Miami Is Keeping Business Hot – But What About The Risks?
By Nadja Atwal/Photos by Aubrey Chandler Entrepreneurs are tastemakers of lifestyle and Tastemakers are entrepreneurs of lifestyle. Successful entrepreneurs typically influence quality, quantity, choice, and what is generally considered acceptable. Likewise tastemakers of lifestyle recreate the experiences of the rich and famous influence dictating quality, quantity, choice, and what is acceptable, in fashion, style, and popular trend behavior. There are great similarities between entrepreneurs and tastemakers. One could easily say that entrepreneurs are tastemakers of lifestyle and tastemakers are entrepreneurs of lifestyle. Each spends a lot of time on how to influence behavior. Some succeed. Some fail. So what drives success? What causes failure? What are the major differences between the entrepreneur and the tastemaker that dictate success or failure? In the investment community, the best risk management strategy usually wins. Risk is a good indicator for success vs. failure, because risk is a possibility that will have an effect on every outcome. Some stakeholders take risk it into account when measuring success. Most do not. Risk is the potential of losing or gaining. In today’s volatile marketplaces like entertainment, tech, oil, or crypto, having a risk management strategy will certainly gain an edge over the competition. The journey to success relies upon the plan set forth to achieve success as well as how one effectively measures the planned journey along the way. “Entrepreneurial success can be and should be a measurable calculation for the most part,” says Hasaan Austin from BSEP+, one of the nations top risk managers who sees an increased demand especially in Miami. “Yes. There are some intangibles. Very often a successful entrepreneur’s primary objective is to attract capital. Even if not to accept capital but to operate in a best practices fashion to meet capital requirements. This is measurable. Meeting basic capital requirements says to the marketplace that one is navigating and decision-making effectively. The business systems puts in place to affect margin, debt service, and risk will guide decision-making on a path to meeting requirements.” Entrepreneurs like tastemakers also draw upon inherent traits for decision-making like talent, feelings, experience, and intuition. However investor demands for risk management often limit how much unquantifiable decision-making takes place. Investors require more calculated result driven decisions. Yet a healthy combination of both type of decision-making can serve well if one can demonstrate high performance over time. Nevertheless quality risk management will help you keep score on your journey to success and help you triumph. Tastemakers generally apply more inherent decision-making traits as influencers, like celebrity, vibe, buzz, gut feelings, and social sentiment. These traits are often unquantifiable but have great inherent business value that can influence outcomes. When you combine these traits with risk management measurables, this can create a great tastemaker lifestyle venture, which will yield better results. Tastemakers should be more vested in their influence, why not? Tastemakers are often unknowingly stimulating business ecosystems. Tastemakers dictate the movement of capital, resources, and job creation simply by creating a demand. Tastemakers shift consumer-spending behavior, influencing choice, price points and more. What makes Miami special in this context? Hasaan Austin sees the evidence speaking for itself: “Miami is a top tastemaker destination. People come from all around the world to experience the tastemaker lifestyles of the rich and famous in Miami. When Rene Ruiz, Miami Fashion Designer extraordinaire, fits Deborah Norville for The Oscars Red Carpet, all the sentiments of Miami being the next big fashion city starts to reign true. Or when Thirstin Howl the 3rd talks about being “Fresh Dressed,” it becomes a LoLife movement in Miami and around the world. Or when DJ Irie, DJ of the Miami Heat says, “Some of my favorites include Spectrum Miami and Red Dot Miami,” people’s choices change. These influencer choices can shift economies. As tastemakers become more vested stakeholders and incorporate more corporate structures and risk management strategies into their ventures, they become more entrepreneur-like, right? The line between entrepreneur and tastemaker is blurring more everyday as best practices are put into place. As stakeholders, downside risk should be a primary focus in measuring outcomes. Whether you’re using the Balance Sheet Enhancement Platform to protect your principal and hedge against downside risk in your investment portfolio or enhance your entrepreneur undertaking with a credit enhancement to attract capital, you should have an effective risk management strategy in place”. Sound advice. Entrepreneurs and tastemakers are stakeholders that operate in the same box seeking maximum return on investment from their efforts. What separates one from the other is generally who applies more measurable business fundamentals to quantify success. Success can be measured many ways. Most rely on the X’s and O’s written on the chalkboard. Some rely upon talent, instinct, or a combination of each. Nonetheless the measurement will always be how close was your “planned” strategy to your “actual” outcome?