This blog reflects on life at work at comments on the latest news that shapes my 9-5 working day in a Corporate Communications consultancy.

About Me

I am a born and bred South African who has always loved to read and write. As a child my mother used to read to me and my siblings, from classics like the “Lord of the Rings” but later also from her own stories. She would write children’s stories and then use us as her test audience, but I loved to hear what she had written long after my siblings had tired of it. So I grew up in an environment of reading and writing, which inspired my love of these things. I hope to write a great book some day, and have learnt first hand the determination and will that it takes. My love of English inspired me to continue my study of it at university. I majored in Law and English in a BA degree at UCT where I found that I took to English much more than law. I enjoyed learning about South Africa’s history and the development of our liberal Constitution, which increasingly made me committed to the hope this country has for the future. Ideally, I’d like to find myself in a job where I am able to write; that allows a good mix of time spent with people and being able to work on my own.

Wednesday, 25 April 2007

The Entrepreneur

Marius Venter from the University of Johannesburg involved our group in thinking creatively about entrepreneurship. The most important starting point of being an entrepreneur is to know ourselves. He illustrated this by asking each of us to describe ourselves with words that begin with each letter of our first names.

In the human treasure hunt, we were each given a worksheet of things and had to find someone in the group who had done that, for example: had he/ she ever made a personal greeting card, or won the lottery. Once we had completed the search we discussed what each of these experiences meant for the entrepreneur. For example, entrepreneurs need to be competitive, have clear goals, have the ability to budget, and be able to add a personal touch to their business.

Our final task was to break into teams and draw a picture that represents all the characteristics of the entrepreneur. My group drew a lion, because it is both a team animal while displaying the characteristics of a leader, it has an instinct to survive, just as entrepreneurs pursue the goal of profit making for their survival. One group drew a tree, with the many qualities of the entrepreneur displayed on its branches, and the final group drew a man who had many things, from a thinking mind to some money in his pocket to begin his business.

The session allowed us to explore what it takes to be an entrepreneur through active participation. South Africa needs more people who will take the initiative and create jobs for others, so we learned some valuable lessons that we will hopefully utilise in our future careers.

1 comment:

Thomas Michael Blaser said...

I never thought of myself as an enterpreneur so I really liked Marius' and Andrew's workshop. It is a kind of a paradigm shift. I can do business, wow! I never thought I could do so. But that is also the excitement: I am in charge of how I earn a living, I do not just look for a job. Susan, also a big thanks for the Media24 competition. I trust you blog your contribution!?