TRUE ENTREPRENEURS DON’T START RICH BUT THEY THINK RICH!

 “If you want to succeed you should strike out on new paths, rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success.” John D.Rocketfeller

“The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, they make them.” George Barnard Show

A friend asked me to suggest a business where he can make just double of his amount in a very short time. When I asked him why, what, all sort of questions he interjected, “I have accumulated Rs.5,00,000/ throughout my life and now I want to invest with quick returns may be double in 2 months.”  For which he came to seek my advice, believe it or not I had been honest. “Invest in lottery, share market or bet on cricket that is how you can double your amount in 2 months. Even if you couldn’t do so there is nothing to worry about you might end in jail where all your expenses will be taken care of.” Obviously I was bit sarcastic but that is how today most wannabe entrepreneurs think to maximize their wealth in no time. On the contrary that’s what many people fail to understand, which is quite abhorrent to me, one has to be candid at times.

The person who believes in himself ought to believe in his product too, if he has faith in his business, with no urgency to succeed, and will to make people believe the same way, he is bound to succeed. As they say, the person who can make others believe in his vision is successful already.

Few people realize their passion quite early in life, some realize little late and majorities don’t realize at all. They say never put all your eggs in one basket, if one plan fails you must be ready with the rescue boat. Then what about the majority where people hardly can afford single basket, for example like India where more than 400 mn people are BPL and can hardly afford to earn more than $2 a day. What I mean to say is when options are paltry then one has to burn the bridges and forget about the rescue boat. It is said excess of anything is bad, in the same way, if you think too much then your chances of falling into a conundrum are bright instead. But whatever you do believe it is the only work you have in life and keep innovating until it amaze people in every which way.

Don’t be a victim, be a Victor.

“You don’t need money if you have a golden idea. Trust your instincts and courageously go with them.”

The dot com boom, started in 1990, is now all pervasive all across the world and people who started early are now busy shopping. There are many companies who relied on their vision quite early and are super successful today. For most of you would be hard-pressed to think of encyclopedias, which have become redundant today and would easily be found at rick picker’s shelves. And here is quintessential Jimmy Whales, 45, founder of Wikipedia (2001) who has turned the encyclopedia world upside down by stepping into the uncharted territory. Today it is globally ranked 6th as per Alexa ranking, with more than 737,000,000 visitors per day.

Furthermore, there are growing number of job seekers turning entrepreneurs these days, thanks to this internet era and people at the helm encouraging amateurs. I am amazed to see way too many people flocking toward technology, there is extreme potential when only 30% of the world is active on internet which has become indispensable part of our lives today, concurrently, it is hard to imagine life without internet. Indian e-commerce market was set to cross Rs.46,000 crore mark in 2011, at a 47% growth. And E-tailing is second after online travel with an 8% market share. E-commerce web portals, mobile applications, and social networking sites are making hay today which is offshoot of growing population and increase in awareness in general masses. There are scores of acquisitions till date and those who started early relish the most today. It is all about seizing the opportunity at the right time, as Dr.Manmohan Singh said at his first speech as a finance minister in 1991, “Nobody can stop the idea whose time has come.” It is all evident today how young and vibrant entrepreneurs are growing regardless of any work experience and knowledge.

The most admirable companies of today are the most wealthy and trustworthy. For case in point companies like Google, Facebook, Amazon, Wikipedia, and more. They started with a vision to provide an easy solution to people’s daily problems like searching, socializing, shopping, knowledge etc. I’m sure Mark Zukerberg had not thought about IPO or to become world’s youngest billionaire but his passion and hard work paid off. Most of them didn’t have prior business experience but they had enough passion for their work and that all paid off. It will always be true that it is the giver who is blessed most not the receiver given that the giver has no ulterior motive to deceive people.

Soul of Entrepreneurship

I have written earlier also about philanthropy, how Shiv Nadar, Azim Premji, Bill Gates and Ratan Tata have been making a mark in the world by pledging their hard-earned money toward humanity. The overwhelming example of today is Anil Agarwal, Chairman, founder of an $11.4 billion Vedanta Resources. After pledging three-fourth of his wealth to educate and provide nutrition to under-privileged children he says, ‘I would love to die in my boots and spend most of my time on philanthropy before I turn 60. One-fourth of my wealth will be enough for my family. Look at me. I am an ordinary man. If I can do it, why can’t you.’ This is what I mean by ‘Soul’ & ‘Thinking rich,’ that is, the first lesson of entrepreneurship is growth for everyone not for oneself. The heart and soul of the entrepreneur shall lie where general people would benefit the most!

Two Lessons entrepreneurs must understand:

1.   There are no shortcuts to success. To have more first learn to give more.

2. And, nothing fails like success. So be resilient, persistent and passionate. Keep learning!