I ask them, “What would you like to be?” The answer invariably is, ‘I want to be a doctor or an engineer’ depending upon their choice but mostly in that order. My next question to them invariably is, “Would you want to be an entrepreneur”? The term either makes them sulk or they look around to parents to answer on their behalf. Parents too get baffled at this unexpected question of mine and many of them feel that it was a non-desirable question. Perhaps, they also believe that a steady corporate or government job can ensure a cosy future for their kids and as such increases the value of their son or daughter in the matrimonial market.
So, why don’t Goan youngsters think of a start-up? Unfortunately, our mindsets are such that most Goans demand a guarantee of success, even before the venture is started. In Goa, by and large, there is a stigma attached to a failed businessman. Consequently, you will find in almost all the industrial estates of Goa, original Goan owners of an enterprise are very few. Unfortunately, in Goa, we believe that entrepreneurship is for less qualified youngsters. It should therefore be avoided or to be attempted as a last resort. Enterprise also requires hard work and tenacity. High resilience with the ability to put the best foot forward would certainly help.
In the business-oriented states such as Gujarat, Rajasthan or Punjab, people respect businessmen. The respect is more if the businessman has failed on more than one occasion! People in those states respect resilience. They also feel that if a person has failed, it is that business activity that was not suited and thus he failed, and it was not that businessman per se who failed. And people help the failed businessman from within the community with financial support to enable him to bounce back.
We, Goans, are in the habit of saying that there are no opportunities in Goa. But the harsh reality is that more than 80 per cent of entrepreneurs in Goa today are non-Goans who have migrated here to start their enterprise. It is far away from their homes and in an unfamiliar social environment with a language barrier. But they have a remarkable way of getting ahead with sheer grit, determination and the willpower to work hard with high resilience.
In States like Rajasthan, Gujarat or Punjab, children at a very young age are made to believe that a job means working for someone else which is perceived as ‘below the dignity of their family’. We, Goans, need to change our mindsets. Remember, most of the government’s economic policies are decided by influential people in the industry or in the business. We should, therefore, not be surprised that irrespective of which government is in power in future, Goa’s business policies could well be decided by non-Goan businessmen which may not necessarily be in the best interests of Goans.
It is high time therefore that we change our mindsets and outlook towards entrepreneurship and enterprise embracing various schemes of the State and the Central government.
›The writer who is MSc (Tech), MBA (IIMA), is the Chairman and Managing
Director, Vibha Natural Products Ltd, Mumbai
