Entrepreneurship

[Lincoln.]

Yo guys, I wrote an "essay" which reflects my vision on entrepreneurship and business education. Upon quitting my studies in California (after 1st year of college) where I wanted to learn everything about business, I returned to Serbia and started making a list of ideas which could eventually earn money and grow.

Hearing other people, including my parents, say: "You're nothing without a diploma" really started to make no point to me when it comes to entrepreneurship and business. Don't get me wrong, I agree that people who want to become doctors, engineers, teachers, biologists, etc. must go through the education system because they will learn things which will be used in work. On the other hand, when it comes to business and entrepreneurship, I believe that school is just a waste of time because you start learning once you are the only one standing behind a business, not behind a god damn book. I hope you can expand this and I hope to hear opinions from your point of view!
I was forced by my parents to graduate in the United States, get a job and by working there gain experience and become American... Because it's the best country in the world. Isn't it? :Lol: So, I was inspired by that to write the harsh opening sentence of my essay:


   The only difference between an employee and a slave is that employees get paid. Those who are paying their employees are the ones who are making much more money because they took the responsibility in their own hands and used their abilities to expand ideas. Employees are working to have financial safety while entrepreneurs are working to have millions. Every day you wake up you have an opportunity to choose your path.
 
 Primarily, to make money you need to be ready to take risk. I’ll have to stop and explain you what I mean by ‘money’ because peoples’ view on it is very different. The money I’m talking about is not a ‘good’ fixed salary and no matter how well you do your job, at the end of the year it’s all about someone’s decision whether you’ll get an increase or not. You depend on someone’s perception of your work. If he fails to see the importance of the work you’re getting done, your salary will remain unchanged, right? It’s your supervisor, CEO, manager, boss, you name it however you want. Now when I explained you what isn’t the money I’m talking about, let me focus on explaining what it is. The money I’m talking about is made by your abilities, predictions, forecasts, decisions, and dedication. This money is not fixed and no one can raise nor decrease the amount of money but you. You depend on yourself which is much better than depending on some random guy, isn’t it? You’re your own boss and all that matters are your abilities and experience. Some people are born with these abilities and they are blessed if they discover and use them in their life, while some people must focus on learning before making any actions. One way or another, it’s an option which is available to every single one of you. It is waiting for you to decide whether you will be “enslaved” till the end of your life and think how your job gives you financial ‘safety’, or go ahead and take the opportunity which will allow you to live the life you deserve. Nothing happens overnight but you must be consistent, confident and dedicated because being on your own requires it.
   
Every beginning is hard, right? Well this one isn’t - the feeling you get to experience when you start making money on your own is amazing and satisfying. You will find yourself working more than ever, sometimes sacrificing sleep because money and success drives you. That’s where everything starts and only pushes you to go further and further. Your only direction is to go up towards the top without even knowing where the top is. Don’t waste your time trying to find limits because once you get into this world, limits are removed.
   
Surround yourself with people who will truly believe in you, make it your inner circle. The outer circle is less important and you shouldn’t be focusing on it because you can never be surrounded with true and real friends. Always treat people with respect because at the end it’s all that matters. Respect takes years and years to be gained while it takes one moment to be taken away, so be aware. Work on getting respect every day.
   
Then, once you’re done with your surroundings and behavior, you should focus on improving yourself. Identify your weak points and work on improving them. Find a mentor, someone who can share the knowledge and experience with you, not theory from the books. Speak to people, hear their opinions then evaluate them. Compare people’s views and opinions with yours, identify the similarities and differences. The more you hear, the more you know. Your decisions must be completely based on your views and opinions, never forget that. Listen to suggestions, evaluate them and then decide whether they are worthy or not. Always remember that people watch sports and always know what Lebron or Messi could’ve done better. So, listen to yourself because you are your own boss from the day you decide to take this path of an entrepreneur.
   
Later, once you understood the point and made self-improving your daily routine, you should focus on gaining experience. Talking to a car dealer gives you experience as long you focus on determining his strengths, weaknesses, techniques he’s using, etc. It’s not only important to listen to them but also evaluate them at the same time. Put yourself in a position of a soccer agent who is watching soccer games to find the best players. He’s scanning players he’s interested in and successfully identifying their characteristics. Go ahead and speak to people from such point of view because it’s the experience you need. Additionally, work on being truly kind and pleasant to people. If you love your job, and trust me, you will love this one, you will truly enjoy doing your job and people will respect that.
   
