In the dynamic landscape of modern society, entrepreneurship stands as a beacon of innovation, opportunity, and transformation. It’s the driving force that makes ideas happen; the driving force behind economic growth, technological progress, and the pursuit of meaningful solutions to pressing global challenges. In this exploration, we delve into the essence of entrepreneurship, its profound impact on individuals and communities, and how it shapes the world we live in today.
According to a report by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), the international consortium for entrepreneurship, there are about 582 million entrepreneurs in the world today. Quite interestingly, the most cited reason in the report that drives people to become entrepreneurs is “BEING THEIR OWN BOSS!”
The fact of the matter is this generation is the one of entrepreneurs: innovative, experimental, resourceful, and not afraid of taking risks. Hence, the risk of starting one’s own business is not seen as catastrophic anymore and the traditional 9-5 life pattern is losing charm with the new youth. “what’s the worst that can happen? We will fail. We can always pick up and rebuild from the experience of failing.” As the young guns start to perceive failure as a transitional phase with a learning curve, and not an end consequence, the fear of risk and failure is giving way to motivation, confidence, and the will to create a change. This change in perceptions is effectively eliminating barriers to the entrepreneurial spirit, and rightly so.
There are reasons for the change in attitudes and behaviors. Generationally, most of us have seen our parents and family members work hard, give it their all, sacrifice their personal time and wellbeing to keep a job, and mostly living paycheck to paycheck. While people who owned, or shall we say inherited, successful businesses were praised, the ones who dreamed were shunned. The highly propagated ‘idea of entrepreneurship = failure’ and the fear and shame associated with failure have been historic dream crushers.
But then, gradually the idea dawned upon the new minds, “If you don’t build your dream, someone will hire you to build theirs”. The advent of the digital and the revolution it caused in connectivity the world over is to be largely credited for this paradigm shift in willingness towards charting their own course, with breakthrough trends and technologies such as World Wide Web, the internet of things, liberalization of and access to information, and unprecedented reach to a wider audience. And then there are the market conditions, which also promoted the idea of going one’s own way. Unemployment has been at an all-time high since the global economic recession of 2008. Markets crashed, inflation rose, people were laid off leaving them scrambling for employment options to meet the bare minimum requirements, and the trend continues more or less so.
This led to people losing faith in the traditional employment structures, and creative forces were embraced on a larger scale, leading to the wider emergence of entrepreneurship. Since the onset of the 21st century the world has seen a new wave of entrepreneurs, with the likes of Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Travis Kalanick (Uber), Elon Musk (Tesla), Mark Zuckerberg (Meta), and Jack Ma (Alibaba group) among others, dominating the global industry platform. Leveraging the power of digital and spirit of entrepreneurship, they have made a fortune in the blink of an eye, touted as heroes, and their stories are that of inspiration.
Today, the world is seeing the rise of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), filling gaps in the market, targeting the lower- and middle-income communities as the purchasing power lies in their hands. Such is their impact on society that they have emerged as the key socio-economic drivers worldwide.
The power of entrepreneurship doesn’t stop at the entrepreneur itself, it reaches the suppliers, the manufactures, artisans, craftsmen and more. Small and medium enterprises have primed the bespoke culture as opposed to the large conglomerates that have propelled and basked in the glory of mass production.
Entrepreneurs across the globe are playing a defining role in reviving traditional craftsmanship, creating employment for artisans, and developing a whole new marketplace as they go. The fintech players came in to solve integral grass root level problems of organised finance that incumbent financial institutions have not focussed on. Edtech players made it possible to deploy formal education structures through online mediums to the most underserved communities. The gig economy opened-up, allowing people to choose work on their own terms, providing the much-needed independence craved by skilled professionals and a much more inclusive labour market.
The ‘Being your own Boss’ phenomenon, ‘entrepreneurial spirit’, the ‘start-up culture’, however you may put it, is creating a ripple effect across sectors, cementing its position as a pillar of a growing economy.
However, like every other opportunity, entrepreneurship comes with its own set of challenges, vastly different and consuming. It has its own perils, not everyone who tries would make it, at least not at first go, and the path could be laid with thorns. But the possibility of making your dream a reality, bringing an idea to fruition, building something of your own, being instrumental in creating a solution to wider problem will always be worth the sweat, blood, and tears.
Ask the bird who embraces all the uncertainties and the risks of flying free with joy over the comforts of the cage. Take charge. Go chart your own success trajectory.
