Thursday, August 10, 2006

Entrepreneurship

One of the courses that I help my students prepare to teach is Entrepreneurship. Interest in Entrepreneurship as a course at the high school level surfaced in the late 1980's and gathered steam throughout the 1990's.

Although the intention of the course isn't usually to create 'little' entrpreneurs many students are motivated to begin their own businesses - and many are successful.

It is interesting how ideas for business come to the individual. It can be an interest - stamp collecting, animal husbandry, astrology - or it can be a talent - music, dance, art, etc. or it can be just an idea that the person think can help them make money.

The unfortunate fact is that most beginning business don't make it - although the statistics show us that most new jobs in Canada (and probably in the U.S. too) are created by small businesses.

Start up businesses don't make it for many reasons but one of those reasons is lack of management skill - or more plainly - lack of 'getting up and doing it' The ideas come but carrying out the ideas frequently comes a lot slower.

That is why I am so in awe of people that have ideas and then naturally carry them out. They seem to be the successful ones. They think through their ideas, get lots of input from friends and experts and then they just go out and 'do it' The rest of us procrastinate and make excuses.

So for those of you out there that have a dream - dream the dream - then make the dream happen - if you are good, pay attention to details and are a little bit lucky your dreams will come true.

Which is why it is so important for my students to become good Entrepreneurship teachers (and great Business Education teachers). This course could drastically affect students' lives. That is very important work.