Entrepreneurship, a word much desired by many aspirants wanting make a break in their lives yet taboo to those who claim to have fallen prey to its supposed deceit and treachery.
No matter how one sees it, there’s always two sides of a coin. There are many perspectives to the word ‘entrepreneurship’ itself as it differs from one to another as each enterprise vary in terms of needs, requirements, customers and other variables.
Hence,each is unique in its own accord and cannot be compared in an ‘apple-to-apple’ outlook.
By definition, the word Entrepreneur is derived from the French entreprendre, meaning ‘to undertake’ but let’s not get technical up to its etymological (word origin/source/derivation) nature. The word itself means: to take upon oneself, as a task, performance, etc.; attempt and thus provides many avenues to an entrepreneur to go through a series of trial and error before success is certain. In short it can also be an experimental venture. Herein lies the challenge.
Yet many Business Gurus out there in the industry may not subscribe to this idea as many do not believe in the notion of ‘Reinventing the Wheel’ as the wheel is already considered perfect. All one has to do is just innovate on the existing design or process to make it better than before. Regardless of how one looks at it, no one can actually claim that his or her methodology is far superior than the rest as again it is very subjective in relation to the industry one is in.
Not every business can be standardized into a franchise such as McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut or the likes as some are more intricate than others. Some require very scarce resources whilst others require more elaborate setups as each business has its own DNA inherent to be fulfilled.
Having leaped into various types of businesses including trading, broadcasting, retail, services and of course the popular yet devious MLM businesses of sorts amongst others, I find that my unsuccessful attempts are the result of the word itself…’attempt’. It was not or never an endeavor to persist or be resilient in the vicious business environment which are all part and parcel of running a serious business venture.
At the end of the day I come to realize that out of the many ingredients required in any entrepreneurship venture one has to eventually ASK oneself:
“Is this what I REALLY REALLY want to do or is it what someone else wants to do?”
“Do I enjoy or will get to enjoy, love and be passionate about this venture?”
“Do I have the right and ready Attitude, Skills and Knowledge to make this happen?”
These are the three very simple yet very profound questions that one needs to answer. True, not every business has the ‘Love At First Sight’ axiom attached to it. There are some business ventures that are like certain delicacies of which the taste has to be ‘acquired’ to savor them. Nonetheless, one still has to answer each and every one of the questions as sincerely to oneself as possible to avoid the feeling of ‘entrapment’ with no exit strategy as I have experienced time and again which though were sour and painful but not without its potency in discovering my true strengths, abilities and passion.
As a player in the Training & Development Entrepreneur in the industry and having gone through the trials and tribulations of business, I summon all entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs-wannabe to be true to yourselves. When you make THAT decision, make and hold it with conviction and with a mind set to face any eventuality because ultimately you are the one who will be living with the consequences positive or otherwise.
Entrepreneurship can be as simple as ABCD in its execution…
Attitude – always begin with the right one
Be Prepared and be Bold – risks awaits those who are ill-prepared as glory awaits those who are.
Challenge the odds – never settle for less, if it’s normal it’s not good enough. Make it abnormal!
Decide – to proceed or otherwise. There’s no ‘half-ways’ when it comes to business.
So ‘Go forth and seek your fortune and live with it!’
Hisham at Transformation & Strategic Business Planning Program ‘the way forward…’
Hisham (Champ) Hussain is a seasoned facilitator/trainer/speaker/consultant who has been in the industry for many years and has consulted various companies and organizations in matters related to human resource, business and related organizational challenges.
BY AZNIRULHISHAM MOHD HUSSAIN SUKOR
