Archive for the ‘Hutton, Katherine’ Category

thoughts by Katherine Hutton, MBA

Seth Godin blogged (www.sethgodin.com) on July 21 with a closing line of that defines the entrepreneur – this lent itself to clarifying thoughts on entrepreneurship…

Building a job vs. building a business – Seth Godin

“Either can work, both do, but don’t confuse them.

The shoemaker/copywriter/plumber who seeks a regular itinerary of gigs is building a job, a job with multiple bosses at the same time there is no boss, but it’s still a job. You wake up in the morning and you do your craft, with occasional interruptions to do the dreaded looking-for-work dance.

The entrepreneur is in a different game. For her, the gig is building the gig.”

Seth Godin’s blogs on entrepreneurship www.sethgodin.com

Lets clarify some common differences between entrepreneurs and small business owners:

Entrepreneurs are in the business of fundamentally changing the market. The business concept that they are pitching will, by definition, not be easily understood by the general business community.

Entrepreneurs either delivers to the market something totally new or a common service is delivered differently.

Entrepreneurs often respond to emerging trends in the market or read changes in the market and addresses them – typically quicker than large businesses can.

Entrepreneurs don’t think in terms of failures and problems, only learning experiences and opportunities.

Entrepreneurs are typically goal driven versus task driven.

Katherine Hutton, MBA is the Managing Director of the Walker Center for Global Entrepreneurship at Thunderbird School of Global Management.  She is responsible for the administration of the Center, its programs and tweets. Ms. Hutton has worked with entrepreneurs and all sized businesses for over 20 years. She earned her MBA from Arizona State University. Follow the Walker Center on twitter @TbirdWalker

By Katherine Hutton

The study of entrepreneurship has had a long, and often informal, history at Thunderbird.  Many alumni are practicing entrepreneurs despite not having a formal focus area in their education, however as Naomi Gunnels ’11, current Vice President of the Thunderbird Entrepreneurship Network pointed out recently ,“Entrepreneurship is the basis for business, all business. Not only does a business have to start with someone, somewhere entrepreneurial practices have to occur in the business to sustain the business over time.”

Alumni fondly mention the efforts of Dr. Paul Johnson who was their guide and mentor in developing business ideas and leading them in the path of entrepreneurship prior to the establishment of the Entrepreneurship Center and, since April of 2008, the Walker Center for Global Entrepreneurship.

While it has been estimated one-third of the alumni base are engaged in entrepreneurial efforts; a joint effort with the Executive MBA in Global Management program, Executive program alumnae Vickie Austin ’93, the Walker Center conducted a survey of Executive MIM/MBA alumni to determine the frequency of entrepreneurship within this alumni group.  Of note, exposure to entrepreneurship in the Executive program began with a series of presentations in 2006 by Dr. Bob Hisrich, Garvin Professor for Global Entrepreneurship and Director of the Walker Center. In 2007 Entrepreneurship was formally added to the curriculum with a 1.5 credit course.

Of the total respondents, 66% are between the ages of 40 and 54.  Forty seven percent graduated from the Executive program between 2006 and 2010.  26% of the respondents work in manufacturing followed by professional and technical services. Total survey respondent ratio was 80% male and 20% female.

While in the executive program, 16% were self employed or entrepreneurs and 13% were developing or running a business on the side while employed by a large business or corporation. 40% of the respondents are or have been entrepreneurs.

Of the entrepreneur respondents:

82% are male and 18% are female.

62% strongly agree or agree that their entrepreneurial venture was a result of OR enhanced by the class project or course they experienced in their degree program.

70% strongly agree or agree that the program content positively contributed to the skill set needed by an entrepreneur.

54% strongly agree or agree that Thunderbird classmates and network contributed to their ability to grow their venture.

Just over half of the entrepreneurs have customer bases primarily in the US.  With the remainder having customers in both the US and abroad.  The supplier base for 40% of the companies is solely based in the US.  50% of the companies have suppliers located in the US and globally.  With 10% sourcing from companies not located in the US. Approximately 10% of the companies are located in countries other than the US.

One third have been in business for eleven or more years, 24% have been in business for 6 to 10 years, one third have been in business for 2 to 5 years with 11% just starting their ventures in the last 2 years.

The majority of entrepreneurs are engaged in providing professional services (36%), technical services (14%), software and web based services at 10% each.  The remainder companies are in medical products and services, distribution, agriculture, import and wholesale.

By Katherine Hutton

The classroom was filled with smiles and excitement as the SEEDS participants met their mentors today! Almost all the couples had been e-mailing back and forth and fell into an easy rhythm with one another. In the morning they had agreements to work on and exercises to get to know one another.  The participants were told they were to develop a presentation on their business plan or what they learned during their time at Thunderbird that will improve their business and their skills as an entrepreneur. Mentors worked with their mentees on ideas, formats and structures for the presentations, which will be made on Thursday.
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By Katherine Hutton

Monday was filled with marketing and leadership lessons for both cohorts. Over the weekend, SEEDs participants completed their “Strengths Based Leadership” online questionnaires to help them determine what kind of leader they are. A leadership class then clarified how to go about utilizing these strengths in their businesses. The conversations overheard were, “I am adaptive,” or “I am futuristic when I lead …”
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By Katherine Hutton

The women of the SEEDS program easily powered through a long day on Wednesday — fueled by inspiration, admiration, spicy Asian food and some singing! A little short on sleep, after a long night of finance homework, the ladies wrapped up their first modules with Thunderbird faulty in the morning and raced onto the bus for a ride to the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce’s Athena Awards at the Arizona Biltmore Resort.
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By Katherine Hutton, Walker Center managing director

I had the pleasure of meeting and spending time with three jet lagged students who are joining the Thunderbird student body this trimester.

Two of the students – Ahmad and Rawan – are part of the of the ongoing Maharat certificate program through the Jordanian Business Development Center in Amman. They made the journey from Amman with a stopover in New York, spending most of their time absorbing Times Square. They will both be on campus taking courses in Global State and Markets, Global Enterprise and Cross Cultural Communications.  The third student, Reem, is here on the Queen Rania scholarship to pursue a full Master’s degree.

The students were full of questions about the weather — when it would get cooler – their peers, their coursework, where to shop and American culture.

By Katherine Hutton, Walker Center managing director

This week I had the pleasure of meeting Tammy Myatt. She is the new program manager for the Thunderbird women’s entrepreneurship program in Kabul, Afghanistan, funded by Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Program. Tammy spent her time at the Walker Center on the Glendale campus meeting with a wide host of faculty and staff learning about Thunderbird and our programs in Afghanistan. 

Tammy related to me when she saw the job opening she saw it as a gift, a calling, rather than a job. She is very excited about living in Kabul and working with the courageous women who participate in the program. A native of Canada, and coming from Halifax, Nova Scocia, she is prepared for the climatic extremes of Afghanistan.

With a background in organizational management and business administration, Tammy possesses a strong talent base for managing the program. Additionally, her work experience in Saudi Arabia speaks to her cultural adaptability. Tammy will be on the ground in Kabul within the month!