Adrie's Blog

FREEDOM

This week, I was triggered once again by the word "Freedom" particularly when a well-known and loved artist passed away in the Netherlands. The word kept cropping up in obituaries, and people's reactions "Freedom" - for many this man, Ramses Shaffey was the living symbol of freedom - which got me thinking ... he was addicted to alcohol, is that truly "free"??

When you ask Entrepreneurs, why did you want to be an Entrepreneur - "Freedom" always ranks in their top three - including in mine. The question is, what does being free truly mean? That you can say what you want? Is that true, you can't speak out against your customers, or disagree to openly with your banker when you are the one drawing credit, and you even have to communicate carefully with your stakeholders..

Divvying up your own time, that is freedom! Or isn't it - when you are working 12 hour days and often including weekends. I have often had people in employment ask me if they should start their own business too. I would warn them of all the hours they would need to put in, the hard work and the many long hours - and they would reply with almost no exception "But I work very hard for my boss now too, so that won't make a difference to me". When you speak to them many years later, they always tell you that they were shocked at how hard they did have to knuckle down once they started their own firm.

Or is Financial Freedom the most important factor? Dream or reality? It's granted only a few to have a company lead to financial independence and only after serious hard work, and hardship. There are undoubtedly tons of entrepreneurs that work against a minimum wage, who struggle every month with their bills and taxes - a lot of hidden poverty hides behind the doors of businesses. Still it is a dream of many people to one day run their own shop, to be independent, to be FREE - so what is this dream of not having anyone to answer to? Not to the banks or the shareholders, nor to the inland revenue, not even to your spouse or your board or your employees... that dream...

Many many millions of people start their own company each year, chasing that exact dream - and whatever you say, whatever you share with them - they will still go ahead. Dream on baby.

So why did I become an entrepreneur early on in life and continue to be an entrepreneur till the very end? Because it offers me the place for my creativity and my passion, my sense of competitiveness (I can do it better) and there isn't a whole lot of politics involved.. and most importantly... perhaps the dream will come true for me!!

I would love to hear your thoughts.

Adrie