that person has no heart for entrepreneurship because it is passion that would make or break a business. The passionate person cannot easily be disheartened by business obstacles and setbacks. He or she will endeavor to overcome them. Passion is the critical ingredient for perseverance and long term sustainability.
The entrepreneur with a lot of heart will face business storms head on and there will definitely be a lot of storms while running a business. The entrepreneur will brace himself or herself for the long struggle to success. And even if some modicum of success has already been achieved, the entrepreneur will fight on to attain greater success.
Heart is also about emotional intelligence. This is often manifested in the entrepreneur’s relentless efforts to nurture relationships with customers, employees and suppliers. In many Asian societies, relations and relationships separate the good business network builders from the mediocre ones. Heart is about genuine interest in people, how to motivate, gestate and elevate them. Heart is about nurturing a caring culture in a goal-oriented enterprise because the entrepreneur cannot grow the organization by himself or herself. It needs the synergy of people working in harmony.
The final ingredient to the alchemy is the Entrepreneurial Gut Game. The “gut” symbolizes two things in common-day language. The first is the ability to sense without using the five senses. This is intuition or the ability to jump to insightful conclusions without the rigorous process of logical, systematic and sequential thinking. Entrepreneurs rely on their gut feelings when making decisions too complex to simplify in rational syllogisms. Their constant exposure and immersion in the marketplace heightens their observation skills and sharpens their ability to discern patterns in the behavior of customers and competitors. Their reflexes have been highly developed to react, proact and enact in their ever-changing business environment.
The second symbolism of gut is courage, intestinal fortitude and “chutzpah,” as in the phrase “He has the guts to overcome the challenge.” Guts enable entrepreneurs to withstand adversity and weather crises. Guts give entrepreneurs the courage to plunge into difficult ventures with all their traps and pitfalls, tests and temptations. Guts is the “chutzpah” of the entrepreneur who thinks that everything is possible. It is utter confidence in one’s self. It is the belief that everything is within reach if only the entrepreneur would aspire for it.
The Entrepreneurial Gut Game is the total involvement of the entrepreneur in the exciting game of business, demanding the keenest of intuitive abilities and the strongest of intestinal fortitude. For indeed, business is a giant game where stakes are high, players are legion, moves are plenty and rules are complex and changeable. The game field of business is not confined within circumscribed boundaries. Market forces are as volatile as the preferences and behavior of customers. New technologies render old ones obsolete overnight. Neophyte challengers rise as fast as faded champions exit the business game. Suppliers shift loyalties, some driven by price, others by logistics. People come and go, talking about greener pastures and wounded egos.
Management books, journals and dissertations are replete with recommendations on how to play and win the business game. Corporations spend huge amounts of money to train and educate their staff because there are, in fact, management methods and systems that help in improving business productivity and profitability. This is the learnable part of entrepreneurship but it requires discipline and a fair amount of brain power. Just like in any contest where there are many combatants, the entrepreneur must fortify himself or herself to enter and win the business game by employing the best techniques, choosing the right weapons and honing one’s skills. “Entrepreneurs are made” this way.
While the business game is being played, the myriad variables come into play. The entrepreneur with the sixth sense of rapid situational recognition and intuitive leap of brilliancy will win the coveted prize. This is the more “unlearnable” trait of entrepreneurs which make people say that “entrepreneurs are born.” Guts, will power, passion and innate inquisitiveness are the other elements of entrepreneurship that are difficult to learn.
The Many Sources Of Opportunity
The seeker has many sources of opportunity to choose from in order to succeed in his or her entrepreneurial quest. Some sources suggest looking at the entire forest. Other sources see the trees. Some focus on what is liked by customers, others rely on what is hated. Some capitalize on successes, others concentrate on failures. Some harp on hobbies and interests, others prefer the harsh road of science and technology. Whatever the source, the entrepreneurial mind, heart and gut sally forth into the fray.
Macro-Environmental Sources
The big picture of the macro-environment contains opportunities galore. Acts, events and trends in the social, political, economic, ecological and technological environment paint the “forest” scenario. This is the larger playground of the entrepreneur. The business rules of engagement are made here. The root determinants of market behavior can be traced here. Major changes in industry competitiveness are lodged in the macro- environment. Insidious shifts in consumer preferences creep into this arena. Cataclysms and catastrophes suddenly change the game for everyone. The entrepreneur who keeps a watchful eye on the macro- environment will notice the little waves that turn into groundswells and tsunamis of opportunities. The first to see them is the most likely to win with the first mover advantage.
The macro-social environment includes the demographics and socio-cultural conditions of the entrepreneurial arena.
The structure, social status and dynamics of the population at large, as well as the people’s beliefs, tastes, mores, customs and traditions dictate the major parameters of market behavior. For example, countries with aging but longer-living populations and with declining child births present several opportunities. There will be opportunities for drug companies in producing medicine for the chronic ailments of the old. Retirement homes and long term care facilities will find a large market. Early retirees will spend their pension funds and savings to travel and enjoy the rest of their lives, giving rise to a booming tourism industry. There will be need for smaller homes for smaller families, smaller furniture for smaller homes. Fewer children will mean more pampering with expensive toys. The “little emperor” syndrome will create child-centered families looking for the best school, the best summer vacation, the best computer games, the best clothes and the best neighborhoods. In less-developed countries where the majority of the people have low incomes, there are opportunities for microfinancing, products in sachet packages and instant noodle meals that are cheap but filling. What the entrepreneur must resolve to do is assess the macro-social environment very well and ask what specific social conditions and trends would affect his or her business and in what way. The entrepreneur must be able to relate a major social trend to a specific business opportunity. Trends in the social environment can also signify a threat to the entrepreneur.
The political environment defines the governance system of the country or the local area of business. It includes all the laws, rules and regulations on allowable and disallowable business practices. It prescribes all the permits, approvals and licenses necessary for doing business. It regulates the use of natural resources, the disposal of wastes, the taxation of income, the importation of goods and services, and the accounting and reporting of business financial statements, education and health statistics, use of public funds and other such concerns. It defines public policies and guidelines. Finally, the political environment is largely responsible for peace and order. It is the main builder of infrastructures, provider of logistical access and determinant of the cost of doing business. All these influence business investors who must evaluate the relative attractiveness of any political domain they intend to locate in.
Again, the entrepreneur must be aware of political conditions and trends in order to find opportunities or uncover threats. A law that is passed to protect the environment is a threat to business polluters but an opportunity for makers of environmentally friendly products. The creation of a new
