Most people have heard of Richard Branson, one of the greatest entrepreneurs of our time. Less well known is the name of his mentor, Freddie Laker. Branson told the BBC on the occasion of Laker’s death: “If it hadn’t been for Sir Freddie, you most likely wouldn’t have had Virgin Atlantic; you wouldn’t have had the easyJets of this world.”
Laker had a massive influence on Branson, mentoring him in all aspects of his business, and providing him with the support he needed to take expansive and groundbreaking business decisions.
Clearly, if a person as successful as Branson regards it as vital to have a role model, it is important for entrepreneurs starting out to find someone they look up to and admire, an inspiration and a guide.
A discussion paper by the Tinbergen Institute, published in the March edition of the Journal of Economic Psychology ( Entrepreneurship and role models, Bosma et al) confirms that the use of entrepreneurial role models is widespread. Research shows that 54 percent of the entrepreneurs in the sample had a role model in the pre- or post-start-up phase.
From childhood, we look for cues on appropriate behaviour; smart adults look for cues too. Part of what makes an entrepreneur successful is having someone who gives them those cues, whether it is a friend or family member, or a more famous role model, such as Patrice Motsepe, South Africa’s first black billionaire.
Normally the drum I like to bang concerns the youth and how we can help them to unlock their potential, but a few things have combined to make me think about the elderly recently.
First, television – they say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but there is a BBC cop show that gives the lie to that old adage. In New Tricks, police people at, or possibly past, retirement age use their skills, which would otherwise be wasted, to solve crimes that have been overlooked in the day-to-day hurry of the policing system. It’s a great way of pointing out that old doesn’t mean dead – that just because you’re over the age of retirement doesn’t mean you can’t contribute to society.
Then there’s the National Planning Commission: many of those who sit on it are way past retirement age, and yet they are the people we trust to map our future. While there has been much criticism of the commission’s plan, I have not yet heard anyone say: “Ag, old people, what do they know about how to fix things”, and I would take issue with them if I did hear it.
We do seem to use the resources represented by our older population a little better than in some other places in Europe. A recent conversation with a Swiss professor who has chosen to retire to South Africa made me think.
His eyes lit up as he described how he filled his retirement by playing with two different Johannesburg-based orchestras, as well as helping out at a University of Johannesburg project.
“There’s money to employ me for two and a half more years… And when it runs out, they’ll still let me mentor students – until I’m 80, if I want to. In Basel, once you’re done, you’re done.”
And then there’s the Dependable Strengths Foundation, an Anglican Church project based on an American programme. It is designed to teach people to look at their true potential. Over the course of two days, it helps people to see that the activities in their day-to-day lives can be turned to their advantage, helping them to create entrepreneurial activities or sell themselves to potential employers.
The culmination of the programme involves taking the participants to shopping malls with their newly written CVs, which emphasise their strengths.
For instance, a housewife is helped to realise that for her job she needs time management skills, an ability to forecast future needs (purchasing Handy Andy before it finishes) and multi-tasking (feed the child, do laundry and prepare dinner, all at the same time).
And based on those skills, she can easily perform a function as an office manager, even if she has no previous experience. They then approach total strangers, ask them to read their CVs and ask them if they would employ them based on that. The usually positive answers go a long way towards increasing self-esteem and, commensurately, making them more positive about their own ability to earn a living.
Dependable Strengths is wholly funded by public contributions (from the Oppenheimer foundation, among others) and it is run by Jennifer Tallack, who was the headmistress of Athlone Girls’ High School before she retired.
This is an ideal example of what I think should happen on a larger scale throughout our country. Here we have a retired person who has used her retirement to reach out to and improve the lives of unemployed South Africans. And she has no plans to stop.
The importance of entrepreneurship in developing an economy has been repeatedly demonstrated in various research studies throughout the world.
European research reveals that small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) account for two-thirds of employment within the EU, with micro enterprises accounting for 34 percent, small enterprises accounting for 19 percent and medium-sized enterprises accounting for 13 percent. In 2003 SMMEs accounted for 52 percent of private sector turnover within the EU, with average turnover of about E500 000 (R5.6 million), according to Eurostat.
It’s pretty obvious that for the South African economy to continue to grow, and to reduce unemployment and poverty, we need to develop and nurture a culture of entrepreneurship. And to develop entrepreneurship you have to develop entrepreneurs, both in the practical sense and more holistically through providing personalities to look up to and emulate.
Let’s seek out our older statesmen and women and harness their talent, using them to help our country unleash its entrepreneurial talent. And, commensurately, if you are retired, don’t sit back and think you are done – your country needs you.
Ezra Ndwandwe is the chief executive of Dualpoint Holdings and the creator of reality television show The Big Break Legacy, of which Business Report is a print media partner. For more information visit www.thebigbreaklegacy.com.