The Beauty of Entrepreneurship

If we were to let artificial intelligence read all ‘Ekonomalije’ and asked it what it thinks about entrepreneurship as a choice of something an individual decides to engage in during their life, we would almost certainly receive the answer that it boils down to blood, sweat, and tears. And that AI would not understand why any human being, if not roughly compelled, would engage in entrepreneurship.

Such a conclusion would largely be a consequence of the mission we set for ourselves when launching Lider. That is to be the advocate for business towards the state and to be useful to the business community in navigating increasingly turbulent, complex, and uncertain times. Fortunately, there is also the beauty of entrepreneurship. The enjoyment in entrepreneurship. Perhaps many individuals enter it out of necessity, but many others consciously choose to connect ideas, capital, and people, create added value, and succeed in the market. And no matter how many times they think at certain moments: ‘What did I need this for?!’, they would actually never step off that merry-go-round.

Heroes of Our Time

Fortunately, at Lider, alongside the tough topics of labor shortages, hostile bureaucracy, interest rates, and broken supply chains… we also have sections where we provide examples that encourage existing entrepreneurs and inspire future ones.

Thus, it published the entrepreneurial story of Marin Rogić and his company Croatian Umbrellas. Rogić helped his mother who had a kiosk at the market as a kid. Then he started selling sunglasses. Then the question arose of what to sell when summer was over. He thought of umbrellas. He went to China and decided not to import their umbrellas. He imported used machines and started his own production.

In every entrepreneurship class, his message should be repeated: ‘The evolutionary development in entrepreneurship ends with production.’ Umbrellas started off well, but then came Corona. Instead of laying off half the team that was assembling umbrellas in stores, he began renting their ‘free minutes’ to other companies. And on the first day of the war in Ukraine, he made the decision to build a new facility. And that without seeking EU funds.

This is just one of the inspiring stories that celebrate the beauty and excitement of entrepreneurship. There are many. The family of Stefan Ladavac from Istria has been processing stone since 1955. At one point, he noticed a potential market for stone-clad showers. After just a few years, he exports them to about ten countries worldwide, and orders keep coming in.

Silvija Repić worked in a large corporation and at one point decided to start her own business. Her father had experience in the food industry. They launched hummus products (not the soil). They are constantly coming up with new recipes. They do not have their own production, but several family farms and small producers do it for them, to mutual benefit.

One caveat should be noted here. In the broadest, legally defined sense, an entrepreneur is anyone who establishes a company. Unfortunately, among the founders, there are many who started with the idea of quick enrichment at the expense of suppliers and customers, through fraud or shady dealings with parts of the state apparatus that are willing to help a controversial entrepreneur embezzle taxpayer money for a small fee. Such individuals are neither true entrepreneurs nor heroes of the community. Fortunately, there are many more who fulfill, let’s call them, the knightly characteristics of entrepreneurs. This group also includes many managers. Who, by a twist of fate, are not owners of the companies they work for. But who behave in the conception and realization of entrepreneurial ventures as if the company were theirs. And we know many such individuals and strive to promote them.

Moments of Satisfaction

Entrepreneurial creativity, when an inspired and brave individual notices an unmet need in the market before anyone else, when they close the initial financial structure, when they develop a product and enter the always uncertain market competition, has invaluable worth. And moments of satisfaction between one victory and another just begun battle.

There is something else invaluable: to have the feeling that you do not have a boss above you (although there are more hidden ‘bosses’ than when you work for someone else). And to have the feeling that you manage your own time. That you work when you want, and do not work when you do not want. Of course, this is also a sweet illusion because a true entrepreneur works much more than having a working time from nine to five. But just the feeling that you could be free is enough for those born for entrepreneurship. After all, it does not all boil down to blood, sweat, and tears.