. Gibson, Director of the university's Center for International Entrepreneurship then explained that the CIE is helping to increase returnability among the students and also hopes to establish a community outreach presence, starting with the possibility of a remote center in Tahiti. "We're working on exchanging curriculum. We're also looking at having two remote business plan competitions: One in the Philippines, in Cebu, and one in Japan with the Yamagata Corporation. BYU-Hawaii will be well represented in both of those places."
He stressed that the CIE's "big goal" is to help participants create sustainable business models. "We're on our way to funding the Center. Recently the Yamagata Corporation has made a significant contribution," Dr. Gibson said, inviting others to contribute to a recently established matching fund supported by Ron Lindorf.
"The Center for International Entrepreneurship changes lives," Dr. Gibson said. "The students have a vision of becoming employers in a sustainable business where they can become leaders in the community."
"One of the exciting things for me, as dean of the School of Business, is to see the progress we've made," responded Dean Wilson, "but it's really come with the assistance of others."