Role of Entrepreneurs

This is the second of the six part series on “Towards Inclusive Growth.”

Entrepreneurs are leaders!
Entrepreneurs are change makers!!
Entrepreneurs need to become role models!!!

Entrepreneur to me is anyone who identifies an opportunity to service a widespread need and uses the existing resources and adds his/her vision, creativity, sweat and perseverance to create something of value to a customer base, in turn creating wealth for himself, his backers, employment of others and value for the whole community.

Here, I want to make one standing statement - by default, in all my works, I will only be talking about ethical, honest, for-profit, scalable and ‘opportunity-based entrepreneurship’, as against necessity based ‘sustenance entrepreneurship’.

In this blog, I am not going to talk about the HOWs, I am only going to talk about the WHATs. What is the role of an entrepreneur?

As a key stakeholder, a la the Bride or Bridegroom in a marriage, entrepreneur has roles and responsibilities. The entrepreneur may have started the business for various reasons, but once he/she decides to start the enterprise he/she is assumed to have accepted these responsibilities.

What are there responsibilities?

1. Build an ethical business - Alan K Simpson once said "If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you do not have integrity, nothing else matters." In the New Entrepreneurial India that we need to build for a more inclusive and sustainable growth of the nation, ethical, transparent and fair dealings need to become watch words. I have personal experience that this works, inspite of the common belief that to run a business in India you have to be a crook. Yes, the system throws many challenges, you see people deploying questionable means to get ahead, but as they say, when the tide goes down you can see who was swimming naked.

So, hang on, and be ethical, always.

By ethical, I mean, sell what you promised to sell, treat customers as equal partners in your venture, don’t exploit, pay taxes, set equitable and transparent rules and play by them, treat employees well, embrace a balanced & healthy lifestyle and so on.

2. Think value, think big and think positive – When the nation sends 11 people onto the field of cricket to represent the country, it expects them to push themselves and deliver results. The same with entrepreneurs – due to various things known and unknown to you, you have been given the mantle of entrepreneurship and there are expectations on you. Think big, deploy resources, collaborate, preserve and create value for yourself, your backers, your customers and the nation. To do this, always invest in yourself and constantly try to improve yourself, your team and your surroundings.

When we were kids, we learnt how the ant walked up the wall, fell down, tried again and again and finally succeeded. So is it in entrepreneurship! You have promises to keep, you have points to prove, you have milestones to reach, so march on!

3. Think Contribution – There are two ways of growing in life – one, by standing over others, trampling people and you grow tall. Second, you can take people along in a rising wave and you grow tall. The latter is more rewarding and sustainable!

I was migrating along with my wife Vaishali to Australia in 1997 and knew not a soul there. Ajoy and Meeera Joshi of www.nilgiris.com.au whom we came to know a week before we landed in Sydney gave us their home to live in and helped us tremendously. When we were settled and wanted to know how we can repay the debt, Ajoy profoundly said, “You can never repay me for what I have done for you. But there is a way. If you can pass on the good thing, you would have repaid me many times over.”

So, as entrepreneurs, create value as you go along. As you continue your journey think of the new generation that is following and help them by sharing with them your wisdom, learnings, warning, mentoring, seed capital and the like. What ever and where ever possible is welcome. Write a book on your journey. Be a leader. Leave a legacy.

Let us together build a vibrant, entrepreneurial nation!