By David Sanders, Certified Master Consultant
Whether you are in business for yourself or working for someone else, your life and those of everyone you know are being impacted by a special type of businessperson. The New Oxford Dictionary defines entrepreneur as “a person who sets up a business or businesses, taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so.”
There was a time in American life when the major corporations ruled. No more — today they employ less than 20% of the work force. By the early 90’s the majority of US exports were produced by firms with fewer than 16 employees!
Is this change a good thing? Is it healthy for America? What do you think?
To answer these vital questions, let us take a longer historical view. When the pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, they didn’t come ashore looking for jobs. They were America’s first entrepreneurs. They went into business of raising crops, building houses, hunting and trading with the friendly Indians. They created a new kind of life, which became a new kind of country that has changed our world.
Our founding fathers were entrepreneurs who financed the American Revolution to back up their principles expressed in the Declaration of Independence and the freedoms of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. They never considered Americans would ever be anything but independent business people.
In the early day, there were no Costco or Wal-Mart chain stores. While some big businesses took root in major cities, the majority of Americans were in business for themselves and our country was dominated by entrepreneurs who tamed the West.
Beginning with the Industrial Revolution around the time of the Civil War, we slowly started moving toward being a country of employees. As this trend continued, people moved into large cities to be near the big factories and the companies that serviced these workers. Our school systems started to focus on training people to be employees and our schools began to resemble factories.
However, this trend unexpectedly reversed during our lifetime — a change that has confused economists for decades. Perhaps the major business trend in the US since 1975 has been the steady move of Americans going into business for themselves.
Why? People want to be entrepreneurs to pursue a passion in life, to control their own destiny, to be free of the confines (and often suppression) of being an employee in a large corporation, a cog in the wheel at best and a mindless minion at worst.
This has not been without problems. Most people who take the leap and go into business for themself are skilled at only a few of the things a business owner has to know. There is a lot to know to make a business work; skills in leadership, personnel, sales and marketing, finance, quality control and PR are required in addition to expertise in the company’s products or services. This could be the reason that a high percentage of new businesses going under each year.
To counter this, systems have been developed to deal successfully with the problem areas and make entrepreneurs far more successful. Companies are now providing assistance based on real-world experience with what entrepreneurs must know to be successful. Perhaps the happiest and most successful businesspeople around are those who master each of the skills needed to run a successful business and so can concentrate on what they like to do most. The entrepreneur and the entrepreneurial spirit provide the vital essence of what has improved our lives. These are the individuals who are shaping our world.
David Sanders is CEO of Creative Business Strategies. which specializes in helping entrepreneurs. He can be contacted at CEO@creativestrats.com.
