How many of us wondered what would happen if we decided to leave the comfort of our employment and become the captain of our own ship.
While toying with the idea the first question which springs to mind is whether we have the entrepreneurial skills required to turn our dreams and ideas into profitable ventures. Do we inherit an entrepreneurial disposition or do we develop a certain set of skills throughout our life which help us to be a successful venturer, or is mentoring the answer?
Karen E. Klein, the columnist at Bloomberg BusinessWeek asks the question whether Entrepreneurs are Born or Made?
I would be interested to hear your thoughts.
It’s an interesting question and one that I don’t think there is ever a definite answer for as it depends on so many different factors. As Karen points out, if 48% of the ‘tendency’ towards entrepreneur-ism is inherited, that leaves a whopping 62% that can still be nurtured and developed and it’s by far the greater part of 100. Earlier on in this blog I came across a presentation that looked at entrepreneur attributes, perhaps this might be a time to review it. http://blog.mowgli.org.uk/index.php/100-entrepreneur-attributes/
I think there is two types of entrepreneurs, the second one is where you have certain skills in certain field and you decide to start your own business, and leave the employment. i believe this kind of entrepreneurs can learn what it takes to have a successful business, where there skills in that field plays a major role in their success. (adding to that the business skills they need to learn).
the first type of entrepreneurs is that type, where the entrepreneur born with the love of starting new things, even crazy things, the ability to integrate things, the ability to formulate a vision, and the courage to start. the difference here that you don’t have to have a skill in that field, you just know how to put things together and make it working, and most probably you need an experienced team in that specific field.
The first type has skill that can’t be easily learned while the second one can learn the required skill to run a business successfully.
Both I think- there’s something intrinsic to the person in becoming an entrepreneur and then there’s the hard work to make it happen!
To be or not to be that is the question. I was discussing this with a fellow entrepreneur yesterday and we both agreed that one of the essential requirements of entrepreneurship is naivety. We never anticipate the end at the beginning. We are full of hope, possibilities, optimism, potential and it has to be said naivety. If a baby was able to see its death while still in the womb would it go through the trauma of birth? If any of the great inventors, creators, entrepreneurs knew the pain they would endure taking an idea from conception to implementation with the high risk of failure would they ever bother to start. Naivety is our greatest gift. It is what keeps us going from day to day. We don’t know what each day will bring. If we did we may just stay in bed. But we don’t. For life is an adventure. In the old cliché it is better to travel than to arrive and we determine how exciting the journey will be. For anyone inspired enough to create their journey it won’t be easy, but it won’t be dull. And we can create our own journey. We live in a fatalistic society where stuff happens, apparently beyond our control. But if you believe that destiny sits waiting to be grabbed, you can create the life you were born to lead. As Carlos Ruiz Zafon says in his book The Shadow of the Wind Destiny is just around the corner like a thief, but what destiny doesn’t do home visits. You have to go out and grab it. Pity those who get to the end of the journey with the words ‘if only’ on their lips. Or ‘I could have’, but, not acknowledged, didn’t have the courage to try. Or even in the great Peggy Lee song, Is that all there is? As TS Eliot put it, For us there is only the trying. The rest is not our business.