Comedy is often a caricature of real life. If we only find the time to reflect on the themes that underpin some popular comedy sitcoms, we could better understand the dynamics of some micro businesses.
The best UK sitcom that aired in the 1980s and 1990s is, arguably, Only Fools and Horses. The series follows the Trotters’ highs and lows in life, particularly their attempts to get rich.
Those familiar with this comedy will probably realise how they know a Del Boy or Del Girl trying to start a business and improve their lives on their own terms.
No business school I know of promotes the Del Boy style of entrepreneurship but the Del Boy effect on many modern businesses is undeniable.
In 2022, the UK High Court ruled that the character of Del Boy was a literary work and that each script of the series was a dramatic work. Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter, the aspirational trader in the series, would probably raise a proud, lovely jubbly toast to his newly acquired status of “literary work”.
For a moment, forget the academic textbook recommendations on becoming a successful entrepreneur, try to understand how Del Boy manoeuvred his way in the micro-business world, and remember some of his memorable sayings.
Many know the phrase ‘this time next year, we will be millionaires’. I am sure many of today’s entrepreneurs have a touch of the ‘he who dares wins’ about them.
Entrepreneurs work hard and hate the nine-to-five routine that so many employees have to follow. They constantly have ideas, some of which will work and others that will not. They see opportunities where many others see problems, and they are visionaries chasing a dream. They passionately strive to start their own micro business with just one or two employees, often family members.
No business school I know of promotes the Del Boy style of entrepreneurship, but the Del Boy effect on many modern businesses is undeniable
Today, a Del Boy or Del Girl entrepreneur hates ‘bureaucratic obstacles’ like paying income tax or VAT. Like Derek Trotter, they have a good heart despite the failure upon failure of their numerous dodgy deals and aspirations to make a quick profit. They want to do better, even if this is achieved at the cost of cutting corners and operating on the border of legality.
Many micro businesses today are led by a Del Boy or Del Girl. A self-employed plumber may bend plastic water pipes rather than use angle connectors to save time and money, knowing that his unorthodox tactics will be buried under several centimetres of concrete. A hawker sticks ‘guaranteed organic’ labels on his vegetables and fruit, even if he produces no evidence that his products are pesticide-free.
Being a Del Boy is all part of trying to be successful when you plunge into being your own boss.
Self-employment is not for the faint-hearted. Like Del Boy, you must have an optimistic disposition and energy to endure the pain of creating a start-up. You must believe that nothing is a problem and that everything has a solution, even if it is not a hundred per cent orthodox or legal.
Del Boy or Del Girl entrepreneurs have an unstoppable energy that makes them look at the bright side and make things happen.
So, would you invest in a micro business with a Del Boy strategy? If you are excited by creative people bubbling with good ideas and do not suffer from a sensitive conscience that resents tax evasion or avoidance, then supporting and investing in a Del Boy business could be an option.
Del Boy is a lovable rogue and dodgy market trader. Sadly, the wheels of fortune eventually turned against him. With his brother Rodney, he worked hard to make some easy money with the help of a three-wheeled van and a suitcase but never achieved his dream of becoming rich.
His luck changed in 1996 when an antique hidden in his garage made him an overnight millionaire. He lived the high life for five years and continued to project himself as a cultured guy and a connoisseur by ordering pretentious cocktails and uttering misunderstood French phrases. His fortune vanished due to a stock market crash at the turn of the century.
Only Fools and Horses had other lovable characters like Rodney, Del Boy’s brother. Rodney looks upon his brother’s dodgy dealings with an air of pessimism but somehow gets involved.
Those interested in understanding the DNA of entrepreneurship will do well to see this sitcom series with a critical disposition. They will realise that they know a Del Boy or Del Girl quite well.
