James Dyson: Determined Innovator and Industrial Designer

Introduction to the entrepreneur

The entrepreneur selected for this research is James Dyson. Dyson is a well-known inventor and industrial designer not only in the England but in several countries across the world where his products sell. Dyson was born in 1947 in Cromer, England (Famous Entrepreneurs 2019). His parents were teachers and so he did arts and classics at school. His father died when he was 9 years old and as a third born, his mother allowed him to do anything he wanted. For some time, Dyson was a long distance runner where he learnt the virtue of determination (Famous Entrepreneurs 2019). Dyson schooled at Byam Shaw School of Art and the Royal College of Art where he did furniture design and interior design courses (Inc. 2019). It is at the college where he got his first idea of using cyclonic separation in a vacuum cleaner to promote the suction quality as the cleaner picked up dirt. Though a leader in the engineering industry, Dyson does not have a degree in engineering.

Research undertaken

The first objective of this research was to establish what inspired Dyson’s entrepreneurial idea. The research establishes that in 1978, Dyson was frustrated as the performance of his vacuum cleaner was diminishing (Dyson 2019). He had purchased the cleaner as it was deemed the most powerful in the market but to his frustration it was essentially useless. In an Inc Magazine, Dyson states that instead of the vacuum cleaner sucking up dirt, it could push it around the room. It is at this point that he took it apart and discovered that the vacuum cleaner’s bag was clogging with dust resulting to a drop in suction (Inc. 2019). Previously, Dyson had built an industrial cyclone tower for his factory which separated paint particles from air using centrifugal force. Dyson wondered if the same principle would work for his vacuum cleaner at home. He set out to work and developed thousands of prototypes. In five years of making and testing prototypes, Dyson invented the world’s first bagless vacuum cleaner.

The second objective of the research was to identify the qualities of Dyson that make him successful in the entrepreneurial world. First, the research establishes that Dyson seeks to turn every frustration into a business opportunity. He states that “like everyone we get frustrated by products that don’t work properly” (Dyson 2019). However, for Dyson it does not end at frustration, he states that as a design engineer he has to do something about a product that do not work properly. That is why Dyson is known for inventing and improving products to improve their efficiency. Second, the research establishes that Dyson is driven by efficiency. In fact, Dyson says that efficiency is the DNA to his company (Dyson 2019). He and his company seek to ensure that everything in the world in working efficiently. Third, the research establishes that determination is key to Dyson’s success. Dyson succeeded in the bagless vacuum cleaner after developing and testing 5,127 prototypes, which took him five years (BBC 2019). At this time, Dyson states that everyone else thought he was mad but his wife supported her through teaching art (Inc. 2019). Even after successfully making the bagless vacuum cleaner, makers of appliances in England did not want it. He did not give up; he licensed it to Amway in US, which also failed (Entrepreneur 2019). At this time he decided to be a manufacturer and sell the product himself. Fourth, the research establishes that Dyson is a risk taker. When no one was interested in Dyson’s bagless vacuum cleaner, he borrowed $900,000 with his house as collateral to set up his own company (Inc. 2019). In an interview with Inc., Dyson states that at this time he was living on the edge but he liked the danger in that it encouraged him to make sure his product was right in every way. He was therefore able to develop the most efficient vacuum cleaner, which sold well and he was able to repay the debt and get his house off the hook. Additionally, the research establishes that Dyson is independent. In an interview with Inc., Dyson states that he likes owning 100% of the shares in the company such that he does not have to worry about shareholders but only think about the products (Inc. 2019). He says that this freedom gives him more time to develop products that effectively meet the needs of customers. Further, the research establishes that Dyson is optimistic. In an interview with the Entrepreneur, Dyson states that failure is interesting and part of making progress (Entrepreneur 2019). He adds that one can never learn from success but from failure. When asked why the long series of failure and frustration did not overwhelm him, Dyson says that he embraces failure in a problem-solving way. He believes that every problem is solvable and he enjoys working until he finds the solution to every problem. However, Dyson states that people around him will make cynical remarks when he is failing but retaining the right attitude is what matters. He encourages upcoming entrepreneurs not to be afraid of failure; instead, he says they should keep trying until they achieve their goals. Finally, the research establishes that Dyson values teamwork. Today, Dyson has grown from a one man’s idea to a technology company with over 1,000 engineers across the world (Dyson 2019).All these engineers work towards doing something better and making it happen even that which seems impossible. They share a common belief that there is always a better way and therefore they never cease working on new ideas and solving problems that other have chosen to ignore (Dyson 2019).

