The Imperfect Guide To Entrepreneurhsip By Ron Yachini
The Imperfect Guide To Entrepreneurhsip - By Ron Yachini
The Imperfect Guide To Entrepreneurship
When faced with the question of why they wish to become entrepreneurs, a great many people cite 'money envy' as an explanation. Then you have others, mainly those who had never gone down the entrepreneurship route before, quoting 'freedom' and 'independence' as predominant reasons. Both money and independence are very nice things indeed. However, the probability of one gaining them via entrepreneurship is no higher than if one were to remain in one's nine-to-five job.
Above all else, entrepreneurship is, and should be, an act of self-expression. It is about translating an idea into a success. Okay; so before actual "success", it is about turning an idea into a "reality. Alright! Before we even make it to the reality bit, it is about propelling an idea into a serious effort.
Allow me to begin by laying out the rules of the game, starting with just what entrepreneurship is, and painting what might be for you readers, an eye-opening portrait of an entrepreneur. My intention is not to open your eyes too widely, as going on this journey requires that one possess a certain degree of blindness, so-to-speak. Many entrepreneurs will tell you in hindsight, how fortunate they were, not to have realised how difficult the road ahead would be, for had they known, they might never have ventured down it in the first place.
Much like in those classic Road Runner cartoons, oftentimes, entrepreneurs will find themselves confidently 'walking on air', and as long as they do not look down, they will not fall.
Now, this is not intended to be the ultimate guide or the holy bible of entrepreneurship, especially as so many truly wonderful books have already been written on the subject. I can, however, say with an absolute certainty that this guide is shorter than most of the others, which, for many of you, might actually be a plus.
Confession Time: As my "mother tongue" is technology ventures, there is a bias in certain parts of this book towards that segment. That said, the vast majority of ideas, thoughts and tips do also hold and apply in other areas of entrepreneurship as well; from running a small business to social entrepreneurship. When coming across some elements, e.g. venture capital funding, that are not applicable to your domain, simply disregard them. This is also the place to remind you to ignore anything else in this guide that you just disagree with– remember that entrepreneurs are known to be highly opinionated, vocal people.
In this guide, I plan to touch upon what constitutes 'great ideas,' and how to evaluate them; starting in the small confinements of your own home garage or whatever room you choose to make your own; building your team; telling a story; differentiating and positioning; putting together a presentation; drafting work plans and crunching numbers for budgets; business planning; fundraising; managing to successes and sometimes, failures too, with a few other bits and pieces that are sure to come up along the way. With so many exciting surfaces to scratch, our visit to each and every entrepreneurial destination will have to be short but sweet.
Now, my fellow travel companions; take a deep breath and remember; "Rome was not burnt in a day." In fact, it is said that it took somewhere between three to seven days for it to be reduced into a pile of ashes. And let's face it; building it was no walk in the park either.