Laurent Muller (Fiduciare Muller): Lessons in Success for SMEs
Despite their importance to the economy, management training often ignores SMEs in favour of big businesses. Laurent Muller, co-CEO of Fiduciaire Muller, is on a mission to set that right.
A Full Perspective for Entrepreneurs
When some people want to share their business wisdom, they create podcasts or posts on LinkedIn. Laurent Muller has gone further with his book, How Ernesto Ended Up Being a Successful Entrepreneur. It’s based on a class Muller gives in the MBA at HEC Liège in Luxembourg, titled SME 360, and brings together the core content of that class. “SME in science and in scientific books is mostly about large companies,” Muller explains, “although over 99% of all companies are SMEs and most of the employment is also in SMEs rather than large companies.” By focusing on SMEs, he aims to empower business leaders for the reality of their work. That’s also reflected in the other part of the course’s title, a 360-degree approach. Readers learn about finance, marketing, and strategy. It’s a guide to help SME entrepreneurs run their companies.
An Entrepreneur’s Roles
“The term entrepreneur today is locally used in many different ways, but there’s a clear definition,” Muller says. “From an economic point of view, it’s a risk taker thriving for reward.” This role is complicated. You’re a majority shareholder of the company taking the financial risk, the managing director taking the operational risk, and the lead employee overseeing core business. “An SME entrepreneur has primary and secondary roles,” Muller continues. “You have to understand which role to handle or where to focus.” This might mean focusing on a shareholding role or working more in the company, developing the core business. Regardless of focus, an entrepreneur has to understand their varying legal statuses and the roles they occupy.
“The reason why companies go bankrupt is usually due to human mistakes.”
What it Takes to Succeed
As well as the differences between those roles, Muller explores three key features of a successful entrepreneur. The first is endowment, the necessary intelligence to successfully lead the work. Second comes effort, without which nothing gets done. And lastly there’s expertise, understanding the work you’re doing. When businesses fail, it’s usually due to human error, not a technological failure or a fault in the market. Expertise is therefore vital, not only on the level of the core business but also in how to manage a company. “It’s only if you unite those three conditions that you are successful,” Muller says, rounding out his lesson. “If you’re lacking one, it’s going to be challenging.”