Entrepreneurial activities and skills of the entrepreneur

Dyson started by identifying a problem to solve. He was frustrated as the performance of his vacuum cleaner was diminishing. He established the cause of this problem and worked on something that would solve it, which led to the birth of Dyson’s bagless vacuum cleaner. Today, Dyson has different types of vacuum cleaners including cordless stick vacuums, canister vacuums, upright vacuums, and handheld vacuum cleaners (Dyson 2019). He works on getting more ideas and making more inventions such that he never comes to a standstill. Other than vacuum cleaners, Dyson focuses on hair care, air treatment, and lighting seeking to make his products more efficient as compared to those in the market (Dysn 2019).

Dyson is different from other entrepreneurs. First, he turns frustrations into business opportunities. According to Shane and Nicolaou (2015), most entrepreneurs rely on their creativity to identify opportunities and start businesses. This implies that these entrepreneurs create what is lacking in the market, which is different from Dyson’s approach; he seeks to improve what is not working efficiently. On the other hand, Patricio et al. (2017) state that coming up with novel ideas is valuable in identifying opportunities to start a new business. Unlike these entrepreneurs, Dyson sought to improve that which was not working efficiently. Therefore, Dyson’s idea was not new par se given it was inspired by product failure. Still, Costa et al. (2016) write that most entrepreneurs find out what is missing is a given locality to start a business. This was not the case for Dyson; there were vacuum cleaners but none was working efficiently, which was the origin of his business idea. Therefore, Dyson unlike other entrepreneurs relies on innovation to develop new products that work efficiently compared to those in the market.

Dyson is different entrepreneurs who are driven by profit. According to Braun and Eklund (2019), most entrepreneurs start business with an aim of making substantial amount of money from their efforts and how the products affect the society and meet the needs of the uses are not important points to consider. In addition, Haldar (n.d.) write that most entrepreneurs focus on developing products that meet the needs of customers at the present without considering whether the product will efficiently solve the same problem in years to come. In agreement, McQuilten (2017) states that most entrepreneurs are less visionary when developing their products and as a result the products cannot meet the long-term needs of consumers. Unlike these entrepreneurs, Dyson is driven by efficiency; he seeks to ensure his products efficiently meet the needs of customers. He is not primarily interested in making money but in ensuring that customers are not frustrated by his products. In addition, Dyson develops products that serve the needs of customer for years; he seeks to ensure that the efficiency of his products does not decline with time. Therefore, Dyson can be said to be a visionary champion who differs from an innovative opportunist: a visionary champion has a strong orientation in sustainability while an innovative opportunist is financial motivated Haldar (n.d.).

Dyson is determined unlike most entrepreneurs. Pinto and Blue (2017) state that all start-uppers will face different challenges such as little of no demand for their products or failure to meet the intended outcome and various constraints related to institutional support and finances. The authors infer that it is how each start-upper deals with these challenges that makes his/her business succeed or fail. Dyson dealt with these challenges with determination, which resulted in success. He made and tested 5,127 prototypes over five years before succeeding in his first bagless vacuum cleaner. Additionally, his invention was not welcome by business in England and US which forced him to take a loan and start his own company. He did not sell the product in his home country but this did not discourage him; he set outside the country where he found a market before his product was eventually accepted in UK. Fernandes and Mota-Ribeiro (2017) state that many entrepreneurs desire to feel connected to others and have a sense of belonging within the community, which is a common cause of business failure. Unlike these entrepreneurs, Dyson only had the support of his wife when everyone else thought he was mad; self-determination kept him motivated to achieve his goal. Cnossen et al. (2019) write that an entrepreneur’s intention is influenced by attitudinal factors comprising the beliefs about an outcome. Unlike most entrepreneurs whose attitude is affected by the views of others, Dyson maintained a positive attitude despite the cynical talks from those that thought he was not going to make it; he believed he would eventually launch the first world’s bagless vacuum cleaner and he did.

Dyson is a risk-taker which differentiates him from risk-averse entrepreneurs. According to Lehrer and Schmid (2018), most start-ups are risk-averse in nature, which has been essential in promoting their longevity but to some extent hindering their longevity. Unlike these entrepreneurs, Dyson took the risk and borrowed $900,000 against his house to start up his own company, which promoted the success of his business. From a different perspective, Aston and Di Martino (2017) posit that entrepreneurs tend to be more risk-averse especially if they are to engage in a professional-dominated industry and they have limited skills. However, Dyson had studied arts but did not fear entering the professional engineer-dominated industry. He took the risk and competed with engineers.

For his risk-taking behaviour, self-determination, efficiency driven, optimism, teamwork spirit, and unique way of identifying business opportunities (turning customer frustrations into a better product), I would consider Dyson an entrepreneurial person.

