Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship

The campaign launched by President Soeharto yesterday to
promote the spirit of entrepreneurship in society has set loose a
gush of refreshing air in the direction of the business sector in
which, up to now, only rent seekers, opportunists and politically
well connected persons seem able to succeed.

The fact that the nationwide entrepreneurship drive was
started on Cooperatives Day serves as a reminder to us that the
cooperative movement, which is supposed to be the backbone of our
economy and the training ground for entrepreneurs in the
countryside, has disappointingly remained largely the extension
of the bureaucratic machinery.

More than 44,885 primary cooperatives have been set up
throughout the country. An impressive record it may seem. But if
those cooperatives are stripped of official largess and
government sanctioned business deals they will be reduced mostly
to organizations of bureaucrats and opportunists who are
affiliated with local officials.

The objective of the campaign is undoubtedly very important,
especially now when the private sector has come to serve as the
engine of economic growth and when the majority of university
graduates still prefer to seek paid employment instead of self-
employment or entrepreneurial activities.

If we are really serious about promoting the spirit of
entrepreneurship in this society, the campaign should be directed
at two main targets -- the government sector and the general
public.

First of all, the drive should be designed to inculcate the
same perception among both the civil servants and the public
concerning the basic elements of entrepreneurship: Innovation,
productiveness and frugality.

Both "entrepreneurs" and "businessmen" want to make money. The
fundamental difference, though, is that an "entrepreneur" sees
making money as a means to an end, not as the end in itself. That
is why such a person will live a frugal life even after making a
lot of money. "Entrepreneurs" thrive on creating new things, even
though encountering many risks in that process. They like to
relate to people, to feel for people. But to the ordinary
"businessman" -- let alone the rent-seeking opportunists --
making big money as quickly as possible is the end. That is why,
once they make money, they tend to show off, living a
materialistic lifestyle.

Hence, to enhance the spirit of entrepreneurship, it is
crucial for the government to develop the kind of regulatory
environment that is conducive for innovative and risk-taking
people to create things through business enterprises. Officials,
or government agencies, should never think of being able to out-
think the entrepreneurs making choices on their own initiatives.
That means that the playing field should be made as level as
possible and the entrepreneurs should be given full freedom to
profit from their risk taking endeavors by creating new
businesses and new jobs.

But risk taking, innovative entrepreneurs can thrive only in a
society which allows people to make honest mistakes. We think we
still need to learn to accept business failures made by people
who have tried their best as a matter of course, because those
with true entrepreneurial spirits are never stopped by failure.
Honest mistakes, or failures, are, of course, basically different
from dishonesty and manipulation.

In countries where entrepreneurship is well advanced, such as
the United States, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, thousands of
businesses fail each month, but almost the same number of new
businesses sprout up. That has been possible partly because the
publics in those countries do not look down upon people who
suffer from bankruptcy. Public opinion instead considers failure
a license to try again and again. That, we think, is the kind of
public perception and public opinion which should be promoted by
the campaign to enhance the spirit of entrepreneurship.