Entrepreneurship is the trending activity of the 21st century. So prevalent has it become that it’s now the most topical subject in the world. Even academic institutions now have entrepreneurship courses. Every day, every hour, somewhere in the world events are held focused on entrepreneurship – be it physically or virtually. The dominant subject matter of all internet content is entrepreneurship – whether directly or indirectly. Why is entrepreneurship so ubiquitous? The simple answer is that it’s awesome & herein I point out some of the reasons why.
Impacting Society
The pursuit of solving problems is what normally gives birth to entrepreneurship. In fact, the most mentioned piece of advice on becoming a successful entrepreneur is to find a human need (a problem) & then address it. It is quite amazing to see people’s lives being improved because of a solution you would have set in motion. Building such businesses also creates a lot of employment. For instance, in countries like ours where unemployment is high it feels great to be able to employ people. These are some of the immediate ways in which you get to impact society. Some other impacts are infrastructure development, contributions to overall economic growth and philanthropy.
Income & Wealth Generation
When you look at the root of all human endeavours, it boils down to one thing – financial freedom. People employ or get employed to ensure they have income to cater for personal, family needs and even to guarantee an inheritance for future generations. It is generally accepted that being employed isn’t the best idea in vying for a life of financial freedom. That’s what makes entrepreneurship so cool – the fact that it enables people to become financially independent. Interestingly, the richest people in the world are either self-made entrepreneurs or people who inherited lots of money from parents and also became entrepreneurs.
Autonomy
You would agree with me that human beings are hard-wired to lead independent lives. That’s why you find that it’s not always a pleasant experience when you have to work for someone. People generally want to be independent and to have authority over their own lives. Surveys even show that most employed people are miserable at their jobs – they just brave everything for the sake of the income. Entrepreneurship gives people the power to live an autonomous life; free from having your time, energy & decisions dictated by someone else.
Self-Discovery
When you become an entrepreneur, you embark on a journey of self-discovery. It’s inevitable that you will at times fail, your character will be tested, you’ll need to embrace fresh perspectives & take risks. These are things that’ll cause you to study and learn more about yourself.
Networking, Diversity and Exposure
Entrepreneurship thrives on meeting new people and travelling. You get to interact with very diverse people and thus you get to appreciate other people’s stories, backgrounds or cultures. You will no doubt travel to different events or places in pursuance of your business activities. When you become a successful entrepreneur all these are aspects that will become a normal part of your life.
Mental Acuity
Conducting business involves a lot of planning, execution and evaluation. Things won’t always go as planned and your mental faculties will be challenged to think on your feet. Entrepreneurship is a fast-paced endeavour that occurs in a rapidly changing environment. Thus it becomes imperative to become a swift & critical thinker. As a result, you end up having a well-conditioned mental stamina.
Materialising The Intangible & Unseen
This is one the most remarkable things about entrepreneurship. When you look back at any business journey you’ll note that it started off as an idea. This epitomizes the timeless adage of ‘thoughts are things’. So before anyone sees your business, you are the first and you see it in your mind, as an idea – a thought. Then you take conscious steps to commit it on paper and then take more steps that culminate into it becoming a tangible and visible entity. Being able to do that is one of the most fulfilling human experiences.
Pursuing Your Passions
As much as entrepreneurship focuses on solving problems; there is always an intersection with one’s passions. You will notice that people will start businesses that are in line with their passions. No wonder most become successful entrepreneurs because they do what they love. Everyone has a thing they are passionate about & that’s why many people enter the entrepreneurship space – it affords one the platform to pursue their passions.
Breaking Societal Norms & Barriers
Entrepreneurship has a tendency to be disruptive – in a good sense though. When innovation is missing, people usually hold onto certain norms and consider certain things to be immutable. Look at innovations like mobile money, e-commerce, block-chain etc. They came in to challenge our traditional way of looking at things. Usually the traditional norms we hold onto to are retrogressive and are actually barriers to progress. Entrepreneurship has the power to challenge and redefine all that and establish new ways of looking at things.
Tapping Into Technology & Emerging Trends
Exciting technologies continue to be developed and the wave will continue to flow. Entrepreneurship is made easy and also makes it easy to experience those technologies first-hand. You get to leverage on the latest trends. Even now with the growing rise of blockchain you can find ways to experience and use it for your business.
Becoming an entrepreneur is the most exciting prospect for anyone looking to leave an indelible mark on this earth. The ability to make money whilst doing what you love, on your own terms is a very beautiful life experience. There is an enormous body of knowledge out there on any topic regarding entrepreneurship. Why not become an entrepreneur?
