What’s the Story…
by Jon on 28/10/05 at 3:57 pm
2 comments
Earlier this week I sat across the room from a very successful little dude. He has a very sharp business mind and is constantly making opportunities out of nothing.
I remember sitting there thinking, “Wow, this guys is on the ball and has really made a success of his life”. Until he told me about the changes he wanted to make in his company and why he wanted to change them. Classic scenario, business starts off small, produces a quality service. People like it, he likes it, and the business grows. A year later the dude is miserable because he is so busy, he’s continuously chasing missed deadlines and his life is a mess.
I really sympathies with this scenario. It got me thinking, what are all these entrepreneurs on about? What’s our story, what do we really want? The entrepreneur lifestyle is so glamorized in this country, however so many entrepreneurs are so unhappy!
My suspicion is that there is something in the idea of entrepreneurship that attracts South Africans. There is something in the idea that does not necessarily marry up to the reality. What is it, what is it they we really all want…
I have no idea!
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Devin
Oct 31st, 2005
Hi,
Ja I totally agree with the above, I think Africa breeds the entrepreneurial spirit.
Personally I think the idea is that I want to be in control of my own destiny. You can’t put a price on the sense of pride you get from creating something yourself and in the end it’s all worth it as you are doing it for yourself!
Dev
Mike Otgaar
Sep 16th, 2011
Hi all
I’m an entrepreneur – and happy being one. I am miserable and unhappy UNLESS I am working for myself, building a business, developing new projects.
Yes, the hours can be awful; sometimes even the monetary reward can be pitiful, the challenges daunting. However, there is always the knowledge that all things are temporary, and it is part of the challenge to work through the bad times.
Entrepreneurship to me is about the challenge of new business. If I just wanted to manage a stable and established business, I might as well be an employee working in some corporation, for a stable and regular salary
I would think all entrepreneurs have experienced burn out from time to time. When a project becomes too well established, and we are miserable, maybe it’s time to go back to the roots of entrepreneurship – a NEW business to start afresh
Glamorous; I never thought of it that way.