The Benefits Of An Entrepreneurial Economy (365) [7]I think entrepreneurship is fundamental to the wellbeing of an economy [!

"]#he ma$or corporations are the ones that seem to be employing the millions of people% but in reality an economy becomes dynamic when you ha&e enough entrepreneurs who actually start new businesses and take risks with their own money to create wealth for themsel&es and others [3!]'nd you need role models( high profile ones like )ichard *ranson who inspired me back in the early +,-s to start easy.et and to carry on with brand e/tension [""]*ut that0s not enough% you need to celebrate them and make them role models for younger people 't the end of the day1 an economy will only change structurally if you ha&e loads of entrepreneurs [55]2e need to learn to celebrate success and tolerate failure [6-]2e need to take a lesson from 'merica in that respect1 in the sense that 'merican culture has been a lot more tolerant of business failure1 pro&ided it0s non3fraudulent1 than we are in 4urope [75]I think that0s why the 'merican economy is growing that much faster1 and is doing so much better #he idea that an immigrant can arri&e in 'merica and within a few decades become the ne/t *ill 6ates is what dri&es all these people [77]8ou take risks in the process( you might fail and in 'merica that0s considered part of the learning process [,3]I think the entrepreneur is capable of taking risks that a normal corporation in&esting its own money cannot take [!-3]It0s the ability to take almost an uncalculated risk 9ometimes you can put a lot of spreadsheets together and analy:e 3and paralyse 3 data( but at the end of the day it0s the gut feeling that tells you whether it0s worth risking money doing it [!5!]#he process of ad$usting your course in order to reach profitability within a reasonable timeframe is1 again1 uni;uely the skill of an entrepreneur in the sense that it0s the entrepreneur who stays up at night to make sure that the planes are full1 or the cars are out of the car park rented to customers1 or the internet cafes are full1 or the cinemas are full1 or whate&er else you0re trying to do [!"3]It0s the entrepreneur who will actually cut the costs if the re&enues are not there to match the cost base [!53]4ntrepreneurs ha&e the ability to take a longer3term &iew <y in&estment cycle is usually measured in fi&e to ten years [!63]I in&ested in my first &enture1 9telmar 9hipping1 !5 years ago and it0s now listed on the =ew 8ork 9tock 4/change and I may e/it [!73]9o my cycles are a lot longer than they are at a plc that has to report on a ;uarterly basis and ha&e an e&er3increasing earnings per share e&ery ;uarter

[!7"]I think that as an entrepreneur you ha&e to understand the risk you0re taking and make sure that you ha&e a fallback position if it goes wrong In other words1 there is a &ery high probability that you0re wrong about what you think is going to work [!,,]I0m happy we0re taking risks1 pro&ided you understand what your fallback position is1 be ready to accept it as a fallback position and make sure that it doesn0t ruin you 9o ha&e a way out1 ha&e an e/it strategy that has a contingency plan on it1 and be willing to change direction [555]It0s not always the initial strategy that works