Why entrepreneurs are not opportunists

Often, entrepreneurs are labeled opportunists. This is unfair. The word, opportunist, has a negative connotation and refers to someone who takes advantage of another’s dilemma. However, entrepreneurs are not opportunists. They are opportunity seekers, opportunity screeners, and opportunity seizers.

Opportunists are deal-makers. They operate on a deal-to-deal basis and have no concern for the long term. They are fast-buck operators who are out to cream the market and exit fast. Beware. Many opportunists parade themselves as entrepreneurs!

Entrepreneurs are opportunity seekers. They look for opportunities to generate a win-win situation for both the customers and themselves. They look for opportunities to do good and do well at the same time. They look for opportunities that have both short-term and long-term gains. Entrepreneurs do not wait for opportunities. Entrepreneurs seek them.

Entrepreneurs are opportunity screeners. They size up opportunities and check the opportunity for consistency with their vision, values, and mission. They assess the opportunity as to the kind of resources required. They appraise the opportunity for its magnitude and relevance, i.e., Is the opportunity big/small? Is the opportunity just a one-time deal or not? Entrepreneurs do not just grab any opportunity, entrepreneurs evaluate them.

Entrepreneurs are opportunity seizers. They do not allow the window of screened opportunities to close on them. They decide quickly by their astute balancing of facts and feel. They move in fast because they have already figured out the required resources. They pursue the opportunities without doubts or fear (as we termed in the vernacular, buo ang loob). Entrepreneurs do not procrastinate. They move fast and fierce.

Acid test

There have been many debates on the issue of entrepreneurial genetics. Are entrepreneurs born or are they made? But the acid test of the possession of an entrepreneurial spirit is a person’s response during a crisis. Those who view a crisis situation as a problem do not have the entrepreneurial spirit. Those who view a crisis situation as an opportunity to practice opportunity-seeking, opportunity-screening, and opportunity-seizing have the entrepreneurial spirit. I, thus, reiterate that those who use the crisis for opportunity-grabbing are only deal-makers and can never be called entrepreneurial.

For genuine entrepreneurs, the bigger the crisis, the bigger the opportunity. For non-entrepreneurs, the bigger the crisis, the bigger the problem. Crisis presents an opportunity to hone the entrepreneurial traits of opportunity-seeking, opportunity-screening, and opportunity-seizing. For non-entrepreneurs, crisis is a time to lay low, to hide, and to solve internal problems.

The current challenges posed by globalization, wars, and SARS serve to test real entrepreneurs. Those who pass will scale up their enterprise operations. Those who fail will scale down their operations.

Several years back, many multinationals located in the Philippines considered moving out their production facilities in favor of other more cost-effective country setting. The globalization process and the lowering of protective tariffs prompted firms to rationalize their regional manufacturing strategy. It was attractive for some to simply locate a factory in one country and just distribute the products to other countries. This presented a crisis situation for the toll or contract-out manufacturers of these multinationals. This same crisis situation became a platform for increased business activity for a toll manufacturer. The entrepreneurial among them saw new opportunities that could be screened and seized.

The current SARS situation was the opportunity to try out electronic and communication technologies. For example, at the Asian Institute of Management Global Distance Learning Network facility, video-conferencing was resorted to so that a case discussion could be conducted between a class in Hong Kong and their professor in Manila. It was also found out that since the SARS situation started, the video-conferencing facility had increased bookings. The SARS situation proved that this technology is a viable alternative to face-to-face meetings. Again, we must emphasize that this kind of opportunity-seeking is totally different from the opportunistic increase in the prices of masks.

A crisis should bring out the true entrepreneurial character of a person. It is, however, more tempting to surface one’s opportunistic character and strike a deal or make a fast buck. However, it is more rational to find a solution to the crisis as non-opportunity seekers are wont to do.

Advantage

Sharpened entrepreneurs do not need a crisis to trigger their entrepreneurial spirit. Outside a crisis circumstance, true entrepreneurs are even at a greater advantage. A sharpened entrepreneur who does opportunity-seeking, opportunity-screening, and opportunity-seizing during non-crisis situations will see more opportunities available. However, there are fewer sharpened entrepreneurs in the environment. As such, there will be more opportunities than entrepreneurs. This is the advantage of a sharpened entrepreneur who practices his/her entrepreneurial traits even during non-crisis periods.

Authentic entrepreneurs do not need a crisis situation to discover opportunities. Only opportunists need crisis situations that they can take advantage of. I repeat, entrepreneurs are not opportunists and opportunists are not entrepreneurs. Vive de difference!

(Alejandrino Ferreria is the dean of the Asian Center for Entrepreneurship of the Asian Institute of Management. For further comments and inquiries, you may contact him at: ace@aim.edu.ph. Published "Entrepreneur’s Helpline" columns can be viewed on the AIM website at http//: www.aim.edu.ph).