An entrepreneur is an individual who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on financial risk to do so.(Wikipedia)
The other day, I was talking to a Dutch guy who told me that he was an entrepreneur. But what actually he does is that he takes commission from other companies and just does online marketing.
I know that it's not easy to make money by selling and marketing other company's products.....well, then it's nothing to do with being an entrepreneur or entrepreneurship.
Online marketing is more to do with the realm of smart guys who put certain keywords in somewhere online and make enough income for their living.
I wish I could enjoy doing it but I really have no interests in doing so.
When I started my business, I spent all my savings(which was roughly US$30,000) and even borrowed more money from my parents and spent it all with a smile on my face.
Of course, there have been times that I had no money at all and didn't know how I was going to make ends meet but somehow, I'm living happily after 4 years of setting up my company.
Right now, I'm in Mexico City and have been thinking how I can expand my business to this country.
For people like me, taking a risk is just a part of job and we don't pay much attention to it. If we don't take any risks, we know that we are going to die slowly.
(Not literally, in terms of business.......of course.)
Even though my business is relatively small and I don't have any ambition to make so-called "The Next Big Thing", I'd rather focus on making my business more sustainable.
(Then eventually, I can make people happier than now.)
To be honest with you, I am the one who hasn't spent a penny on online marketing but still makes decent money for the people working for us.
O.K.
Some of them are not making as much as they want but we make sure that we provide fair opportunities to be able to make it.
One thing I'm sure is that you can make things work if you have already survived in the Japanese market for more than 3 years.
(It's ridiculously competitive and demanding that's why we have all the technology and unique culture. )
I'm quite relaxed about things now and feel ready to tackle another obstacle.
Which basically means that I spend all my savings again and will be able to have a smile on my face in the end.
Being an entrepreneur means being an engine which tries to generate enough money and enough happiness around.
I just hope that I can be a good one.