Self-reflection on enterprise skills

Dyson has stronger entrepreneurial skills than mine. For example, I am not sure I would risk losing my house to a bank loan over a business idea that has been rejected by businesses in and outside the country. The research shows that Dyson is decisive in decision making which I also do. Just like he committed five years in making and testing prototypes until he developed an efficient vacuum cleaner, I would spend time an efforts to get what I want. I do not allow negative words from others affect my attitude; I retain a positive attitude until I achieve my goals. Just like Dyson, I take failure as an opportunity to learn and develop something even better. From the research, Dyson approaches business from a problem-solving perspective. He sees frustration as a chance to develop a more efficient product. He is an efficiency-driven entrepreneur. On the contrary, I seek lack of a product/service as an opportunity to start a business. I sample customers’ needs and identify what is missing to start a business. However, just like Dyson, I focus on making life better for consumers unlike the profit-driven entrepreneurs. Dyson’s approach to business makes it sustainable but my approach may not mean that a business is sustainable given that consumer needs are ever-changing.

Form the research, Dyson’s approach to entrepreneurship is appealing but he took such a great risk. In his position, I would not have taken a bank loan for a product that has been severally rejected. Instead, I would have borrowed from friends and signed for a partnership. Nonetheless, my approach would lower the profit margin thus I would not have been able to achieve what Dyson has achieved over such a time period.

From the research, I would be an entrepreneur. First, I have learnt that entrepreneurship gives one a chance to change what is not working efficiently in the society thus a chance to improve people’s life. Second, I have learnt that entrepreneurship can be rewarding in terms of finances, which is my pursuit. However, there is a cost to pay but that does not lower my willingness to be an entrepreneur.

Effects of enterprise

Dyson is entrepreneurial. Over the years, Dyson Limited has continued to grow in terms of revenue. For example, in 2018, the company reported total yearly revenue of £4.4 billion increasing from £3.5 billion in 2017 (Dyson 2018). According to Engineering UK (2019), engineering has an integral role in UK’s economic and societal wellbeing providing major contributions to global challenges. Dyson Ltd is among these engineering firms and it believes that engineers are the world problem solvers responsible for tackling21st century challenges. With this belief, Dyson launched James Dyson Foundation which inspires a new generation of engineers responsible for solving problems in the society (Dyson 2019). On the environment, Dyson has installed electric car charging ports in its staff car parks to encourage ownership of zero-emission vehicles (Dyson 2019). In addition, Dyson provides bus shuttles for its staff which is motivated by the belief that fewer cars means fewer pollutants (Dyson 2019). Further, Dyson submits its machines to rigorous testing every year after which some machines are reused, others recycled, and others donated to nearby charities for use in their projects which minimises waste (Dyson 2019). From these contributions, I learn that entrepreneurship is valuable not only to the entrepreneur but to consumers and the society at large. I think Dyson has achieved better impact and by continuing to strive for a better world even when it seems impossible, he will certainly achieve the best impact.

References

Aston, J. and Di Martino, P., 2017. Risk, success, and failure: female entrepreneurship in late Victorian and Edwardian England. The Economic History Review, 70(3), pp.837-858.

Braun, J.A. and Eklund, J.L., 2019. Fake News, Real Money: Ad Tech Platforms, Profit-Driven Hoaxes, and the Business of Journalism. Digital Journalism, 7(1), pp.1-21.

Cnossen, B., Loots, E. and van Witteloostuijn, A., 2019. Individual motivation among entrepreneurs in the creative and cultural industries: A self‐determination perspective. Creativity and Innovation Management, 28(3), pp.389-402.

Costa, S.F., Ehrenhard, M.L., Caetano, A. and Santos, S.C., 2016. The role of different opportunities in the activation and use of the business opportunity prototype. Creativity and innovation management, 25(1), pp.58-72.

Fernandes, E. and Mota-Ribeiro, S., 2017. “Respect” and “self-determination” women entrepreneurs’ identities and entrepreneurial discourses. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 32(1), pp.66-80.

Haldar, S., Towards a conceptual understanding of sustainability‐driven entrepreneurship. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management.

Lehrer, M. and Schmid, S., 2018. Family firms taking surprising risks: building success on conservative values. Journal of Business Strategy.

McQuilten, G., 2017. The political possibilities of art and fashion based social enterprise. Continuum, 31(1), pp.69-83.

Patricio, J., Angelis-Dimakis, A., Castillo-Castillo, A., Kalmykova, Y. and Rosado, L., 2017. Method to identify opportunities for CCU at regional level—Matching sources and receivers. Journal of CO2 Utilization, 22, pp.330-345.

Pinto, L.E. and Blue, L.E., 2017. Aboriginal entrepreneurship financing in Canada: Walking the fine line between self-determination and colonization. Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, 9(1), pp.2-20.

Shane, S. and Nicolaou, N., 2015. Creative personality, opportunity recognition and the tendency to start businesses: A study of their genetic predispositions. Journal of Business Venturing, 30(3), pp.407-419.