The Purpose of Entrepreneurship

Are you really an entrepreneur; a person who takes risks to create change? Or are you just one of those multitudes who hide under the title of an ‘entrepreneur’ to make ends meet?
If you went into business or your reason for starting a business is to make a living (survive), I suggest you re-evaluate your options and go back to the drawing board again. Going into business simply because you want to make money (profit) is far too much a price to pay as an entrepreneur. I mean isn’t that what employees do; working nine-to-five in order to make ends meet? Why in the world would you choose to become an entrepreneur (be your own BOSS) just because you want to make a living when there is already a far more easy alternative for that –employment. If you are so much in need of money in order to make a living (survive), please go get a job and stop wasting your precious time posing as an entrepreneur!
Survival (making a living) is not the goal of entrepreneurship but rather significance (making a difference). You would greatly be doing yourself a disservice if you became an entrepreneur simply to make ends meet. You are only short-changing yourself on the long run because entrepreneurship demands more work from you than an average nine-to-five job ever would. Entrepreneurship is not the ideal choice for those who simply want to get by in life (survive); entrepreneurship is the ideal choice for those who want to live life according to their own terms and therefore will demand more from life in order to get what they really want (significance). Entrepreneurship is not for those who take what they are given in life and in self pity call it their fate, NO! Entrepreneurship is for those who take what they are given in life and rather than accept it as their fate, go all out using what they have been given to get what they really want. Entrepreneurship is about using your life to do what you really love and truly care about –passion. It’s not about submitting to the status quo (enjoying comfortability); it’s about challenging the status quo (creating change). A true entrepreneur at their very core is a renegade; someone who is bent on creating change even though it means going against the norm. Does this sound like you?
If that description doesn’t go down with you well enough, perhaps it’s never too late for you to take a critical decision and make a u-turn rather than continue on this path of the less travelled. If your goal is to get rich quick as an entrepreneur rather than making a difference by doing what you love and truly care about, then you might also have to make a u-turn right now, back to the place where money and survival is the goal – employment.
Now I know you will be having a tough time swallowing all these hard stuff and probably wondering what the heck is he talking about? Saying to yourself; “shouldn’t we as entrepreneurs make a living or what?” Or put in another way; “shouldn’t we make money our goal, for crying out loud isn’t that why we are in business?” And here in lies the very reason why most entrepreneurs fail in business. Focusing primarily on the end (output mentality) thinking only about the profit that is to be made forgetting that the end will only come as a result of diligence and commitment in the beginning backed with an unwavering discipline and persistence in following a process (input mentality). The simple truth is;
Money is the reward (product) NOT the goal (purpose) of entrepreneurship!
Entrepreneurship is much more than making money.  It is a calling. And like every other calling, it’s people-centered. It’s never about you, it’s all about others. It’s a calling to serve; it’s not about what you can accumulate (money/profit), it’s about what you can contribute (service/value). Why do I say this? A calling is a strong urge to follow a particular career or do a particular type of work. The emphasis here is on the word ‘follow’ and to follow means to come after somebody or something. Meaning; you being an entrepreneur cannot choose yourself. You are chosen. Entrepreneurship is not something you suddenly choose to do or pursue. It is something you are called to do – a pathway you are called to follow. In other words, you are not the ‘doer’; you are only an instrument. It’s not about accumulation; it’s about contribution. I know all these sounds a little strange, so I am going to explain further.
Here’s the deal; in all my humbling experience both as an entrepreneur and a business development consultant, I came to this singular conclusion; that an entrepreneur is simply a problem solver, no more, no less. This definition is owed to the fact that entrepreneurs are nothing if they are not meeting the needs of a particular group of people, known as the customers or target market as the case may be. Without these people, an entrepreneur would never have considered starting a business in the first place. Here is what I mean.
The starting point of every entrepreneur is either;

• The recognition of a need (problem) or
• The conception of an idea (solution).

When an entrepreneur recognizes a need (problem), he goes in search of a solution (product or service) to meet that need. And when an entrepreneur conceives an idea for a product or service, he goes in search of a group of people who have a need for it.
In either case, the entrepreneur is always in search of something or going after something. Entrepreneurs do not exist for themselves or by themselves; they depend on something out there; something beyond them before they can birth whatever it is they carry. They don’t do, they are being used. They don’t create, they are instruments for creation. They don’t start the process; they only complete what has been started. They see a need they didn’t create (problem) and find a way to fill it (solution). In other words, an entrepreneur is but an instrument of nature; a servant to customers functioning as a problem solver to humanity. This is why entrepreneurship is a calling and not a money-driven venture (profit) but rather a value-adding venture (service). And like every other calling, it has its own reward. For example; the reward of good leadership is committed followership; the reward of a good teacher is a knowledgeable and changed student; the reward of an inventor is the birth of an innovation and a missionary wins souls. Likewise, the reward of a good entrepreneur is profit. In order words, the reward of an entrepreneur’s call to create a value-adding venture is profitability. This is where money comes into play. The money comes only after a value-adding venture had first been created.
So, going into business with the singular goal of making money is as simple as putting the cart before the horse. What most people fail to realize is that, money is a reward (an outcome/output/end result/product). It doesn’t just happen on its own; it is the result or product of a particular activity or input. It never did or will never happen on its own, so making it the goal of going into business is choosing to fail from the very start. I say this, because the purpose of a business is not to make profit, but rather to deliver value to customers. Businesses don’t exist for profits’ sake; they exist for customers’ sake. And these customers exist because they have a need or problem that needs to be solved. Indeed, anybody fit enough to solve these problems automatically becomes an entrepreneur.
Therefore, an entrepreneur is someone who has answered the call to solve a problem (input or activity) for a set of people (customers or target market) and gets money (result or outcome) as a reward for being able to accomplish all these things.
Understanding this chain-like relationship is what clearly makes entrepreneurship much more than making money. The goal of any entrepreneur going into business should not be what he will get (output or result) but rather what he will give (input or effort). This is because what he gets (money or outcome) is directly tied to how much he can and is prepared to give (effort or input).
Your capacity to make money as an entrepreneur is greatly dependent on how much problems you can solve or solutions you can proffer to customers’ needs or problems. So why focus on the end, when the end is unattainable without the beginning? Your focus as an entrepreneur should revolve around the problems you can solve for people. How well am I solving this problem? How many people out there have this kind of problem and need my solution? How may I reach them? Who else is out there solving this same problem for people too? How may I do better than this other person? These and many more customer focused questions are what an entrepreneur should go into business to answer.
You as an entrepreneur have but one task;

