The never-say-die spirit

Photo: Ch. Vijaya Bhaskar

Key to success: All industrialists have tremendous self-belief.

The field of entrepreneurship was described in 1983 as “an intellectual onion” by a senior faculty member at Harvard Business School. “You peel it back layer by layer and when you get to the centre, there is nothing there, but you are crying.” To avoid this scenario you need to examine yourself if you are prepared to go through what you need to be an entrepreneur.

We can use a study by the late Professor Jeffrey A. Timmons and his colleagues who identified some important entrepreneurial characteristics of successful enterprise owners which still feature in many entrepreneurship studies. I have tried to apply some of these to my personal experience which I am going to share with you.

Entrepreneurs have very high levels of drive and abundance of energy. They are always on the go, looking for opportunities. They have tremendous self-belief. If you do not believe in yourself, who else will believe in you?

Entrepreneurs are looking for long-term involvement and use money as a measure only. Entrepreneurs do not stop because of problems. They love solving problems and if there is no problem there is no opportunity. Entrepreneurs are not risk-takers. Contrary to belief, they take calculated risks. Who does not take risk? We all do but we think through, like crossing the road.

Entrepreneurs set goals and because of this they are able to deal with failure and love feedback to improve. They are highly initiative and responsible. They do not need to be told what they should do. They are always doing things. They are able to manage and use resources well plus they compete against themselves. Entrepreneurs have good internal control and can tolerate ambiguity, unlike most people.

I believe it is a must to have a vision and review it regularly. You are going to be successful only if you have fun and relax. There must be urgency and excitement in your venture. It is important to have time for family, prayers and exercise.

Entrepreneurs have to be open, be willing to learn and be oneself. Do not worry about others as no one will be worried about you. Entrepreneurs need to be able to change, be patient, be helpful and respect others. They have to be serious and result-oriented and thankful. Most people are not. For instance, they think that their parents are duty bound to do things for them and they do not have to say ‘thank you.’ Try saying ‘thank you’ to your parents and you will be amazed by the response.

Entrepreneurs should know where they are heading and know how to handle success. Everything should be earned and don’t feel sorry for yourself. Entrepreneurs should keep writing positive statements and plan for the next day at the end of each day.

We need to give all to the venture and have complete commitment along with creativity and innovation. As pointed out earlier, knowledge of the subject is crucial. We must be able to build teams which can deliver. Success leads to economic values but it must be accompanied by ethics, integrity and reliability.

There are four factors which play a major role in entrepreneurship. They are policies, education, economics and culture (PEEC), which will serve as the catalyst. Favourable policies by policy makers such as government, schools and others can help entrepreneurial development.

As I have already said, education will help influence entrepreneurial development.

In the U.S., many entrepreneurs make 100 times the amount of money they invest on their project if the environment allows this. Last but not least, some cultures encourage entrepreneurs. Others look at it like taboo and make fun of those who fail and many of our parents want us to join the government or multinational companies so that we are secure. PEEC can create an environment for the breeding of entrepreneurs.

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