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The Purpose of Entrepreneurship |
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 Take a minute to think about the world we live in and the impact that entrepreneurs have had on this world.
Entrepreneurs made it possible for every person to own an affordable refrigerator, and while some one created the motor vehicle, Henry Ford’s entrepreneurial spirit is credited with making it affordable.
Yes, it’s intriguing at this juncture in life to think about what drove these people to become the successful entrepreneurs they were. What inspired great businessmen and women to relentlessly pursue their dreams of success and wealth, at levels that would seem unimaginable to the ordinary man?
Take amazing and inspiring stories like Ingvar Kamprad, an amazing rags-to-riches story; or even on our continent, Patrice Motsepe, South Africa’s first black billionaire and one of the richest people in the world. There are many legends being created every day around us, and when you think about each of these people and the many more that we know about even here in Gaborone, not only is it inspiring, but these unique stories pose an unanswered question that I’ve been looking into deeper recently. What motivates these outstanding entrepreneurs to push themselves beyond the norm?
With a lot of analysis and a whole lot of reading, I settled on a concept I call, “The 3 Motivators of Entrepreneurship”. I believe that entrepreneurs are motivated by varying degrees of 3 core factors, namely: Lifestyle, Ego, and Purpose. No individual is solely driven by any one factor alone.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of entrepreneurs are Lifestyle entrepreneurs. They do what they do to afford a lifestyle. Their motivation to make money is fueled by cars, jewellery, houses, vacations, etc. This mindset is rooted in deep materialism and eventually opens a Pandora’s box of expenses.
Lifestyle entrepreneurs can be rich or poor, can have P100, or 1 Billion Pula; it’s not in the amount of money, but it’s the mentality behind their work. In the capitalistic and credit driven world we live in, it’s not difficult to have your lifestyle catch up with your wealth and inevitably, it always does. Take billionaire Larry Ellison; this man, one of the richest people in the world known for being an inspiring rags to riches story, owning the world’s largest yacht among many other extravagances, was notoriously known for maxing out his credit limit of one billion dollars…. The lifestyle always catches up.
The second motivation of entrepreneurship is Ego. Egoistic entrepreneurship relates to the need to prove yourself, to achieve astronomical personal goals and then constantly set the bar higher. Most multi-millionaires and billionaires fall within this category and they are the ones with the highest probability of success. They have the “fire in the belly”, are ready to work day in and out, leverage and take risk to realize their dreams. They are perfectly aware that the improvement in lifestyle with each P100 million is minimal, but they really couldn’t care less. It’s about being on top. Their limitation is not knowing when to reevaluate things. Contrary to the negative notion towards the word ‘ego’, being an ego-driven entrepreneur is actually a great thing; but be aware that they are notorious for burning out and it’s important for such people to eventually revisit their priorities to ensure their lifelong happiness.
The third form of motivation is what I call “purpose”. Admittedly, it’s a vague term, but its explanation is equally vague. Purpose-driven entrepreneurs truly enjoy what they do and have nothing to prove to anyone. They can be content with driving an old, used car or living in an old house. Their driving force is something beyond the ordinary. It can be anything from the pleasure of creating a great organization to the greater good of mankind, or even just because they simply enjoy doing what they do. This form of mindset is indeed extraordinary and contrary to common economic theories on capitalism… but does it work? Maybe you should ask Warren Buffet, the richest man on earth.
Quote of the day: "…I don't use very many of those [dollars]. There's nothing material I want very much. And I'm going to give virtually all [my money] to charity when my wife and I die.” – Warren Buffet
Arjun Parameswaran is the executive vice-president of the Astutant Group, Florida, USA, a director of the R.D.P Group, Botswana and an administrator of the R.D.P Foundation, a Botswana centered charitable foundation. He can be contacted at
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Read more and post your comments online at www.arjunparameswaran.com
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