Entrepreneurship is hyped up.
Entrepreneurs seems to be the Jocks of this world (or at least here in Vancouver).
They’re popular, and people want to be just like them! Entrepreneurship is sexy, it scores chicks (or dudes), and it’s just the cool thing to do! I do admit that Entrepreneurship is cool, it is sexy, but as I start to get to know the start-up world a bit more, I find that it is too hyped up.
People are wanting to be entrepreneurs for the sake of being an entrepreneur. It gets dangerous once aspiring entrepreneurs, or entrepreneurs themselves, undermine people who don’t want to be entrepreneurs. People who just want jobs. People who rather choose to have a stable job, good pay, so they can start a family and worry about other things in their lives. Why would you think lesser of these individuals? They’re our moms & dads, our friends, our family. For example, I know many students who enter university already knowing that they want to become an accountant because they enjoy numbers, and rather a stable career – AWESOME. Good for them – they know what they want and they go ahead and do it. However, I do think there is a problem with individuals who go into a discipline without enjoying the work.
The definition of an entrepreneur is unclear. Current Entrepreneurs say its a way of thinking, it’s a lifestyle. I, too, agree. It is a way of thinking – it’s a person’s willingness to take some risk to solve a problem or exploit an opportunity by using any tools necessary. That same person needs to be proactive, needs to be passionate, needs to be creative, needs to create opportunities to get his/her ideas into action. So, why does the tool have to be a business? It doesn’t.
This hype is doing a great job at turning people into “aspiring entrepreneurs.” In general, these are individuals who are hoping to, one day, own a business. Owning a business does not make you an entrepreneur. For example, Alex Shipillo (
http://alexshipillo.com/
or @alexshipillo), says in his bio – “I’m an aspiring young Canadian Entrepreneur..”. He then goes on to saying – “I’m passionate about youth engagement. I lead the Impact Entrepreneurship Group and I am the founder of Youth Canada.” In my books, this guy is FAR from being an aspiring entrepreneur. He already is an entrepreneur – not because he founded a group, but because he found his passion, he pursuit it, and now he’s creating opportunities through Impact and Youth Canada. He’s using Impact and Youth Canada as a tool for his passion.
For example, today I had a meeting with Jon Chui (
http://www.jonchui.com/
or @jonchui) where we discussed the entrepreneurial scene in Vancouver. Jon is with the Bootup Entrepreneurial Society where he is trying to encourage entrepreneurship among post-secondary students. He’s meeting student entrepreneurs all the time to try to setup a community. A tough task at hand. He’s passionate about student entrepreneurship – so he’s going out there to create a community. If you go on his website, he kind of describes himself as an entrepreneur in his bio. Yet – he doesn’t have a business. In my opinion, this guy is a definite entrepreneur. He’s using Bootup as a tool to pursue his passion.
Don’t be too involved in the hype. Don’t put down people who work for the man. You can still be an entrepreneur while working for others, while being part of a non-profit. Ideas will come. Just follow the bread crumbs that life puts out for you.
Filed under: Business Lessons, entrepreneurship, Inspiration | 6 Comments
Tags: entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, therealashish, vancouver, vancouver entrepreneurship
Killer or Warrior?
The concept of a Warrior seems strange nowadays. Who the heck uses the word “Warrior” to describe someone? It seems old. It seems much.
Two years ago, I went to a little country called Brunei. It wasn’t just a travel destination – it’s my home. I spent half my life in Brunei. Tiny Country, less than 500,000 people, and a monarchy. About two weeks into my stay there, I went to a village in the rural area. I wanted to visit and experience the simple life of the Natives.
Immediately I found a Warrior.
Simple man – but you know he’s a Warrior. I was amazed by his tattoos, so I asked my Grandfather to ask the man about them. My Grandfather told me that each tattoo has a meaning. The tattoo on his neck stood out, and so I asked my Grandfather about that specific one. With hesitance, my Grandfather said “That means he has killed someone.”
Now, this man does not look like a killer. When we first came in, he was nice, he was patient, he greeted us with tea and biscuits. No way would I have thought that he was a Killer. But – was he a Killer or a Warrior?
I have no answer to that question. All I know is that, I respected him as a person. He was proud to wear that Tattoo on his neck. From that experience, I realized to not be ashamed for anything that I’ve done. Build the discipline to Wear it, make it a part of who you are, and learn from it. The dude killed, but he killed to become a warrior.
P.S. I’ll find random excuses to post photos I’ve taken, in this blog (I enjoy photography..if you can’t tell).
Filed under: Inspiration, My photography | Leave a Comment
Tags: Brunei, Business, leadership, photographer, photography, the real ashish, vancouver, Warrior
Happy Christmas Eve everyone!
Jolly Santa Claus is a great person with many admirable attributes. He teaches to give, teaches to love, and teaches to smile. More often than not, individuals use Santa as a role model. While we can learn a lot from Santa, let’s not take any business lesson from this jolly guy. Santa, as a businessman, would not do so well. Here are four business lessons from Santa (please, do not take these lessons):
1. There IS a free lunch! (err.. dinner)
There are such things as a free lunch/dinners. Cookies and Milk are Santa’s favourites. He doesn’t have to do much – just arrive, and a free snack is given to the happy dude! Heck, this guy can still enjoy his cookies and milk even though he has to go around the world in 24 hours.
2. Pick the right Reindeers, and we’ll go over any obstacle
Santa picks the right staff. He has some awesome reindeers, and they seem to have NO trouble. Every year, they get around the world in 24 hours – avoiding all obstacles. Nothing bad will ever happen with the right reindeer (does he even have a risk & mitigation plan?).
3. To hell with the four day work week. How about the One day work year!
How does Santa do it? Us normal beings can’t even do a five day work week – heck, four day work week is even harder! Santa, somehow, does a One day work YEAR! He teaches us to use little people, set up a toy factory, and pick the right management. This way, we don’t have to work more than a day in a year. Thanks Santa.
4. A round peg DOES fit into a square hole!
And my personal favourite. Against all odds, even if the world (and the market) tells you that it’s impossible, that it doesn’t make sense, that a round peg does NOT fit into a square hole – you should still do it. Keep on going, make it happen, force it to happen! You know what, once you get through that Square hole, eat some cookies and get even more rounder!
And kids, those are business lessons from Santa!
Have a Merry Christmas and a great holiday season.
P.S. So, I have just started blogging – Feel free to leave comments or message me to give some feedback.
Filed under: Business Lessons | 2 Comments
Tags: Business Lessons, four day work week, free lunch, Merry Christmas, Santa Claus, therealashish
Man in the Mirror
Yup! That’s right! I posted a man in the mirror photo – a typical photographer’s self portrait. But it works – you’re in control of the camera, you’re in control of how you look, and you’re looking at yourself doing what you love most – taking photos.
But I guess – that’s shouldn’t only be true for photographers. Take control, Visualize yourself doing it, and take the shot – make it happen.
Filed under: Inspiration | 2 Comments
Tags: entrepreneurship, leadership, make it happen, photography, therealashish
