Chapter 7 Entrepreneurs and Motivation

Motivation can be difficult to elicit in employees. So what drives entrepreneurs, who by definition have to motivate themselves as well as others? While everyone from Greek philosophers to football coaches warn about undirected passion, a lack of passion will likely kill any start-up. An argument could be made that motivation is simply part of the discipline, or the outcome of remaining fixed on a purpose to mentally remind yourself of why you get up in the morning. Working from her home in Egypt, at age 30 Yasmine El-Mehairy launched Supermama.me, a start-up aimed at providing information to mothers throughout the Arab world. When the company began, ElMehairy worked full time at her day job and 60 hours a week after that getting the site established. She left her full-time job to manage the site full time in January 2011, and the site went live that October. ElMehairy is motivated to keep moving forward, saying that if she stops, she might not get going again (Knowledge @ Wharton 2012). For El-Mehairy, the motivation didn't come from a desire to work for a big company or travel the world and secure a master's degree from abroad. She had already done that. Rather, she said she was motivated to "do something that is useful and I want to do something on my own" (Knowledge @ Wharton 2012 n.p.). Lauren Lipcon, who founded a company called Injury Funds Now, attributes her ability to stay motivated to three factors: purpose, giving back, and having fun outside of work. Lipcon believes that most entrepreneurs are not motivated by money, but by a sense of purpose. Personally, she left a job with Arthur Andersen to begin her own firm out of a desire to help people. She also thinks it is important for people to give back to their communities because the change the entrepreneur sees in the community loops back, increasing motivation and making the business more successful. Lipcon believes that having a life outside of work helps keep the entrepreneur motivated. She particularly advocates for physical activity, which not only helps the body physically, but also helps keep the mind sharp and able to focus (Rashid 2017). But do all entrepreneurs agree on what motivates them? A July 17, 2017 survey on the hearpreneur blog site asked 23 different entrepreneurs what motivated them. Seven of the 23 referred to some sense of purpose in what they were doing as a motivating factor, with one response stressing the importance of 238 Chapter 7 Work Motivation for Performance This OpenStax book is available for free at http://cnx.org/content/col29124/1.5 discovering one's "personal why." Of the remaining entrepreneurs, answers varied from keeping a positive attitude (three responses) and finding external sources (three responses) to meditation and prayer (two responses). One entrepreneur said his greatest motivator was fear: the fear of being in the same place financially one year in the future "causes me to take action and also alleviates my fear of risk" (Hear from Entrepreneurs 2017 n.p.). Only one of the 23 actually cited money and material success as a motivating factor to keep working. However it is described, entrepreneurs seem to agree that passion and determination are key factors that carry them through the grind of the day-to-day. Sources: Hear from Entrepreneurs. 2017. "23 Entrepreneurs Explain Their Motivation or if 'Motivation is Garbage.'" https://hear.ceoblognation.com/2017/07/17/23-entrepreneurs-explain-motivationmotivation-garbage/ Knowledge @ Wharton. 2012. "The Super-motivated Entrepreneur Behind Egypt's SuperMama." http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/the-super-motivated-entrepreneur-behind-egyptssupermama/ Rashid, Brian. 2017. "How This Entrepreneur Sustains High Levels of Energy and Motivation." Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianrashid/2017/05/26/how-this-entrepreneur-sustains-high-levels-ofenergy-and-motivation/2/#2a8ec5591111

Questions:

1. In the article from Hear from Entrepreneurs, one respondent called motivation "garbage"? Would you agree or disagree, and why?

2. How is staying motivated as an entrepreneur similar to being motivated to pursue a college degree? You think the two are related? How?

3. How would you expect motivation to vary across cultures?[/BOX]