An entrepreneur is a person who creates a new business, bearing most of the risks and enjoying most of the rewards. He or she is commonly seen as an innovator, a source of new ideas, goods, services, and business or procedures. A business, on the other hand, is the organized efforts and activities of individuals to produce and sell goods and services for profit.
Let me digress a bit by stating that this near-sighted Ibaloy writer is a Commerce graduate with a major in management and minor in marketing but has never engaged in business. It seems that we are better at writing corny verses than making money. Instead, we are a public servant and have long accepted the reality that we will never be named in Fortune magazine’s rich list. Oh, well.
Of course, there are those who have made government service an entrepreneurial activity or a family business. Just look at political dynasties who continue to rule over our beloved land. They are among the country’s richest and most powerful. The saying, “He who has the gold, makes the rules,” describes them perfectly.
How sad. Again, unless you are corrupt, belong to a well-to-do family, married to a rich spouse or have other sources of legal income, you will never become materially rich in public service.
We are elated to learn that the Department of Trade and Industry-Cordillera is gung-ho in developing a generation of future successful entrepreneurs in the region through its recently launched Youth Entrepreneurship Program. Yep, that’s a step in the right direction. Many of the world’s industrialized nations owe their First World status, in great part, to its entrepreneurial citizens. These highly-developed nations, like tiny Singapore, encourage their people to have entrepreneurial mindsets, make it easy for them to start a business and provide needed support for their ventures to succeed.
It’s high time that the Philippines, once one of Asia’s top economies and now a perennial laggard, should prioritize entrepreneurship by making it easier to establish a business here. Our young people should be encouraged to strive to own their business someday, become their own boss and create jobs. That’s instead of becoming employees, earning limited income and working for somebody else.
Here’s “Baguio Poem”: “The slimy silky feel of pine needles/ Caresses the soles of your feet/ I watch you there gamboling at the/ John Hay tree park/ Lost in thought and cares/ Alone amidst curious stares/ Daughter of a southern island/ For a fleeting moment/ Lost in ecstasy/ Pine cones scattered by your/ playful presence/ I too am caught up in the magic of/ Your delight/ The whirlwind picks us up and/ Spits us out again/ We are two halves of a pine cone/ United together / Again”
Let’s end with a prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, by Your patience in suffering You hallowed earthly pain and gave us the example of obedience to Your Father’s will. Be near me in my time of weakness and pain; sustain me byYour grace, that my strength and courage may not fail; heal me according to Your will; and help me always to believe that what happens to me here is of little account if You hold me in eternal life, my Lord and my God. Amen.”
May our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ continue to bless and keep us all safe.
