Entrepreneurship is driven as much by the desire to make a living as it is by the desire to make a life. Probably more by the later desire – to make a life is to find a purpose for life and if possible to leave a legacy. Every successful entrepreneur began as a one man business entity. So don’t worry about how or where the story begins – in a garage, as many did of in disused car on the street corner. Just be sure to have clearly visualize the end. Again, be sure you have a man or woman with a yearning for a sense of purpose in life. This quest for a purpose in life is mostly behind some of the seemingly bizarre decisions that people make, which others find very hard to understand.
How, for instance would 5000 supposedly sane people apply to join Ernest Shackleton and Edward Wilson in December 1902, on an expedition called Endurance, to the South Pole, with doubtful chance of survival. The South Pole is the southernmost point on the surface of the earth. It lies on the freezing Antarctica; on the opposite side of this planet, from the North Pole.Whatever their reason, it is that same line of thought that must have been behind the decision of the over 200,000 people who applied to join a Dutch company, Mars One, on its planned trip to Mars where it hopes to create a human settlement by 2023.Two men and two women were to be sent first and four more every two years.
Adventurers and entrepreneurs are kindred spirits. The same motivation drives all these enthusiasts to embark on these adventures – the quest for a purpose in life. Was it possible for any of the enthusiasts that applied to partake in these adventures to determine whether they will survive? The answer is no. There is no formula to success. So it is also impossible to say who would succeed or fail as an entrepreneur. At best we can look back at some of the key qualities of successful entrepreneurs. They are all people of big dreams and their dreams are not hazy. These people are driven by a clear vision of where they want to go. They think success all the time, which presupposes that they are positive thinkers. Pessimists have little room in this place.
Successful entrepreneurs are men and women of faith. Truly, we can’t do much if we have no final resting place or solution to questions we cannot answer. The solution to things that appear to have no solution is faith in the almighty. Those who have no faith in the supernatural end their search for answers at the feet of canal men and matter. People of faith leave room for more – they go to the one that made heaven and earth. Faith according to Vusi Thembekwayo,a public speaking champion, is the ability to see the invisible; believe in the impossible and trust in the unknown. In the Christian theology, faith is even more powerfully defined as the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. Actually, it is often the case that those who visualize themselves signing autographs to a crowd of fans are those that actually get to do so.
Successful entrepreneurs have many good things going for them. They decide when to work and where to work. They make their own vacation schedules and choose the place to take the vacation. Generally, they are people with deep passion – passion to succeed, live well, leave a legacy or sell what they created for cash. Great success comes when one is practically consumed by what they do. Any other thing is prodding along and no major achievement comes from merely prodding along. They love what they do and the “just do it” spirit of Nike is fully resident in every successful entrepreneur. But more important, entrepreneurs do not play to the gallery or pretend to be what they are not. They harness their strengths and recognize their weak points.
The conventional wisdom is that one needs to have money in order to start a business. This seems to say that the money comes before the business idea – basically like saying that it takes money to make money. This principle presupposes that those that do not have money may not make any head way in business. That is not what successful entrepreneurs believe. Instead, they put ideas ahead of finance. In my limited experience as an entrepreneur, I recall what we did as young men in the 1990s, when we tried to create institutions. First, some of us agreed and declared the 90s as “Our Decade of Enterprise”. We believed it was our time to take risks and see how far we could go. The economy was fairly stable and the liberalization and decontrol policies of the then federal government created many investment opportunities for enterprising young people.
We developed various business ideas; we did the feasibility reports and branded ourselves as “Ideas Men”. We told the rich men around that we have no money but were full of sound ideas. We showed them proofs. Somehow, it wasn’t difficult to convince investors at the time. Perhaps, integrity had not completely left the land in those days. So they believed us and I dare say, rightly too, because most of us did not disappoint. Although many of the small businesses died, it wasn’t for lack of capacity or integrity. The political turmoil created by the June 12 election annulment and the subsequent tussle between Aare M. K. O. Abiola and Sani Abacha pulled the rug off the feet of many.
We were young, well-educated and well-trained. The money men of the time were glad to find young men who had bright ideas and were ready to leave their good jobs to try business. So we went out to find the cash and we found a lot of it. That was how some of today’s public limited companies were founded in the little shops of young men in the late 80s and early 90s. So it is true that a good business idea will always attract cash, because we even had to pick and choose which investors to accept or reject.
Emeka Osuji
