Blessed are the entrepreneurs, for their prosperity is our prosperity

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The entrepreneurial spirit is the gift that keeps on giving. Individuals, communities, and cultures are enriched and uplifted by the efforts of entrepreneurs. The more successful the economic activity, the better the people live.

Entrepreneurs are brave individuals who risk everything they have and every working moment to provide a product or service that solves a problem or meets a need. If it were not for entrepreneurs, there would be no companies, large or small. Even the world's largest companies started with one person and that person's vision.

Each entrepreneur creates a kindness zone around him. It starts with him - he must be kind to his customers or he will not succeed. He must also be kind to his employees and vendors, so they do their best to help him help his customers. It's an entire community of people being of service to others. In return, customers give them money, which they can then use to pay others for goods and services. It is a perpetual doing-good system.

Entrepreneurs meet needs. They must do this well, or they will not be able to stay in business. They must do a lot of things well, in fact. They must be efficient and productive, every working day. They are the kinds of people who are constantly learning, thinking, experimenting, striving. Being the best they can be. Making things work better.

Here in the States, we tend to take entrepreneurial activity for granted. It is part of the fabric of our lives; we patronize local stores that are owned and run by one person. We buy from companies on the internet, some of which are operating out of garages or spare bedrooms. We hire individual entrepreneurs to provide services to us, from something as simple as a babysitter to something more complex, such as a contractor to remodel our home.

Being an entrepreneur is like being the explorer who sets out to explore and survive in new, uncharted territory. Entrepreneurs blaze new trails, find ways to thrive in the wilderness, and make the world safer and more livable for everyone who benefits from what they learn and produce.

In the past couple of years I have spent more time than usual in third-world countries. It's quite clear to me that bureaucracy is the biggest enemy of entrepreneurship. An entrepreneur will only risk pursuing her dream if she believes she will be able to meet all the challenges. If the regulatory environment is too difficult to navigate, and takes too much time away from serving customers and building the business, she won't even start. Entrepreneurs only start to run if they can see a light at the end of the tunnel.

It's interesting to note that one of the poorest countries in the world, Rwanda, has embarked on a campaign to make it easy for entrepreneurship to flourish. And it's working. Starting a business used to require 8 procedures that took 14 days to complete. Each procedure had its own associated fee. This year the Rwanda Development Board Registrar General's Office has limited the process to 2 procedures and issues registration certificates in 24 hours. There is one fee charged, regardless of the business activity. 

In the World Bank's Doing Business index, Rwanda was ranked the No. 1 reformer in the world last year and No. 2 this year. The country has experienced 8 percent growth since 2004. In 1995, foreign aid was 100 percent of the government budget, and today it's 40 percent. In the World Bank's 2011 report, Rwanda is now tied with America as Earth's ninth-easiest country in which to start a business (click on the "Starting a Business" column header to see the ranking). Singapore is #1, in case you're interested.

I want to take this opportunity to thank you, my brave entrepreneurial readers. I am more determined than ever to help you all succeed.

Merry Christmas, and may 2011 be your most satisfying and rewarding year ever.