The Entrepreneurial Spirit
When my grandfather started his business in 1940’s Cuba, he quickly carved out a niche for himself as a specialist in steel design, fabrication and construction which separated him from his competitors and earned him the respect of his peers. As a registered engineer, he was certainly qualified to design buildings and foundations for his clients, but so could his contemporaries. His hands-on experience working in the steel mill as a young apprentice gave him a keen understanding of the fabrication process which he shrewdly parlayed into a unique design advantage over the other engineers of his day, but there was something more. My grandfather had a knack for solving problems; a curious inventiveness that can only be described as entrepreneurial because he put that resourceful skill to work for the benefit of others, and made a career out of it. As it turned out, that same entrepreneurial spirit which stirred my grandfather to discover innovative solutions to his client’s needs and overcome the challenges in his industry would also help him face the far more ominous challenges of exile.
After being forced out of Cuba in 1960, my grandfather moved his family to Spain, where they lived for eight years. Once again, his entrepreneurial prowess led him to start his own business in Europe which was taking root while his family grew. Then in 1968 my grandfather moved his family, for what would be the last time, to Miami where they finally settled, and in 1979 he co-founded Lemartec with my father. Without question, Lemartec was born out of that same entrepreneurial spirit that drove my grandfather to not only survive, but create and innovate and find solutions to problems – except it was my father who must have inherited that spirit because it was he who approached my grandfather with the idea of launching the company. Now, I’m not really qualified to tell you whether or not a spirit of entrepreneurship is in fact hereditary, but I am happy to advise that in my case, as the third generation in our family business, I must have inherited it too because I can’t stop thinking of ways to improve our company and help it grow.
So how is this story relevant to us in business today? Because entrepreneurship is what’s going to get us out of the current economic recession. I’ll give you three reasons why:
1. Entrepreneurship has always been, and continues to be, the largest generator of wealth in this country. According to Dr. William Green, Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Studies at the University of Miami, and cofounder of the Launch Pad, the university’s center for entrepreneurship, approximately half of the current Fortune 500 companies were started in a bear market. As it is, the Small Business Administration reports that on average 600,000 new businesses start up each year in the US. During a recession, that number is actually higher. That’s because in a recession, many people find themselves either unemployed or underemployed, and those are two very powerful motivators that can rouse the entrepreneurial spirit. As a result, small businesses and the creation of new small businesses have a tremendous driving effect on our economy.
2. That being said, you don’t have to start a new business to be entrepreneurial. Entrepreneurship is about improvement, invention and innovation – all necessary components of any existing business. There isn’t an industry, a company, a department, or even a sole proprietor that cannot be improved. Every business, and every businessperson, could stand to be more efficient, more effective and more productive. I consider it a blessing to be part of a thirty year old company that thinks and acts like a start-up. The same can be true of your company.
3. Entrepreneurship is all about hope. No matter how low the economy may dip, no matter how bad things may get, an entrepreneurial spirit will always afford us the hope that keeps us from giving up. When faced with a problem, entrepreneurs look for solutions. When faced with a challenge, entrepreneurs look for the opportunity behind it. If the slightest chance for a solution or an opportunity exists, the entrepreneur will take it. That’s exactly the kind of fight-to-win attitude this country needs right now, and that is why, when faced with a broken economy, entrepreneurs will ultimately be the ones to fix it.
And let’s not forget the social component of entrepreneurship. Every new business created to fill a need, just like every innovation, invention and improvement brings with it the opportunity to create value for others while, at the same time, we create value for ourselves. That’s the beauty of business. That’s the power of the entrepreneurial spirit.
Originally published by El Nuevo Herald 12/7/09
