Every entrepreneurial success story is providing a new business model and case study for the management students. Off late, entrepreneurship has become one of the most popular subjects being pursued by college students who plan to become their own boss in the future.
I would like to say that over the years that the entrepreneurial spirit can be summed up in two words: risk and change. It’s natural to fear these concepts in our personal and professional lives, sticking to the comfortable, secure and safe roads through life. But if you’re passionate about an idea, if you know you have the potential to change the world, you have to embrace them both to succeed, like they say if you want to enjoy the rain then you gotta deal with the mud! The freedom to learn and pursue your business dreams has changed the literal face of entrepreneurship as well. Combined with easier, more cost-effective access to essential business technologies, a growing number of female and minority entrepreneurs are entering the business arena and finding great success.
Peter Drucker, corporate management guru and educator, agrees that innovation is essential, but does not believe that it completely defines the entrepreneur. Innovation is simply one of the many tools that entrepreneurs have at their fingertips. For Drucker, “the entrepreneur upsets and disorganizes” the production process as it is currently defined, which may or may not involve technological innovation. Entrepreneurship is the pursuit of opportunity without regard to resources currently controlled. This means that an entrepreneur sees the opportunity, even if they don’t currently have the resources to achieve it. It’s not about deciding what to produce based on an efficient allocation of available resources, but having a vision of what to produce and then figuring out how to acquire the necessary resources. It is no surprise that the research shows that entrepreneurs that exhibit this spirit are more likely to have been raised poor than rich.
A nice cushy corporate job used to be the end game. Decades ago our parent’s generation, were groomed on the guarantee idea that you go to college, get a job, move up the ladder, maybe switch companies once in your lifetime, and you are set until retirement. The reality is the only thing that matters in the corporate world these days is the company’s stock price. If laying off a few thousand employees can increase that share price a few cents then they are out the door. Corporations no long have any loyalty to their employees and the employees have finally figured that out. This has been going on for some time but what I think is interesting and causing a long term impact in how this has affected two different generations. There was a time when success was looked at as a house, spouse, kids, and a nice little 9–5 job. How many corporate employees truly work 9–5 nowadays? Company’s want more of your time, more of your effort, but pay? I believe that we have seen the breaking point. Folks are no longer interested in working endless hours with no real benefit. Employees rarely see any direct benefit from working those longer hours, other than keeping their job. Starting a business isn’t easy, it requires a lot of work, and every business owner knows they work a lot more than they ever did as an employee. But when it is your business you don’t mind those extra hours as much because they are a direct benefit to you.
There is additional encouraging news for aspiring entrepreneurs on many fronts, just in case you are thinking about joining the existing ranks:
- Valuations of successful startups have hit an all-time high.
- Initial Public Offerings (IPO) are back as an exit strategy.
- Funding for early-stage startups is more available than ever.
- Cost of entry for a startup is at an all-time low.
- Startup incubators and accelerators are popping up everywhere.
- The world is a now single market, both homogeneous and heterogeneous.
- Social media is a boon for entrepreneurs and startups.
- Large corporations have lost their ability to innovate.
- Women are a growing force as entrepreneurs.
- Baby Boomers are joining the fun in record numbers.
The image of an entrepreneur is at an all-time high, so why would you continue to work in a job that you hate, or provides no satisfaction? Step into a new entrepreneur era where the definition of “work” is something you love. It’s not too late to start. Entrepreneurship is the new game changer in this world and I believe it will be a reckoning force of the world economy in coming years.
