RAMCEM’s answer to whether entrepreneurship can be taught is interesting – it is Yes and No. I suspect that you yourself might agree to that position in some degree.

However, saying something is Yes and No is not defining anything– that is, not saying anything at all. That is ok, not everything can be defined, and even where it can be defined , it has to be defined in terms of SOMETHING ELSE.

Entrepreneurship, like love, cannot be adequately defined. Yet, thomes of literature has been penned by well meaning ‘scholars’ to expound it.

The wrong move in encouraging entrepreneurship starts when we believe the ‘secret’ in entrepreneurship lies in a person’s capabilities or competence. Entrepreneurship is not school examination, you know, whereby if the teacher says A+B+C = 6 and you give that as an answer to the test question: what does A+B+C equal to- the teacher CANNOT NOT FAIL YOU, HE OR SHE HAS TO PASS YOU! On the other hand, If you say A+B+C= 2 (anything except 6), you fail, he cannot pass you.

In the business world, it does not work like that you know…there is no right answer, only right relationship and relationship is fluid and dynamic, it is a dance.

You can be the best educated in entrepreneurship skills for all I care, even triple PhDs……but if you come to me with a brilliant business proposition, and for some reason, I don’t like you or don’t trust you, don’t believe you—WHAT BUSINESS CAN YOU DO WITH ME? Ok, you can always go to another businessman, and so on and so forth.

But no business will happen unless and until you meet with someone who is ready and willing to ‘DO BUSINESS’ with you, right? Right or Not? People do business with us because they want to and believe us when we meet them in the right circumstances, in the right state of search, with the right product, in the right timing and with the RIGHT PRICE and with perceived VALUE that they can get out of our business idea, not because we have 12 PhDs in Business Management.

Beautiful girls and handsome men (the equivalent of the well and succesfully trained entrepreneurs), of course, have a headstart in romantic relationship. But is it in itself a guarantee of finding lifetime husbands and wives? If so, you will never find beautiful girls or handsome men who are spinsters and bachelors on the road.

Bottomline: it takes AT LEAST two to clap. Business starts with ONE willing customer. Then another willing customer, then another willing customer and so on.

No customer, no business.

It does not start with having the right entrepreneurship education. It is not school examination you know.

Co-incidence of opportunities, serendipity, synchronicity of factors.

Another mistake we make is to fail to see the whole business system as a CREDIBILITY MACHINE. Branding is close to the machine feature, but not quite like it. You and I know that there have been countless attempts to launch brands, some engineered with very sound strategies and yet some brands fail, some succeeded.

Suppose,I say, suppose— if Li Ka Shing or Bill Gates or any established giant were willing to put all their resources , might and support around a small unknown company run by people without any formal entrepreneurship training —-just as an experiment – would it not succeed? Can it even fail? As compared with a brilliant unknown person with good ideas but trying to start up it all by his own might?

No one lifts his boot by his own bootstrap. You have to be sponsored to success. In another word, if you want to be lifted up, you need someone to lift you up.

Bottomline? Synchronicity of factors (something like Feng Shui but not quite like it). If not, sponsorship sure works, not sponsorship by anyone,mind you, but by the top, the cream, the influential.

No need to search all the world’s universities to learn how to live your life. Your own body is the one and best teacher. Nature does not give us an INCOMPLETE BODY but one well equipped for its own life. From toe to the crown of our head, all the lessons we need to live out our life are there. From Number Theory to Quantum Physics and Grand Master Pieces of ARt and Music,nano techonology,etc,etc, bridging Einsten’s Relativity with Gravity Theory and Quantum Physics,etc,etc. But we always look to elsewhere for answers and suffers from the syndrome called: Other’s pasture is always greener. Chinese version is: you see me good, I see you better.

We read many success business stories in the news and their testimonies and other people’s explanations. But the INSIDE STORIES are never told, . If the magician were to tell you all the REAL SECRETS of his magic such that you know how it works—————Will you pay to see his performance? Will you give him due credit?

Signed.
No Qualification, only can think , only looking for sponsorship. Sigh….

(1) globalization (especially growing multiculturalism in key cities)…

(2) Singapore’s market is rather small for many types of products…

HS

Yes – We can teach the entrepreneurs focus. We can teach them skills in selecting and motivating their team of partners, subordinates etc. We can teach them about the industry sector for their product or services. In short, all the knowledge know-hows.

No – Unfortunately, all the training mentioned above would come to a naught if there is no “entrepreneurial urge” which is part of the person’s inborn core personality. One such example would be risk taking.

Most successful entrepreneurs have failed many times as they try and find the right venture, the right product, the right service, the right team that will capture their passions and focus. But even in the aftermath of a failure, by nature they seem to get up with new enthusiasm and explode into a new idea. That is the entrepreneurial spirit, and you can’t kill it.

As I did mentoring for the younger generation since 2001, I have developed a broad stroke strategy which is reflected in my website.

Firstly, you need to find out your own direction by absorbing as much information via “osmosis”. I often use story telling & case studies as an approach to let them understand the lessons behind. The idea is to let them immerse in a deep sea of knowledge in many different disciplines from marketing to leadership to finance etc. to take them to their edge of self awareness. This phase is also what I called the “WHY” phase.

After this phase is completed and they have found their own direction whether it’s in retail marketing, bio-tech, MLM, event management or alternate education, it’s time to enter the next phase of “WHO” which is mentorship.

Many young students often quote big names such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs or Michael Dell to follow their example. They often argue with me that “If Lee Ka Shing could do it, why can’t we?” I replied simply, “You are not Lee Ka Shing.” A better & more realistic mentoring approach is already in your article of getting “socially responsible and credible entrepreneurs in small-medium enterprises”.

When the “WHY” & “WHO” portion are cleared, it’s time to take on the “WHAT/HOW” portion. A true blue mentor worth his salt will then take the students under his wings and apply what the students have learnt in the real world. He guides them but not spoon feed them. He sits down with them exploring visions, missions, strategies & tactics. Very often, problems cropped up and both mentor and students will work “head in head” & “hand in hand” to tackle those problems, known and unknown.

The last equation which makes the entrepreneurship complete will be giving back to society. No entrepreneurs should ignore this universal concept. Those who ignore often met with unexpected downfalls!

It’s a long & tedious procedure but in no way should we short-circut the process. For example, most people find the “WHY” & “WHO” phases a waste of time and jump straight to the “WHAT/HOW” portion. An average S’porean spend 16 years to get an honour degree to work for others. When he wants to set up his own enterprise, he does with minimum preparation. Little wonder 90% of business close shop within a few years?

~Ramcem

Importing the platform is important, however what’s more vital is how to integrate the hardware into the culture of any localised community (eg. SG). The students should bear in mind the importance of local contexts when implementing their strategies, not just follow blindly from what they read as success stories.

Despite the importance of “Branding”, which I totally agree is where Singapore companies need to enhance, the factor of cost efficiencies should not be forgotten. CASH FLOW is of ultimate importance in any business be it small or large.

A product / technology without customers or demand will be difficult to sell regardless of its branding or usefulness.

Just my 2 cents worth.