EWI

If I had been standing next to myself and had seen how I did it, I would have given myself a pat on the shoulder. Not necessarily from admiration. More a question of sympathy, really. The sort of sympathy you feel for people caught up in TV ‘reality’ programmes – after you have had a good laugh at them first. I know how they feel. I can remember my ‘first time’ as if it were yesterday.

The very first time, you want to leave nothing to chance. Failure is not an option. I had checked how I was supposed to do it. There are countless books on the subject, not to mentioning all the stuff that you can find on the internet. I watched how other people did it, and I thought I was ready. It was summer, the atmosphere was good, there was music… yet still it didn’t turn out exactly as I had planned. In fact, it was a bit of a disappointment. To be honest, I had expected more. And it was all over so quickly… Yes, that’s the way it is, when you do something for the first time. Trying something new, starting something by yourself: it’s not as easy as it might sound. What was my ‘first time’ enterprise? A music festival.

The summer of 2003 was drawing to a close. I was nineteen and living in a typical small Flemish village, with not a lot to do. However, it was my village, the place where I belonged, the place where I could have my say. You know the kind of thing that happens. Conversations start over a pint or two in the local pub. Soon you are spouting philosophy, planning to change the world, or telling anyone who will listen how you are going to do this and that… Fortunately, most of these wild ideas disappear next morning, when your hangover wears off: they just all seem so risky. But sometimes, just sometimes, an idea doesn’t go away. Something is brewing inside you, something you can’t stop. This time you have an irresistible desire to actually do what you said you would do. This time you will take the risk – and so you become a new person: a doer, an undertaker, an entrepreneur!

You can usually recognise an entrepreneur from his two main characteristics: he has (1) a fantastic idea, and (2) absolutely no starting capital to put that fantastic idea into practice. Fortunately for the idea, this material problem can sometimes be overcome by the above-mentioned irresistible desire. You have to start somewhere and you certainly need materials to get things moving, and so you invest what little money you have in your ‘enterprise’. In my case, the enterprise in question was a music festival. By music festival I meant something more than two beer crates and a few planks for a stage, with some overweight schmaltzy singer. I meant a proper music festival, with bands people had actually heard of. However, it soon became clear that my own ‘starting capital’– relatively limited as a nineteen-yearold – was insufficient for the enterprise I had in mind. Happily, every typical small Flemish village has a typical, small group of traders and shopkeepers. Providing you make your pitch well (and providing you regularly buy something from their store), you can usually persuade them to ‘sponsor’ your enterprise. Sometimes this might mean hiring a slightly less anonymous singer for your beer crate stage. In fact, you might be able to hire a proper stage, and a celebrity to sing on it. And the celebrity might attract new sponsors – and so your financial possibilities go into overdrive… What am I trying to say? Namely, that you need investment and investors for your enterprise. A little money of your own, a little help from your more wealthy contacts, perhaps a serious sponsor or two… and suddenly you are off and running.

But there is something we have forgotten. The Government, they have money as well, don’t they? That’s right, they do. Not that they have money to burn, but if you put your time into the preparation of a well-considered business plan, and can describe clearly what you want and why you want it, they will always be ready to welcome you. Certainly if you are young and are ready to conquer the world (in a well-considered manner). No matter how large or small your plans, the Flemish Government has many channels to which you can turn for help. Whether you are interested in a subsidy, a loan or just some information and advice, they are there to give you a leg up. But of course, you must take the initiative yourself. “Ask and you shall receive,” as the Good Book says. Oh yes, just one other thing: you will be expected to take that risk that we were talking about earlier. And this is where things often go wrong. Because let’s be honest: starting a new enterprise is always something of a risk. Whether the economy is booming or whether we are in the middle of a recession. It is this risk factor which causes many entrepreneurs to lose heart, and so they decide not to take the plunge. They opt for certainty and security. Yet paradoxically, that certainty leaves them with a feeling of uncertainty, a nagging doubt about ‘what might have been’.

Dare to take that risk. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” This is a quote which is more than 100 years old (by the American writer, Mark Twain). I don’t know if it is true, but I like to believe that it is – and that is a risk I am prepared to take.

But I almost forgot – what about that musical festival of mine? Well, at first it didn’t turn out as I imagined. The first edition was quite literally a washout – it poured down. But like all good entrepreneurs, I persisted – and the second and third editions were fantastic. If the call of the labour market had not been so strong, there might even have been further visits. I already took a shot, now it's your turn – if you dare.