By  Carlton Joseph

You may not have yet heard the news but later this month (November  13-19)  Toronto will join with cities in 160 countries  around the world in celebrating Global Entrepreneurial Week.

This event is part of a worldwide program where thousands of events and competitions will be held with the aim of inspiring millions to engage in entrepreneurial activity while connecting them to potential collaborators, mentors and investors.

This program caused me to reflect on my own entrepreneurial path upon which I had  set out  when I was just a schoolboy. Of  course, at the time there were no programs like the ones which are being  organized in connection with  Global Entrepreneurial Week.

As I reflected on the upcoming event, several questions  kept coming to forefront. Why are Caribbean peoples, especially Afro Caribbean, are so reluctant to start their own businesses? What is the reason for this lack of initiative? Why are we migrating from the Caribbean to North America , the capitalist North, to obtain university degrees, and on our return, instead of starting our own businesses,  seek employment  with  government or a  private company?  Is this lack of  entrepreneurial initiative  part of our cultural upbringing?

Over the years I have met many Caribbean doctors, lawyers, economists, business majors and teachers -middle class and successful but all with the same regret.  They all believed they could have contributed more to society and to their financial condition if they had the courage to embark on their own entrepreneurial dream.   For some, it was that discussion with the spouse and family members, who discouraged them by emphasizing the potential problem of meeting the monthly bills, especially the mortgage payment.  For others, it was the fear of the unknown.  And even when they tried it as a side gig, the inability to get regular work to meet their expenses caused them to despair, believing that  running their own business would be too difficult.  Others chose to avoid the entrepreunial path  because the only thing they heard from their parents was that after their studies abroad, they  should  come back home as a doctor or lawyer; it seemed that no other profession or line of  work existed in the minds of their parents.

In my case heading into business was a natural progression.  At eight years of age, I started making figurines out of  Plaster of Paris.  I painted them and sold them to the people in my community.

Then at age ten, I was making kites.  We played a game called “zwill.”   In this game you would pass the tail of your kite over the thread of your opponent’s kite and the razor blade would cut his thread and his kite would fall to earth. Game over. The player  who lost his kite would then   make or buy a new kite.  And I always had kites for sale.  I also  had several other  small business ventures before I was  12 years of age.

By the time I had started working  on my degree at Howard University  in Washington,  I  had fully embraced the idea that building my own business was the only way to gain independence, freedom, and ability to create wealth. Studies in economics, business and other academic areas made me realize that what they were teaching, especially in economics and business administration, was not going to prepare me for starting my own business.  I was being taught how to work to build someone else’s business.  I decided to study mathematics.  I wanted to learn how to think. I then decided to do a Masters degree in Computer Design.  This went so well that I was offered a job at IBM.

But  when I went to take up the position at IBM, racism reared its ugly head.  The secretary demanded that I do a test, which I refused to do, and showed her the job offer which included my salary and to whom I would be reporting.  She insisted that I do the test, and I walked away determined more than ever that I would never be placed in this situation again.

After I obtained a Masters Degree in Engineering Administration,  Bechtel Power hired me and I began to acquire the knowledge that I needed to embark on my own business – which I did after completing four years with  the company

When you give birth to a business, like a child, it is helpless, and needs all of your attention and nourishment (finances).  I remember paying someone to market my startup from the salary I received from Bechtel.   After nine months, we landed our first contract for $10,500.00.   I then went into the office of the Division manager and informed him that I was submitting my resignation with two weeks’ notice.  He was concerned and asked if I was not happy at Bechtel.  In addition, he informed me that I would be fully vested in about nine months and that the funds I had accumulated would be fully matched.  I told him that I had won this contract and that I had to make this decision since I had to give it 150 per cent  of my time and effort to ensure success.  He questioned my logic, explaining that my annual salary was about six times that amount. After the contract was completed, what then? he asked.

I then asked him when did he think I would get his job as manager.  He  said that he could not answer that question.  I then asked him if he believed he could be President of Bechtel.  He explained that he had never even thought about being President.  I told him that was precisely why I had to leave.  He wished me the best and requested that I stay for one month to complete the project I was responsible for, and I agreed.  From that moment to this day I have never regretted that decision –  even when Ronald Reagan decided that energy was not a problem and cancelled 11 million dollars in company contracts, and we lost most of our employees and had to seek  “factor” funding for new contracts we won.

To young people who have the desire to control your own destiny but hesitate to take the leap into entrepreneurship, my advice is that you have nothing to lose and everything to gain, especially in this new economic environment.  An environment where companies do not value allegiance, where expecting to work for a company for 40 years is not possible, where you and young technical savvy, computer kids are competing globally for jobs, where North American and European companies want you to irrationally compete with people making  one dollar a day.  You must take inventory of your skills and talents and decide to deploy these talents and skills for your own business.

And here is my advice to older people who have spent 30 years or more in government and private industry and are being forced to retire: Assess your skills and decide how you can create a business that will help to solve the problems in the world and give you the freedom to make decisions that you could not make while working for someone else .

You will find that the most rewarding and meaningful work of your life is when you do it for your own business.

Much success to you during Global Entrepreneurial Week.

(Trinidad-born Carlton  Joseph who lives  in Washington  D.C. is a close observer of political developments  in the United States.)