TOO LATE TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR

Are entrepreneurs special species created differently and set apart to solve the world's problems with the aim of profiting from the solutions they proffer? Or is entrepreneurship a path every human with the right training and street sense can ply?

The reason we have to ask ourselves these questions is because almost every successful entrepreneur has a tale or two to tell about how they always had a knack for business, right from their childhood when they sold candy or lemonade,?mowed people's lawns or took on the role of the neighbourhood paperboy.

There always seems to be a distinguishing story of how the path of entrepreneurship was made for them. That in fact, it chose them before they got a chance to choose it, because long before they could do math sums, they were posting ledgers on their slate.

This then begs the question, "What about the rest of us who were busy playing with toys and watching cartoons like normal children? Are we already too late and missed the draft or were we simply never entrepreneurship material to begin with?"?

Could it be that the stereotyped career day attires, coupled with society's infatuation with certain professions, subliminally programmed many children to desire careers in medicine, law and perhaps engineering without sparing a thought for the enterprising risk-taker that'll birth the institutions these three would be employed in?

Even in today's business-driven world, entrepreneurs still don't get many representatives at children's career day programmes which seem to be more focused on fitting into society's mold, instead of setting its citizens free to fulfil their potentials.

Maybe that's why we were never really interested in building businesses while growing up, because we didn't see it modelled enough to inspire us to pursue a future in it, and those who went before us used every opportunity they had to steer us in the direction of the prestigious professions of their time. Hence, they made sure those professions were prominent on career day.

The only times we saw a semblance of business firsthand, were the mom and pop shops, stands and mini markets in the neighbourhood; the kiosks, tuck shops and cafeterias in school, and the suya sellers at every junction. Surely, these weren't attractive options for a young child to aspire to.

Strangely though, the department stores, salons, pharmacies, bakeries, hotels and restaurants around never struck us as businesses, because our eyes were trained to only look at the employees who worked there and not the principals who owned them, and as such we paid them no mind.

Some say we went to school to learn how to be the best employees, and in a sense you're tempted to reason along those lines?because it seems all the school did was keep us so focused on the blackboard that we missed what was going on in the world around us. We learnt how to read and follow instructions, to do exactly as we were told and follow the rules of wherever we found ourselves; to follow preset patterns and model whatever we wanted to do after something that already existed.

That recipe meant our minds weren't encouraged to venture out of the box and seek opportunities in our environment. We were taught to simply keep the order and not disrupt it.?This is the very antithesis of innovation.

Perhaps the school curriculum had lost touch with the world and couldn't keep pace with new realities or maybe there was such a firm separation between school and real life that they almost became two entirely different worlds where you could only experience the latter after graduating from the former.

Either way, real life was waiting for us all, whether school prepared us for it or not. It had its own rules, examinations and ranking criteria which favoured those who were able to see beyond problems and take opportunities, who create monetizable value and sell solutions instead of re-echoing complaints about the problem.

These are the kind of people real life was expecting the school to present to it, but it seems the school either didn't get the memo or some things got lost in translation.

But some people managed to come through school and still be real life compliant. These ones knew how to play the game long before they got on the field, and as a result, they fitted so seamlessly in when they left school that it seemed they'd existed there all their lives and never left for a day, even when they were in school.

These ones learnt the secret early, "don't wait until you finish school before you start real life." Somehow they knew from either being taught or by observation that money was attracted to value and they needed to become valuable as soon as they could, in order to get a headstart on life. This was what prompted them to get into entrepreneurship early, to become people of value to the world around them by studying their environment and looking for what was lacking, absent or in short supply, and they built themselves up to provide it.

Those lemonade stands, paper routes and candy trays were just little children filling gaps they observed in the market and doing what was within their little capacities to be useful to those around them.

Certain tribes like the Jews teach these principles to their children from as early as five years old, giving themselves a phenomenal headstart over other tribes in this highly competitive world, and their results consistently show that teaching entrepreneurship early sets the child on course for not only success in business, but in life in general.

Again I ask, "What about the rest of us who were busy playing with toys and watching cartoons like normal children? Is it too late to get on the entrepreneurship train and make a difference in the world through innovation?

The answer is "No," We may not have started early, but life isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. So, there's still enough space and time to catch up if we can learn, practice and master the principles of entrepreneurship.

Many successful entrepreneurs only ventured into it after retirement from their previous professions. If he can start and flourish in it as a second career, when many don't make it as their first, then you can surely become a star entrepreneur if you begin today.

Do you think you aren't made to go out on your own and start a business? Then practice innovation and creative problem-solving on behalf of your employer and become the best intrapreneur you can be in your current place of your employment. Who knows maybe that's how you'll get the vision to birth your own enterprise.

Dear young professional, remember that money is always attracted to value. Whether in business or in the labour market, the same principle applies. Do you want to make the most money? Then become the most valuable wherever you find yourself. Don't just complete the numbers, don't be a statistic. Be the person who's very presence screams opportunity and an end to suffering in every market, industry or nation. This is the formular for becoming the most sought-after and celebrated person in your field, the formular for becoming the person you were created to be, the person I believe can't wait to be revealed to this world.

Let that person spring forth!

To your success,

Olayinka A. Williams?

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Copyright ? 2022 Olayinka A. Williams - All rights reserved.