One Way of Defeating This 'Economic Storm'

Entrepreneur - is a term applied to the type of personality who is willing to take upon herself or himself a new venture or enterprise and accepts full responsibility for the outcome.

Recently a top presidential candidate of the 2010 Elections awarded a group of entrepreneurs from Bicol to recognize their success at the Camarines Sur Convention Center. Senator Manny Villar awarded sixteen people, who were also recipients of P100,000 each to further enhance their capital for their already-growing businesses under the Go Negosyo program. Villar talked about how the country is affected by the global crisis and he urged that the best way to fight this crisis is by becoming entrepreneurs. He called these recipients "Economic Heroes" where most of them faced debt and bankruptcy during the early stages of their micro businesses. One of the awardees claimed she was on the brink of losing her business. The only thing urging her to continue was her passion to be successful and someday, be able to rise above poverty. She also says that Villar was instrumental in encouraging her to pursue her business.

Manny Villar was an entrepreneur himself and he continues to inspire many Filipinos, including me. He has taught me that perseverance and hard work are the two most important things in business, and in life as well. We all know his story and his humble beginnings and how he turned his small gravel business into an Asian empire. Today, he is spearheading the implementation of a nationwide entrepreneurial development program which recognizes hard work, talent, honesty and creativity. He rewards those who are passionate about what they do because he sees himself in those entrepreneurs as well, and he knows what they have been through.

This is what we should do and be. We must act, think, and behave like entrepreneurs. We must think out-of-the-box and go when no one else dares to. This is not about being blindly brave, but rather being intelligent and courageous at the same time. We must be willing to take on new ventures and be completely accountable for it. It is true that failure will definitely inevitable. We will experience this again and again. But we will be rebuilding our houses again and again, no matter what. The next time the storm comes, our homes will be stronger.

We can all become entrepreneurs in our ways. We do not necessarily have to start or manage a business to become one. All we need is the desire to achieve what in particular we want in life, and we must be prepared by having a plan to go about it. The road will not be easy but If we all do this, the economic crisis would just seem to be like a storm trying to shake a mighty stone house.