We need to breed more entrepreneurs

When it comes to figuring out how to succeed, many business owners remind me of the man in this joke. A flood was threatening a house in Birkirkara, forcing everyone to evacuate. But Joe thinks: "I'm a devout man. God will save me," and stays put.

As the waters start rising, Joe's neighbour comes by. "Joe, come with me. We've got to go." But Joe declines . "I'm a devout man. God will save me."

The waters keep rising. Joe scrambles to his second floor and out the window. A rescue man in a Civil Protection rowboat comes by. "Get in the boat or you'll drown," he says. Joe again declines. "I'm a devout man. God will save me."

Finally, the floodwaters are so high that Joe is forced up on his roof. An AFM helicopter comes by and throws a rope. "It's your last chance, climb up or you'll drown," the co-pilot yells. "No," Joe says, "I'm a devout man. God will save me."

Soon, Joe drowns. He arrives in heaven and challenges God. "I'm a devout man. Why didn't you help me?"

"What do you mean?" God replies. "I did help. I sent a neighbour, a firefighter and a helicopter."

Many of us are like Joe. We keep waiting for something to rescue us while we miss opportunities to help ourselves. Whether in our business lives or personal lives, we hope for a lifeline.

Like Joe, if we want things to be different, we must learn to recognise opportunities and seize them. We have to do something.

Of course, most entrepreneurs don't just sit there. They're used to taking action. But all too often, especially when they're in trouble, they think the way to improve their situation is to just work harder at what they're already doing. They're in a hole and think the answer is to start digging faster.

Let's face it. If you want your business or your life to change, to be more successful or satisfying, you have to do some things differently. You just have to be an active participant in your own transformation.

But where do we start? Like Joe, we have to learn how to recognise opportunities to survive and succeed and then hold on.

It seems that this nation is pitifully short of entrepreneurs. From recent research conducted by Suzanne Gatt for ETC (The School To Work Transition), it resulted that only about 16 per cent of young people in Malta would like to be self-employed. This contrasts sharply with four Gallup surveys in the US (Seeds of Success, Kauffman Centre for Entrepreneurial Leadership) that revealed that nearly seven out of 10 of that nation's teens want to control their own destinies by becoming entrepreneurs.

How then can we prepare today's youth to pursue entrepreneurial aspirations? Those that do not learn about running the business "at the dinner table" typically do not perceive they have access through the school system to the skills and knowledge that would enable them to have a shot at "making a job" rather than "taking a job". Many do not have a personal connection with a small business owner who might serve as a role model nor do they have a full appreciation for the challenges facing entrepreneurs.

The American studies find that a greater focus on teaching entrepreneurship is necessary and many school systems are heeding the message.

The education authorities and other agencies (ETC, Malta Enterprise) need to promote entrepreneurship and highlight its role in society and the opportunities it presents for personal gain; formulate policies geared towards enhancing entrepreneurial capacity (i.e. the skills and motivation to pursue opportunities); encourage the participation of women in entrepreneurship; adopt policies that encourage the involvement of people younger than 25 and older than 44 in the entrepreneurial process; design policies that encourage the development of formal venture capital and create incentives for private individuals to invest directly in early-stage businesses; ensure that all aspects of the economic system are conducive to and supportive of increased levels of entrepreneurial activity.

The notion that enterprise education should be an essential part of a lifelong learning approach is now generally accepted. The development of entrepreneurial attitudes and skills can be encouraged in people of all ages, starting in school. In most EU countries, initiatives already exist that tackle this issue. In fact, in the framework of the Multiannual Programme for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship (2001-2005), the Enterprise Directorate-General has launched a Best Procedure project on education and training for entrepreneurship.

More recently, the European Charter for Small Enterprises has urged that specific business-related modules should be made an essential ingredient of education schemes at secondary level and at colleges and universities. Following up on its Action Plan to Promote Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship, the European Commission has undertaken various activities to advance training programmes for heads of SMEs, while Business Education Network in Europe (BENE) through its interactive network has made it possible for institutions to exchange experience and best practice that may benefit SMEs and potential entrepreneurs.

We already have a successful Young Enterprise programme. But it's too small and still seen as a sideline. If Malta's GDP is to make a quantum jump, Enterprise needs to be put in the forefront of our priorities.