who becomes an entrepreneur

contrary to public perception, it is not only the passionate who become entrepreneurs. corporate history is replete with examples of people who had nary a thought about becoming entrepreneurs, yet went on to become highly successful ones.

the ones who are most likely to become entrepreneurs are those who come from biz families and grow up with the conditioning that they have to become one. it is highly unlikely that aditya birla's son kumaramangalam birla would have been anything but an entrepreneur even if his father had not encountered untimely death.

the ones who stumble upon an incredible idea go on to become entrepreneurs, even if reluctant ones. larry page and sergei brin were techies and even if they did not envision buliding a great company around google, the idea carried its own path-breaking momentum, so much so they went on to become hugely successful entrepreneurs.

sometimes opportunity has a way of throwing itself at you and making you an entrepreneur even if there is hardly anything in your DNA or your background to suspect an entrepreneurial streak in you. anita roddick built body shop into the huge cosmetics chain that it eventually became because she took the opportunity that came her way seriously.

and of course, sometimes one becomes an entrepreneur when no job comes by. you are pink-slipped, you are not getting any younger and jobs are hard to come by and out of desperation you become an entrepreneur. initially you may tell yourself that you will do something on your own till such time you find the right job; but if none comes by, there always comes a point when you have to face it and pay more attention to the biz you have started so that you get a living out of it.

whatever your reason for becoming an entrepreneur may be, it cannot be a half-baked attempt. you have to give yourself 100 % to it, if you lack commitment, that will show and cascade through the entire fabric of the organization. and no organization, however rock solid the idea is that it is built on, can survive that kind of monumental neglect.