“This is the most manic depressive way you could possibly live life…” Leo Valiquette posted an interesting blog about the stigma around entrepreneurship certain people hold on blogs.itbusiness.ca and draws upon the documentary The Startup Kids. The opening line in quotations is the first example of what some people think of the entrepreneurial world, but Leo gives argument to the fact that entrepreneurs are needed in the world.

The blog is focused on the IT side of the world but the overlapping principle around entrepreneurs is relevant in any aspect of business. From an Ottawa perspective, the article pulls reference from ten years ago when the IT sector was in decline with telecom jobs and photonics startups failing left, right, and center. From the documentary, a kid tells his guidance counsellor that he wants to become an entrepreneur but is quickly told to abandon such a reckless idea. The failing IT industry a decade ago induced a reduction in enrolment into IT programs as dejected IT parents encouraged kids to go elsewhere.

I would agree with Leo Valiquette’s stance on entrepreneurship. Youth can not be turned away from such a career path because it is risky, or because it was not the career choice of the person giving advice. Entrepreneurs are a special breed of people with drive beyond comprehension, but this does not disuade the fact that they need guidance and help from experienced entrepreneurs who already know the tricks and have made the mistakes. Aspiring entrepreneurs are needed in society and should be given direction; they should not be told to move elsewhere.

The Startup Kids Trailer

The BP oil spill was a tragedy many may not still think about. However, the consequences of the spill are not yet over for neither the environment or the company. Today, BP agreed to pay $12 billion in government and private settlements over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, but the company could face billions more in fines. The details of the fines can be found in an article on the Bloomberg website.

But what’s most interesting is that fines are not the only thing the company may have to deal with.

Individuals of the company have been charged with serious criminal offences. Three individuals who were in charge of the estimated flow rates of the spill were charged for deliberately low balling the numbers, making the spill seem less damaging. Two of the men were also charged for involuntary manslaughter with relation to the 11 deaths caused by the spill. Many other charges were also laid against several individuals.

The idea of such serious criminal charges coming from your job is an appalling thought to me. Other than a few financial fiascos, I don’t relate crime with business very often. Who knows who might have told the site managers to low ball the numbers? It seems an incredible stretch to charge manslaughter over to an oil spill which is nothing short of a horrible accident. From a law perspective, it will be intriguing to see how this one turns out.

Entrepreneurs, Wade Larson and Janice Cheam, in Comm 101 on Thursday, November 8, were both very enticing and captivating in their guest lectures. Janice talked through the concept, start-up, and continuanceof Energy Aware (a company selling meters measuring your energy consumption and its cost). Wade swiftly guided the audience through a brief history and explanation, as well as the future of UrtheCast (the first high-definition video platform of Earth). Both highly successful businesses started from scratch.

The lecture caused me to wonder: why do it?

Janice’s story spoke of long days trying to get Energy Aware off the ground while tutoring every night for months. Between the stress of launching a company while continuing to work and trying to pay the bills, I wonder: was it worth it? The opportunity cost of not only the money she and her family put in, but her time seems astronomical. I can only imagine that to want to push through all that, you have to want to be the CEO from the get go. The business surely could have flopped just as easily and all would be for naught.

Wade made me wonder what the biggest pull to become an entrepreneur is. He was in a good job, with 4 (almost 5) kids, a mortgage and bills to pay. What incentive is so strong that he decided to risk it all, and go for it? His project, involving millions of dollars, is an even more daring attempt than Janice’s.

I wonder if the two of them ever thought five, maybe ten years ago, that they would develop their own business, or if it was just a sudden click in their minds that they could and should.

The Globe and Mail posts an interesting problem developing in the work force today in its article about balancing work and life. Canadians today are less satisfied with life than they were twenty years ago, reports a survey taken by over 25 000 Canadians run by professors Linda Duxbury of Carleton University and Christopher Higgins of the University of Western Ontario. 

The survey states that more than two thirds of Canadians are now working more than 45 hours per week, up 50% from twenty years ago. Work weeks are also more rigid and flexible hours are becoming a thing of the past. A third of workers feel they have to do more work than time permits and an average of seven hours of work per week is taken home. If you include family responsibilities, 40% feel overwhelmed.

The survey also brings up an interesting point that employers may feel that giving more work to fewer workers will cut down on costs and increase productivity, but that’s not what professors Duxbury and Higgins found. The high stress and constant overload of work actually decreases productivity as sleep is often sacrificed. The result is everything from sick days to slower works. Flexible working arrangements need to be not just company policy, but part of understanding management, says Duxbury. 

Flexible hours, understanding management, and manageable workloads would be a very appealing factor in the recruiting process and actually attract better workers looking for a good life – work ratio. This is something employers should think about in their workplace.