Carl Harvey D. Abugan Entrep S63
M100026 02 April 2012
WHAT MAKES ME AN ENTREPRENEUR?
There have been lots of articles written, books published and studies conducted on how to become or what makes a successful entrepreneur. As much as people want to capture and teach it to others through reading, writing or listening, entrepreneurship will always be similar to the classic bicycle learning exercise – that you have to experience and live it in order to learn from it. As I search through the internet for a quick reference on what qualities an entrepreneur should have, I am not surprised to see similar answers from different authors and writers – one just add a few more other qualities here and there. However, as I browsed through the list and read their explanations, I realized that it will ALWAYS have to be similar in one way or another to becoming successful in one's career or life in general – it will always go back to the positive values of living a good and successful life. Indeed there is no exact science in determining the qualities of a good entrepreneur but knowing such commonalities from different authors and writers might give one a better chance to succeed in one's entrepreneurial endeavours. At the end of the day, it is important to know what should be, so we can avoid what is not.
What entrepreneurial qualities do I possess? Below is my own list of entrepreneurial characteristics I believe I have (in reference to the writers whose articles were published in the internet).
MAGIS (Synonymous to Inner Drive to Succeed/Passionate/Innate Hunger to be better/Enthusiasm)
I always believe that I have this inner drive to be great at whatever I am doing. It is often difficult for me to commit to a certain task or endeavour but my past experiences have made me realize that it is easy for me to conquer and succeed in things whenever I put my heart and mind to it. I detest mediocrity and I'm discouraged by people who chose to settle at par. It is my practice to put everything I got and whatever I can in a specific task. However, this is not to say that I am always the greatest in the things I am doing. I always make sure that I achieved excellence and put more than hundred percent of my effort every time hoping that my own standards will meet other's expectations.
KNOWLEDGE-SEEKER (Synonymous to Desire for learning/Searching for New Ideas/Open Mindedness/Flexible/Openness to Change/Curiosity)
The reason why I took up MBA in Ateneo is not because of the fame or the high regard such accolade will bring in my corporate career. This may sound idealistic but the main reason for me to go back in the academe is my desire for continuous learning. Perhaps after having to work for several years in the corporate world, I realized that I needed to go back to school to "sharpen" my mind. Some people say that even the brightest employees often get rusty if they got "stuck" in their work. Though they become expert in what they are doing, they sometimes miss lot of information, experiences and learning opportunities the world outside their work presents.
I love learning new things whether through actual experience or second hand information. One of my idiosyncrasies is knowing random fun facts or trivia. Though I may not use them in my everyday life, I find it uplifting having to know that bit of information.
I have to admit that I do not score high in terms of openness to change. Although I can easily adapt to change in general, oftentimes it is difficult for me to do so because of the emotional strain change often brings. My past experience tells me that as long as change does not require much emotional trauma then I can easily cope with it with much ease.
SPIRITED (Synonymous to Competitive spirit/motivated/energetic/self starter/pro-active)
I believe that I possess the competitive spirit. I love the notion of competition. I hate losing (as most of us would probably say). Perhaps this characteristic was developed during the early days of my childhood. I played a lot of street games and as most people would know these games bring out the best in a kid (for those who have experienced it). However, being competitive may sometimes be taken in a negative light. Some people might see this as a harmful attitude. Luckily, my competitive spirit is always in check. Though I despise losing, I was never bitter in defeat.
As mentioned earlier, whenever I commit to something I make sure I put my heart and mind into it. Thus, it is easy for me to get motivation on whatever task I am doing – whether it's the reward or compensation of doing it, the satisfaction of completing a task, etc.
I am energetic to a point that I am often described to be hyperactive. I seemed to have a lot of zeal in doing things. However, this quality should be channelled correctly. Otherwise, there is a huge tendency to be scattered and waste a lot of resources and energy in the process.
NOT A FENCE DWELLER (Synonymous to Risk takers/forward looking/makes decisions)
I am not a gambler but I love to take risk – in career, relationships, etc. However, I always believed in calculated risk so as one can reduce the collateral damage. I believe entrepreneurs should be risk takers but not risk "addicts". Surely the higher the stakes, the higher the gains but a good entrepreneur must quick to see if the odds presented will be a dumb bet. More importantly, risk takers should always have thought of what-if scenarios and must always be ready with contingencies. Though I love to take risk in most of the situations, I sometimes tend to stick with my comfort zone and just be complacent. It is indeed important for me to balance being a risk taker and being complacent.
I have to say that I am always forward looking. However, by being such, sometimes it causes me to lose sight of the process or appreciate the present. I have had experiences that caused me to overlook and neglect the things I currently have because I was so passionate and fixated on things I wanted to achieve in the future.
Entrepreneurship has always been the career that I wanted to pursue. I was once attracted to the idea of being successful in the corporate world that is why I joined the workforce but it has slowly changed over time after being exposed to the realities and opportunities that life itself has presented. After having worked for almost 5 years, I have decided to finally pursue my entrepreneurial dream – that is to establish my own business. So the chase for the dream began. Yes it was a big risk, a huge leap of faith. However, to cut the story short, I am compelled to go back to the corporate world for several reasons – lack of financial resources, lack of preparation, etc. But this is not to say that I will stop pursuing that dream. I know I possess great qualities that will equip me in my entrepreneurial endeavour. However, it is important to note that I still have lots of entrepreneurial qualities to acquire and develop. More importantly, these are the confidence in goal-setting and achieving them, persistence/determination and patience. Sad to say that my entrepreneurial dream needs to be postponed but rest assured my inner drive to become one will always be there.3.5
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