Financial Times

Your role as an entrepreneur
By Nilooka Dissanayake
Recently I re-read an article which freaked me out completely four years ago when I read it the first time. But, for me, a professional who stepped into an entrepreneurs role by default because my father started a business this is much more interesting than for most people. This article, published in Athwela Business Journal, was titled “The Role of the Entrepreneur.”

It begins like this: “The role of the entrepreneur in a small business is limitless. He has to provide leadership for the organisation. He is the father of the business. He has to act as a responsible citizen in running the business. He is the key investor of the business. He is the key information gatherer. He is the chief negotiator. He is the chief executive officer. He is responsible for the management structure, the control mechanisms and the supervision of this organization. He is the key salesman and the key marketer. He is the head of purchasing. He is the strategist. He is the ultimate authority. He holds ultimate responsibility for all incomes and expenditures of the organization. He is the chief of planning. He is the chief organizer. He is the team leader, coach, guide and motivator.”

That was only the introduction. And, this article came into my hands approximately six months from the date I assumed leadership. It seemed like it was meant for me. Perhaps it was. I was getting settled in my job and doing almost all of the things mentioned above. But I was not thinking in those terms.

You must know what happened to the centipede when someone asked: How on earth do you manage to walk around on hundred legs? How do you co-ordinate the thing? He became paralysed because he started thinking about what he had been simply doing by habit. I too felt the same way. And my life has never been the same since.

My objective in re-reading this article was to remind myself of the immense responsibility which I must shoulder as an entrepreneur. There will be many reluctant entrepreneurs among you who are assuming the role of leadership in an organisation started by a parent, elder or a sibling. But, the majority of entrepreneurs are those who have stepped in to the world of business out of their own free will. Whatever our motivation for entering the world of business, how many of us thought about our responsibilities in this manner? It is a huge responsibility to take on. I am glad I read it after I quit my job.

I am pretty confident that I would not have become an entrepreneur, even reluctantly, had I known what I was getting myself into! As it is, providing attitudes, knowledge and skills to help the small and medium entrepreneurs of Sri Lanka and the fact that I enjoy writing keeps me going.

For those of you who do not have dual roles that make running your business a pleasure also, these responsibilities can seem grueling at times. But, that is part of the game you have undertaken. So, be a good sport!

I also ended up reading the first issue of Athwela Business Journal, dated June 1998. Here’s something relevant to the topic we are discussing. There is a short article titled “Are you a prisoner of your business?”

“Think about it” it says. “If you show either one or two or, if you are very unlucky, many of the signs shown below, it is time that you put your lifestyle, life objectives and the future of your organization under the microscope:”

*Are you feeling bad about losing or being distanced from your personal relationships?

*However many your successes have been so far, are you worried that you might fail in the near future?

*Are you always annoyed or angry at your employees and family members?

*Are you bothered that your personal matters are neglected because your business is not doing so well right now?

*Do you no longer feel any satisfaction in the fact that you own a business?

Yes, do think about it. But, I hope, that you will find a happy solution. Please let us know what topics you like us to touch upon in the future. You can contact on ft@sundaytimes.wnl.lk or on 5-552524

The writer is the Managing Editor of Athwela Vyaparika Sangarawa (Athwela Business Journal), the only Sinhala management monthly targeting the small and medium enterprises and its English version, Small Business International magazine.

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