Training to be an Entrepreneur
Aug 22
What is Entrepreneurship after all? It is having a desire to take massive personal risks in order to create wealth. Any other definition of this simply blurs into what a business person does. Not all business people are entrepreneurs but all entrepreneurs are business people. For me, the difference is the desire to take huge personal risks. How can you teach that? Perhaps you could train gamblers to become entrepreneurs by just giving them business training!
Business skills can of course be taught as can commercial skills. This is not the same though as the characteristics required to start a business. I have an MBA and I can say that it was a fantastic education. As a result of that course, I believe I am able to make much better business decisions. I am able to realize what can make a business tick and to quickly diagnose a business process. My degree in Economics was also extremely useful in making me understand how the wider environment can shape opportunities for business. I am a great believer in business education. However this education can never give you an aptitude to take risks. Yes you can be made to feel more comfortable with the risk you are taking, but this risk can never be a rational decision; it will always be an emotional one.
Yet there is a massive industry which seeks to teach and motivate entrepreneurship. I despise this industry. It always makes me laugh that there are so many ‘millionaires’ want to share their secrets with you on courses. All you have to do is pay a small fortune. I think they have probably become millionaires by getting people to pay for these courses! Ask yourself - if they really are successful, why are they spending their time selling these courses? Why not do it for free if they really are so successful.
The other aspect to this is what I call the motivational industry. If you need to go on a course to motivate you to take the biggest risk of your life - something is wrong!
Entrepreneurship is not for everyone. You either feel the calling or you don’t. At the moment it is seen as something trendy and of the moment. This is dangerous as such huge risk taking should never be a fad.
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