70% of us think about starting our own business

I recently read in a book that “out of a 100 people, 70 will want to start a business, 15 will actually do so in the next few years, and only 5 will succeed on the first try.” (from the book bounce! by Barry Moltz) I hadn’t realised that so many people were actually thinking about entrepreneurship — fully 70% of us!

Not too long ago, I went to Wilson’s house after I received an SMS from him asking to meet me. I gladly accepted his invitation after I learned he had wanted to see me about a business idea — I am always ready to learn more about business opportunities. Though his idea turned out to be less stellar than hoped for, we had a good long chat on all sorts of things. Having spent the better part of the last four years in New Zealand, he was full of interesting stories and provided a wonderful alternative perspective on life.

But of all the talk that happened that day, the thing that stuck with me the most was his remarking that he was amazed at how entrepreneurial Singaporeans were. During a gathering with his friends not too long ago, he noticed that many of the topics revolved around business opportunities and how one might exploit them. He contrasted this with the laid-back attitude that he perceived many New Zealanders to have.

I, however, found his statement surprising. I always found many Singaporeans to be all-talk-no-action, and even then, talk about business seemed rare for me. Most of my friends do not talk about business, with the exception of Wilson himself and Zixuan. I suppose the statistics I mentioned at the beginning of this post has allowed me to see a truer picture, then, that there actually are plenty of people who think about starting their own business, even if it is only 15 out of a 100 who finally will.

I hope that I will be a part of that 15. It’s something I’ve been dreaming about for a long while now. And it’s feeling more and more concrete as the days go by.