Entrepreneurship is a means and a state of mind, and not an end in itself
• Everyone Wants to be an Entrepreneur
• Is an Entrepreneur a Celebrity?
• Sampada vs Sampati
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| Anurag Batra |
A leading UK based newspaper does an annual ranking of the most respected professions and the least respected professions. No prizes for guessing that the least respected professions are that of politicians, the police, etc, and the most respected are those of the doctors, teachers and so on. I wonder the results would be any different in our country. However, one thing is certain that being an entrepreneur that is to say running your own business or an enterprise is fast becoming an option that is very popular. Nope, I would say that everyone in India today wants to be an entrepreneur. The macro-economic environment is so conducive to be an entrepreneur and there are many opportunities to capitalise on. Being an entrepreneur is the in-thing today. Even celebrities like cricketers and film stars are turning entrepreneurs.I keep thinking why would someone want to be an entrepreneur? In my case I got fired so had no choice but to be one. Is it because Mukesh Ambani is the richest Indian and his gifting an Airbus to his wife on her birthday inspires everyone? Or is it the media hype that a Forbes’ rich-list or the fact that Ratan Tata and Anil Ambani have bigger persona and a better and clean image than say politicians and bureaucrats? The Nobel laureate Amartya Sen’s book “The Argumentative Indian” is suitably tilted, but I feel that the time has come for a book called ‘The Enterprising Indian’.
Recently two separate studies amongst the second year students of some leading business schools in the country revealed that an overwhelming majority of these under-graduates wish to be entrepreneurs rather than take up well-paying and cushy jobs. To me, this is another reiteration of the fact that our country is changing and there is a new India and new Indians.
Business people and entrepreneurs are being invited to cut ribbons, inaugurate conferences and functions and give away awards. Are we seeing the emergence of the celebrity business person, or as I would like to call the celebrity entrepreneur? Is it because there is lack of celebrities in our country?
While passion and ambition are driving the entrepreneurial spirit, the entrepreneur’s desire to make a difference to the environment around him or her is also a big motivation. That brings me to a very important and philosophical point that I would like all of you to think and figure out.
What is the purpose of being an entrepreneur? Is it only to create wealth for yourself and your shareholders? I don’t think that an entrepreneur should be so narrow-minded. Are we contributing to the society we live in or are we giving back to the society from which we draw our wealth and fame? Are we saying thank you to the society at large? Remember the Americans say thank you with their cheque books.
Are entrepreneurs creating sampati as in “selfish wealth” or sampada as in “selfless wealth”? I would like each one of you to do a personal audit for yourself and figure out where you stand. Entrepreneurship is a means not an end or a journey and a state of mind, and not an end in itself. You have to choose whether to create sampati or sampada.
Let me end by saying “No task is so humble that it does not offer an outlet for individuality.” Being an entrepreneur, you can DARE to.
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. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Anurag is the co founder and editor-in-chief of exchange4media group which includes exchange4media.com.
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