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Opinion

What keeps us going

By Caroline Pover


事業を続ける原動力

起業家が事業を続けていく動機はさまざまだ。
いくつもの事業を運営する筆者の場合、原動力になっているのは・・・。

People often ask entrepreneurs what their motives are for starting their own business, and the answers they give usually concern things like wanting to be their own boss, wanting to meet a need, seeing an opportunity, wanting to do something better than anyone else has ever done it, or to make lots of money!

Although most of the entrepreneurs who I know are not motivated by making lots of money — most of them are not even in an industry where it is possible to become a millionairenon-entrepreneurs often assume that money is a motivation.

So what were my motivations for starting my own businesses?
* When I started the support and information network Being A Broad, I wanted to help foreign women living in Japan.
* For Alexandra Press, I wanted to self-publish my own book.
* For the job information and placement service Broad-Minded Business, I wanted to help foreign and Japanese women find jobs in companies that would allow them to thrive.
* For the Tokyo Weekender magazine, I was offered an opportunity to continue a publication that a man that I admired very much started 35 years ago, and which I believed was an important part of the foreign community in Japan — I wanted to see that continue.

Each of the four businesses had its own motivation for me, but in general, I was motivated by the thought of building communities of people who supported and inspired each other through online and print media. I didn't really think so much about whether I wanted to be my own boss or about the financial implications for me personally, i.e., whether or not I'd make a bundle of money.

Once your business is up and running (and the start-up phase is rarely six months — which is what most people think. It is more likely to be six years!), people rarely ask you what your motivation is for continuing your business. Let's face it, it is possible to close down a business at any time, but many entrepreneurs don't unless they are forced to. We keep going!

In the past year, the number of people working in my businesses has more than tripled (but we are squeezed into the same office we moved into a year ago, with the addition of my puppy, who comes to work with me every day!). So in some respect, you could say I have created my own community of people.

It is a rare and privileged position to be in, where you are responsible for hiring staff and looking after them. I feel extremely lucky to be able to choose the people that I spend most of my waking hours with.

So what is it that keeps me going? I find myself realizing more and more each day that a large part of my motivation for continuing my businesses is the wonderful community of people I work with.



Shukan ST: May 13, 2005

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