Time is money so learn how to invest it. Make a daily routine but also leave enough time to work on yourself. Have in mind that every business-related meeting is useful for yourself. The experience you gain from discussing matters with people who have mutual, or completely different interests, is unique and is the only way to learn how to approach people. There is an interesting position within the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) which is called “profiling”. People are trained to spectate peoples’ behavior, listen to them for a few minutes and finally write a profile report on them. That way, those people can be easily understood and approached in the right way, given that the profiling was done correctly (without any mistakes). You should understand that the better you know the person you’re negotiating/making business with, the more space you need to turn the conversation your way because you know his limits. Understanding your importance will help you make better deals because you know how far you can push your style of negotiation. Unique ideas, businesses, and skills are priceless – you name the price.
   
On the other side, you need to understand competition which is the vital part of every business. You will never have “perfect competition” as you may have learned about in school/college – life is something completely different. I have learned bunch of strategies for determining competition and evaluating it and I tried using it in the REAL market which led to complete non-sense sentences. When I spoke to people who are successful in business for more than 30 years I couldn’t hear anything related to the competition analyses I was taught in school. In fact, they introduced me to the styles which are specifically created for the specific market with the specific needs, wants, and competition. When I re-ran my competition analysis being aware of the new ways I heard of, I came to useful information and ways to beat the competition.
   The key points I covered during this essay are the very little of what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur. A paragraph for each key point was the limit I have set to myself so I could fit it in two pages.

[Webster]

Well written, great work!

[Rohit6115]

 

[Nathan]

I agree. In the wise words of Kanye West, "Who the real owner if your boss gets a salary?"

[Erion.]

I guess you can post something useful after all. Good job.

[Lincoln.]

Well written, great work!

Thanks to both of you!


@Nathan

Yeah!

[Lincoln.]

I guess you can post something useful after all. Good job.

Hahaha, thanks!

[Mr. Goobii]

10/10

[Bogomil]

Well starting a business is really risky and life-depending, I was thinking about it some time ago, but how to be sure I'll choose the right one?

[superh2o]

You dont need education to run a business, but you sure need it control what your workers are doing, also one wrong prediction and you could be ruined, atm im doing two business solo, making rakia and selling it illegally, cuz it takes 15k euros just to register a distillery, 2nd is custom made bottles that i sell mostly to church and they resell both bottles and rakia, but when it comes to future plans i cant see any of the two growing to make millions, to make a biz and a wholw lot of money you need a deep pocket, connections and ability to judge tips and hints for investment that you cant gain but from experience and failed attempts, that being said as soon as i finish college im gonna go and work in a state company to gain connections and experience, all in all to make it as a entrepreneur you need a whole lot of time and money plus luck, but once you make the dream compaby you need to be jack of all trades, so you can check and know if anyone is stealing from you or something along those lines.

[Stivi]

Well starting a business is really risky and life-depending, I was thinking about it some time ago, but how to be sure I'll choose the right one?

Well school does serve you for some things. It teaches you how to learn.

But also it teaches you how to start a business theoretically. Before starting one, you should take into account what will happen if you fail. Take it from someone who recently lost quite a lot of money (especially in Albania) from investing. Did that put me down? Not really, I rather say "oh well" than "what if" in the end of the day. I did invest more than most people pay for their houses here in Albania, but that was a high-risk high-reward situation, not life-depending. Abraham Lincoln(iirc) failed his business, didn't get elected president the first time, but he made it, his life didn't end upon failure and rejection.

How to choose the right business though, that I can't comment on. You need to study the market, see waht it lacks, how can you chip in, why would people choose you, you need to make a plan for EVERYTHING, then you need a pair of balls, not luck. Luck is just something people choose to believe in, but it doesn't exist. And make sure it's a long-term business, not something to make money for the rest of the summer and then wait till next summer.


Enjoyed reading it, Lincoln!

[Lincoln.]

10/10

Thanks!

Well starting a business is really risky and life-depending, I was thinking about it some time ago, but how to be sure I'll choose the right one?

It is, but in the beginning you should choose businesses with smallest possible investment so your life doesn't depend on it in case you fail. You may expand it later if there is potential, or start a new one with a bigger investment once you gain confidence and money to invest.

There are bunch of questions you should ask yourself and answer honestly, analyze the market, and most importantly identify the competition. Running into a saturated market (market which is full of offers such as technology) can be risky unless you have the unique product/service.

