Entrepreneurship is not a job it’s an art form.

According to Steve Blank:

“Founders fit the definition of a composer: they see something no one else does. And to help them create it from nothing, they surround themselves with world-class performers. This concept of creating something that few others see – and the reality distortion field necessary to recruit the team to build it – is at the heart of what start-up founders do.
It is a very different skill than science, engineering, or management”

Entrepreneurship is a necessity for the future of our economy here in Ireland. Despite the current lack of work and wage cuts that many Irish people are experiencing, the employment situation in Ireland is not going to improve radically over the next ten years unless both the educational system and individuals themselves prepare to make radical changes, for a brave new economical future here in Ireland.

It’s all too easy to sit still for twenty years in the same job, hating it everyday and essentially watching time pass by. After all you are safe in that job and it can be difficult to untangle yourself from your security blanket. The recent global economic recession has demonstrated and dispelled the illusion of any job being safe. Creating and implementing indigenous new Irish tech start-up businesses will take serious effort, persistence, ingenuity and hard work and most importantly plenty of change. Harnessing the power of the Global Irish Diaspora, as an Irish entrepreneur will be vital for new Irish businesses in the near future as we compete globally.

Kingsley Aikins has pointed out in his Global Diaspora Strategies toolkit above that there is potential for increased VC attention for Ireland if we utilise the Diaspora Networks to the best of our abilities. Ireland is poised on the brink of success in this respect with groups like the Irish Technology Leadership Group (ITLG), investing heavily in Irelands’ Technology Sector to encourage entrepreneurship and foster creativity. Other groups are out there, ready and willing to invest in business start-ups, many of these groups have Irish roots and connections. Diaspora Matters is ready to encourage these groups and draw their attention and focus back to Ireland.

What we really need to see is entrepreneurial programs in schools like what they currently have in the US. Some schools in California are hosting evenings showcasing newly created business pieces by twelve year olds in their schools. Learning how to pitch properly, supporting creativity and learning to be business savvy – for the ever changing global markets are the new skills that need to be taught for a new era in Irish schools. It will take a major change in the educational system to foster entrepreneurship and open the young upcoming Irish minds to the brave new world of entrepreneurship.

The most effective way to create changes in mentality is through education. If older generations are too tied with their current mortgage and family responsibilities then Ireland needs to focus its attention on its youth. There is a necessity at present for a new schooling system to be tailored to fit a new generation. The Irish education system hasn’t seen significant change in a number of years and it’s time to amend that. Ruairi Quinn, Minister for Education is calling for parents to take the upcoming Board of Management elections for Primary schools to take place this November, as their opportunity to intervene in a dated education system.

What Ireland needs is to educate its children from school going age about the possibilities of breaking out of the Doctor-Lawyer-Nurse-Teacher box (blame the Irish Mammy according to the Irish economist David McWilliams) and breaking into entrepreneurship. Children need to have their minds opened from a young age and discover the world with this mindset. Maybe the next Steve Jobs is currently sitting in a classroom somewhere in Leitrim, reciting the Ár n-Athair, beside a single computer that’s only used to googling images of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Art class on Fridays?

There is a pronounced need for an education strategy for a new innovative future; the current educational system that we have is one of a bygone era. The difference between an entrepreneur and someone who goes to same job everyday for 20 years is that that person cannot create opportunities for themselves or put themselves in certain places at certain times.

Freedom and flexibility after all, are at the heart of entrepreneurship.