the buzzing word - entrepreneurship

As I was flipping thru today's ST, I realised there is a very small column that featured a familiar face - Peiweng. Although the article will not be out until Sunday morning, the brief introduction of a young man with a company with a monthly turnover of $40k seeks to introduce a budding and promising young entrepreneur amongst us.

Before I proceed further, let me first congratulate Peiweng for his hardwork which seems to be gathering momentum and attention. I feel proud to know you!

In the eyes of the government that trumpets the development of the entrepreneurial spirit, they must be looking no further than the dollars and cents that individuals with the abilities to create and accumulate wealth generate.

And probably in this capitalistic light, I have to say that entrepreneurship is not for me. Make no mistakes, I love to be rich. Who doesn't, anyway?

I have signed that freedom for entrepreneurship away at the age of 19. Any attempts of entrepreneurship would be certainly most unwelcomed by the same government that is sponsoring me for studies and paying me living allowance now. Probably unwelcomed is an understatement, I will probably be investigated by the MSD, discharged from the SAF and pay liquidation damages.

I am probably not one to take too high risk as well, one quality that is needed in entrepreneurs. I belong to the type who likes to plan for the future on basis of solid grounds, to be always in control of what I am doing, to be able to foresee my short-term future and make adjustments for circumstances. Is this a shortfall? Personally, I don't think being meticulous in planning can be considered one by most standards, and I take pride to be always in control of my life and being clear of my goals.

Anyway, the element of time-space is already lost. By the time I finish my bond at 27, I would assume I have found a wonderful significant other and will be planning to settle down. It is probably not as good a time as when you are 20 and having more time and less commitment to bear to strike out on your own. I don't envisage living in a pressure cooker and having to worry about making ends meet in the preliminary stages of any possible eventual phenomenal success. Yup, I just lack the temperament and lost the time.

Instead, what I value is the decent financial gratification of my efforts. And did I mention that I regard myself highly. That's why I don't intend to stay in the civil service for too long, because the higher you rise, the less well-paid you are. At least that is my opinion, because their pay package is hardly proportional to their responsibility, especially in the line of the military.

Of course, pay is but one aspect of work. And I will probably only go into a line where I have a good amount of passion for as well. Seriously, I would love to learn to become an investment banker, managing wealth and growing money.

I have a certain affinity to numbers, and coupled with the fact that I enjoy taking calculated risks makes investing a good game, and a good profession to venture into. And I think the pay package of a banker would be performance-based and I can see a bright future taking a bite into the big pies of tycoons who are increasingly making Singapore their choice wealth management centre due to our stability and secrecy. Haha, I am getting pretty excited talking about my choice profession after my bond.

Even without becoming an investment banker, I still believe that the proper investment of one's income will be able to help one achieve a good sum of financial nestegg that can eventually allow them a golden retirement. That's why without venturing into entrepreneurship, I still wanna make my money grow my way and ensure a comfortable degree of material comfort for the people around me.

Seems to be veering off topic about entrepreneurship. But I think in the end it is more of financial intelligence than pure guts entreprise development. Because intelligence is something that is yours to keep, no matter what happen, you can always perform. However, entrepreneurship involves more than just factors that one can control. The macro-economic environment, your luck and availability of opportunities, unexpected turns of world events, all these can work against you, because there is no way to factor and calculate them, and going from hero to zero is pretty easy.

The yo-yo see-saw life of an rich entrepreneur, faced with constant pressures but promising crazy yields. Or the life of a high-flying investment banker who can control the combined wealth of numerous tycoons at a go. An individual's fortunes change. But by principle of conservation of wealth, the total wealth in our system will always remain more or less consistent. And I wanna work for the richest, and at all times.