DARE - Because Entrepreneurs Do

China reiterated another key trait that entrepreneurs need to have and that is to do business on its own terms.

I was in China last week, three years since my last visit there; I realized that Beijing has only grown bigger and better.

China’s economy continues to outperform every other economy and is the biggest investor in America. While I was there in Beijing, Barack Obama was just finishing his first visit to China and underlying China’s importance to the American superpower.

All this prompted me to think why China has done so well apart from the obvious reasons that it is not a democracy and decisions are hence implemented fast and efficiently.

Anurag Batra

I asked myself and few of my Chinese friends, is it because of great entrepreneurs and outstanding entrepreneurship in China or because the entrepreneurs got lucky to be in a market led by a government that was itself behaving like an entrepreneur? China was creating wealth for itself and its constituents.

I started to look at China as an entrepreneur and at the lessons we all could learn, back home. Some of these were very obvious and universal truths and some were new that needed attention. My first inference was that China started early, dreamt big and stayed the course. That’s a great lesson for an entrepreneur. It’s simple, but sometimes not so easy to follow over a period of time.

China is about size, scale and surpassing pre-established benchmarks. Entrepreneurs also need to do the same if they need to stay relevant and profitable in an ever changing business and socio-political environment.

China as a country, and as an entrepreneur, has almost zero sovereign risk and hence attracts talent and capital. It has another valuable lesson to teach: while you continue to build on your own enterprise, talent and your skill set, you should invest in other ventures to reap early benefits. Look at China’s investments in America and elsewhere in the world and you will see that China has played the role of a venture capitalist or an angel investor. It has huge investments in Africa and like any smart entrepreneur has a diversified portfolio.

China reiterated another key trait that entrepreneurs need to have and that is to do business on its own terms. It is flexible, but by and large does business on its own terms and has made strategic choices for the long term, avoiding short cuts.

You need to have a Chinese partner for most businesses including magazines. China is also working on its weaknesses as an entrepreneur like improving English literacy. It continues to encourage entrepreneurs to leverage its domestic economy. It is thriving beyond Shanghai, Beijing, Shenjen and Ghounghzhou. It has integrated technology and talent from around the world and has embraced it with traditional Chinese culture and its strengths in medicine, culture and craftsmanship.

China is focusing on its infrastructure development that will itself be an entrepreneurship enabler. Countries, including India, should observe China and implement the lessons learnt to emerge successful globally and turn their disadvantages into advantages.

Anurag Batra is real life, first-generation entrepreneur who is Much Below Average (MBA) from the prestigious Management Development Institute, MDI. When he is not busy writing such columns, he can be reached at anuragbatrayo@gmail.com.
Anurag is the founder and editor-in-chief of exchange4media group which includes exchange4media.com.

< Prev		Next >