Yes, 100%. Oh yes, just about anyone could become an entrepreneur. I know you’d laugh, upon reading that, but then it’s true. If not disruptive, silly. And the skeptic would say dude are you being crazy? Have you even read about the essential qualities of an entrepreneur on likes of TechCrunch, VentureBeat, PI, ReadWriteWeb? Numerous B-School researches who have dealt with this topic a million times before have shown the difference!
Sure I have read those. You too have read those nicely formatted, well written, qualified articles differentiating the Bill Gates and Steve Jobs of the world from well – the cattle class. But here is the deal: Everyone can be an entrepreneur. Just about anyone. Let us get into why YES, instead of why not. And thereafter the real answer will vest in you.
In my last post (The Great American Dream [GMAT, IVY League And All Things Between]), I discussed the worth of expensive American MBAs w.r.t ploy of entrepreneurship. Rajat commented on it as follows:
“I have one question…Can everybody be an entrepreneur … Its not everybody’s cup of tea….People do not do MBA because they want to be a businessman (although they can do so)…mostly people do MBA for better job prospects or they are stuck in a rut and MBA gives them an option to move out and change their domain or move up the chain.“
Rajat is pretty accurate when it comes to realizing the intent of pursuing an MBA. But like many he is not too sure about elements of entrepreneurship per se.
Have a look at the following pics from our world, to get a hang of who entrepreneurs are:
Selling consumer products in locality makes them wonderful entrepreneurs. They face supply and commission challenge, they face the brunt of end consumers and intense competition from many who open up daily supplies shop around our residential clusters.
Remember this guy from IIM, Ahmedabad selling vegetables on door-to-door model with much more closer look at operational optimizations?
What do you feel seeing Ratan Tata re-inventing the wheel at a much lower cost this time? Can you imagine the amount of risk & conviction he & his team put in to create an under $2000 car? Bringing about a new – really a f**king new – market of cars we are going to see in the near future!
Oh I am sure you must have felt the vibes of entrepreneurship that Michael Arrington exudes from his blog – TechCrunch. Hasn’t he and his team kicked ass of many traditional media juggernauts out there?
Do you see that even the hookers on a street of Bangkok are no less than entrepreneurs? They sell their bodies to their customers (no matter how we empathize with it) desirous of the basic human need – sex.
To tell you frankly, even the mountain goat in Himalayas is an entrepreneur. It risks the steep climb of rocky, wet and snow capped mountains to reach the favorite juicy bushes with sweet berries.
Essentially it is the risk taking capacity. Nothing else separates you from the cattle who grazed the grass in a herd with a shepherd around. There are other factors which are relevant in one’s journey of entrepreneurship too. But all of those factors are about increasing the chances of survival in the open field. They become relevant after the first step of accepting-the-risk is taken.
At an uber lever check out the article on entrepreneurial lessons from Indian traffic by Ashish or have a close look at Alok Kejriwal’s article that discusses the difference between business approaches by Marwaris or by Tatas and you will realize that each entrepreneur has a unique style of working, and they work that way to increase their chances of survival. Nothing wrong with anyone, as each has come out with a background in hindsight, a set of unique challenges that reigned in during the journey that the individual undertook.
The biggest inhibitor for Indians like you & me is the parenting that groomed us. I mean not just our immediate parents but the society as a whole. The quality within us – that streak of risk taking capacity – has not been given a boost, during the impressionable age. For the good, or bad is a different question. We are all entrepreneurs of different colors.
We were naked, wet and hungry when born. Correct me, if I am wrong.
Recommended Read: Raising Kids to be Entrepreneurs? Cut the Allowances