I am working on opening a little clothes shop which will focus only on trendy/modern/luxurious shirts together with a coffee shop all in one. That way, people can stop by for a coffee (high quality coffee is a must), check out the shirts and eventually buy some. All I need is the connection with the factory warehouses of famous brands as Gucci/Dolce & Gabanna etc. AND set up a deal with Nike/Adidas/Reebok wholesale. The good thing is that I have met people throughout my life who can hook me up with suppliers in this market.
The shop will be in Italian style, attracting every single person who passes by just like the little boutiques in Italy.

Well, I told you my idea which requires... Hm, from 4000 to 8000 euros. Sounds too much? Yeah, it sounds too much to me as well, that's why I found a reliable guy who likes the idea and wants to invest with me 50/50.

[Lincoln.]

Well school does serve you for some things. It teaches you how to learn.
connection with the government? Here I am talking about big businesses.



But also it teaches you how to start a business theoretically. Before starting one, you should take into account what will happen if you fail. Take it from someone who recently lost quite a lot of money (especially in Albania) from investing. Did that put me down? Not really, I rather say "oh well" than "what if" in the end of the day. I did invest more than most people pay for their houses here in Albania, but that was a high-risk high-reward situation, not life-depending. Abraham Lincoln(iirc) failed his business, didn't get elected president the first time, but he made it, his life didn't end upon failure and rejection.

How to choose the right business though, that I can't comment on. You need to study the market, see waht it lacks, how can you chip in, why would people choose you, you need to make a plan for EVERYTHING, then you need a pair of balls, not luck. Luck is just something people choose to believe in, but it doesn't exist. And make sure it's a long-term business, not something to make money for the rest of the summer and then wait till next summer.



Enjoyed reading it, Lincoln!

I agree. But the things we learn in school are 99 percent completely unrelated to the business, people, and market. Learning how to learn for 8 + 4 years (primary + high school) is enough, isn't it?

It doesn't, they always teach you either "perfect competition", fairy tales about Chinese production and its' successful businesses, businesses who failed overnight because they made a huge mistake by "not" looking into financial reports and other bullshit. Come on, let's be realistic - In Europe, especially in Balkan, competition is fucked up because product/service a business provide isn't important, connections are. So, you have to analyze the market, how and why people failed but also how and why they succeeded, is their success really because they have the amazing product or they're in good connection with the government. If you find a hole in the market, make a good business plan and fill it. You can't fail if you're coming up with something unique, problem-solving and useful. With the right price, marketing and plan for expansion, you can make millions.

Exactly, well said. I've expanded your sentences in my response above. We share the same opinion here, I'm glad to see that. The best combination in my opinion is to have two small businesses in the beginning (with minimal investments) - a long-term one and a seasonal business. For example, shisha in Serbia costs 4 to 6 euros, while during the summer in Montenegro it costs between 18 and 55 euros. So, I've invested 2600 euros to buy around 20 shishas, splitting them into 3 restaurants/bars where I was getting 25% from profit.

The long-term business I am focusing on is the boutique (shirts sale along with a luxurious caffee).

I am glad you enjoyed reading it!


Thanks for the response, I really appreciate it!

[Julio.]

The low risk option is to sell a service that you provide, which having a good education would benefit (though not as general as schools give).

Contracting is fairly lucrative these days, especially in IT. It's a much lower risk strategy to use if you're struggling to raise the capital to build a long term business of your own.

[Lincoln.]

You dont need education to run a business, but you sure need it control what your workers are doing, also one wrong prediction and you could be ruined, atm im doing two business solo, making rakia and selling it illegally, cuz it takes 15k euros just to register a distillery, 2nd is custom made bottles that i sell mostly to church and they resell both bottles and rakia, but when it comes to future plans i cant see any of the two growing to make millions, to make a biz and a wholw lot of money you need a deep pocket, connections and ability to judge tips and hints for investment that you cant gain but from experience and failed attempts, that being said as soon as i finish college im gonna go and work in a state company to gain connections and experience, all in all to make it as a entrepreneur you need a whole lot of time and money plus luck, but once you make the dream compaby you need to be jack of all trades, so you can check and know if anyone is stealing from you or something along those lines.

Exactly.

From what I can understand, you're trying to make some money for future investment in something which can make millions.

About the work in a state company... Yes, that's a good idea, trying yourself out in a system can help you make your own system for the company you start. About the connections - I am lucky that I live in Belgrade (capital city of Serbia) where everyone knows someone who can hook you up with the right person. I mean, if you're social and not a complete idiot, you get to know people and make great connections. Spending time with people who work in big companies is the best thing you can do because at some point in life you will need them once you're on your own, working for profit and not for a fucking salary. Investing in yourself is what you should focus on before you start something big on your own