Truly growing a business versus making a quick buck.

Management books and Master of Business Administration (MBA) courses are full of ideas as to how someone can build a business as an entrepreneur. “How can I make money at business? What are the key secrets to success?” Apart from the obvious requirements of a well-thought-out business plan, and sufficient working capital to see one through the early days before the money starts rolling in, here is an idea which these days seems to be neglected in certain quarters. It is this simple maxim, namely that “The only place where true success comes before work is in the dictionary.”

And to all those readers who will say that this is obvious, we need to be cognisant of the fact that every day, huge amounts of private money are invested in business solely with the hope of getting the maximum of profit for the minimum of work. In other words, “success” before what we would call “real work.” When we say this, we are not even talking about people who go to the casino, nor are we talking about those who invest normally in the stock market. The gambler runs his own risks, and the business world recognises and appreciates the venture capitalist who seeks to invest his money in the next brilliant idea, for example, the quest to find the new Microsoft or the up-and-coming Google.