• To either solve one problem for so many people or
• Solve many problems for a few people

This is what your focus should be, because your reward (money) is tied to this. The more people you solve one problem for, the more money (reward) you stand to get and the more problems you solve for a few set of people; the more money (reward) you also stand to get.
Looking at several examples of successful entrepreneurs all over the world reveals the fact that at the heart of entrepreneurship is the provision of solutions to the day-to-day needs of society. Ask yourself why Richard Branson’s Virgin has become so successful? Have you ever wondered why Microsoft remains the world’s leading computer software company? All these case studies exemplify the true essence of entrepreneurship –

Adapted From-

http://under30ceo.com/the-purpose-of-entrepreneurship-back-to-the-basics/

THE LIE THAT IS ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Everybody dreams of it, everybody wants to be their own boss; everybody wants to own their own business. The irony: very few succeed at starting and running their own businesses. This is the reason why the likes of Richard Branson and Donald Trump are celebrated. They have achieved what many come close to only in their dreams.

In a world where self-help books are the new fiction, authors have made us to believe that anyone can be a successful entrepreneur. They say you should follow your passion and you will make it. The solution to all work related problems is said to be entrepreneurship. Flexible work schedule, more salary and escape from nagging co-workers. The question is, if this is so true, if “The Secret” is all it takes to succeed, then why is it that 60% of businesses do not  make it beyond their first year, and why do many more fail before the fifth year?

The answer is Ineffective Entrepreneurship. Such cannot outlive the initial excitement of owning a new business. It is a characteristic of many so-called entrepreneurs today. The list below identifies some of the common characteristics of ineffective entrepreneurs.

Characteristics of an Ineffective Entrepreneur

·         Authority-Such people have a problem with anyone telling them what to do. They will always make a deliberate effort to disobey any rules at the workplace. They incite others to join in the rebellion. The only reason they want to be entrepreneurs is so that they can live lawlessly. If you cannot work well under another person’s leadership, what assures you that you can lead yourself?

·         Time-Ineffective entrepreneurs cannot keep time. They have an inability to prioritize and always have excuses for their lateness. If you cannot keep time on an 8am -5pm job, how then will you manage a job that takes up 24 hours?

·         Teamwork- Ineffective entrepreneurs cannot work in teams. They are so self absorbed that there is no space in their lives for other peoples’ opinions. The problem with this is that Human Resource is the greatest resource for any business today. No entrepreneur made it by doing it all alone. It is easier to take a market with a team of motivated employees than all alone.

Entrepreneurship has been glorified so much that its disadvantages have been almost entirely ignored. It is true that every coin has a head and a tail. People who go into entrepreneurship without considering the down side often fail. They fail because they are not prepared when their new business fails to meet their expectations. We highlight some of the disadvantages of entrepreneurship to be prepared for in order to avoid ineffective entrepreneurship.

Disadvantages of entrepreneurship

·         Salary-There is a general belief that when you start your own business, you will earn more than you would in formal employment. This is not true for ineffective entrepreneurs. You will probably make losses at the beginning of your entrepreneurial journey. High start-up costs are the reason for this. The situation will improve for effective entrepreneurs and the profits will start trickling in. However, ineffective entrepreneurs continue to make losses perpetually. This is usually attributed to flaws of ineffective entrepreneurship e.g. inability to manage work teams and time.

An ineffective entrepreneur is better off in formal employment where they are guaranteed of a regular salary-if they are not fired-other than running their own businesses.

·         Time- Formal working hours run between 8am and 5pm. Informal working hours run 24 hours. An entrepreneur cannot sleep in peace if the debtors have not been paid, or a major customer is not satisfied. You will not have more free time as an entrepreneur; in fact, you will be required to work longer hours to make it.

·         Responsibility- The only responsibility you have in a formal job is that contained in your employment contract. If you are one who hates any additional responsibility yet you are thinking of entrepreneurship, think twice. The responsibility an entrepreneur bears is infinite. He needs to ensure there is enough money at the end of the month to pay all the bills and salaries or else somebody will be unable to pay a child’s school fees.  He is accountable to the customers who are dissatisfied. The reputation oof the business is a great concern of his. The entrepreneur needs to ensure employees remain motivated to work for him. This is just a tip of the iceberg. If you are responsibility-averse, for your own sake, please sick to formal employment. Remember, unlike formal employment, you cannot run away from your business. What makes it harder is if the business name is your name. It is easy to look for a new job and quit your old one, not so in entrepreneurship.

If after reading this, you have no doubt about your entrepreneurial ability then go for it. If you do, you could consider being really good at your job. In case you succeed, you can convince an effective entrepreneur to pay you a regular salary of Ksh 1Million.

©Mideva Lumire

2011