NiQsTeR

1. What are the factors that contributed to the success and failure of Steve Jobs as a technopreneur?

SUCCESS
Before we point out the factors that brought Steve Jobs to success, let's just know what success means to have a clear understanding about it. So what is success? If you look into some dictionaries online, you'll have "the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors" as a definition. So shallow isn’t it? Personally, I would say that success is the inner happiness and contentment. It could be in any aspects, career, family, emotional, social, spiritual and even financial. It’s not a goal but an endless journey in which your heart is happy on where it is at. So let’s determine the factors now:

DETERMINATION
As I can see in the movie, Steve Jobs is very determined to succeed in any way he can. He never lets his eyes out of the trophy. He has this great drive on pursuing what he wanted. He even went on establishment up to another establishment to sell computers. He never cares of what other people might think about him, as long as his following his own path. His motivations were great that he gets whatever he wants using his charms.

FOUNTAIN OF IDEAS
This Steve Jobs here got lots of crazy ideas in his mind. But out of those crazy ideas, he was able to put up Apple. Would you believe it? What amazes me is how he never runs out of ideas. He thinks fast and anything just pops out into his mind. He is really smart in a way that anything falls into his will. He is not into programming or any mathematical nerdy stuff, but he is more successful that the ones who programmed hiss computers. He even thought of pirating the “windows concept” of the Xerox Company.

CHARMS
Not all human beings have the charms, but as I observed in the movie, Steve Jobs got loads of charms. And he was able to use these charms in a productive way. Alongside with his charms, he is a smart-talker too. He can change your mind in just a number of words. It is like he could hypnotize other people. He can sell a computer in just one-seating and then it’s sold. Actually, having charisma is not a primary requirement on succeeding, but it would be an advantage if you have it.

EMPLOYER MINDSET
Steve Jobs wants to be the employer not the employee. This is one of the important mindset a techno-preneur should possess. One should forget the “I go to school to get a good job” mindset and change it to “I go to school and make my own company, then give jobs to the unemployed”. There is a big difference between the two. Steve Jobs carries that mindset. He created a company and hired people to work for the company. He controls everything.

OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE
I find him very O.C. in a way that he wants his products to be as perfect as possible. Being an obsessive-compulsive is good, for me especially when you are selling good quality products. Jobs’ company became known because of the quality. His people are afraid being yelled at that’s why they do their very best to create high-quality products.

FAILURE
For me, failure is when you’re not happy with something, you’re not satisfied, condition or a fact of not achieving the desired end or ends. Failing is normal. You won’t feel the success if you didn’t get the taste of failing a million times.

TEMPER
Because of being too perfectionist, and the want to be on the highest peak of his career, he cannot control his temper. He keeps on yelling to his people, making them paranoid, resulting to miscommunication, misunderstanding and chaos. His partner, who was his programmer, left him because he cannot take it anymore. This is one factor an individual should watch out for. Not all the time people around you will adjust, they also have limitations. So limit you anger as well.

PRIDE
There is this certain scene in the movie that I cared a lot the most. This was Steve Jobs had a baby with his girlfriend, but he refused to accept the child. He doubted if the child was really his own. He abandoned his girlfriend but returned when the baby was born. Although he didn’t accept the baby, he was the still the one who gave the name which was Lisa. After that he named one of their computers Lisa. The thing that confuses me is that why does he bothers to give the baby a name when he didn’t even accepted her as his own blood.
The other thing is that he doesn’t want any help with any companies; he wants to do it on his own, to succeed alone. He wanted to raise Apple without linking it other big companies. One thing that makes him fail is that he sees everyone as a threat, although we should be vigilant, but not look at others as enemies. Even the ones who wanted to help him.
Having a high pride is also one of the factors why there are people who are in a chaotic situation at this very moment. But after, he still ended up having business with Bill Gates whom he had had a little misunderstanding with.

LOST OF CONTROL
As Steve Jobs’ Apple Company grew bigger, he wasn’t able to administer his people. Even some are stabbing him at the back without him noticing. It is very common in a person especially when he/she is in the heights of his/her career, they will forget everything. They become numb of what’s happening underneath them and deaf of what the world is telling them.

FORGETTING HIS ROOTS
It is still a common factor on the failure of some famous personalities. They tend to forget where they came from, how they started and to pay credits to people who helped him become famous. It became a huge boom to Steve Jobs life that he even lost the person who created the thing that he is selling. One great lesson is to look back.


2. How do you see yourself as a Technopreneur?

I could say that I will be just the same as any other technopreneur, living a normal life and worry less. After watching the movie I was able to reflect on what kind of technopreneur I would be. Am I aggressive, or just love to blend in? Since I am still a beginner, I do not know how the technopreneur world revolves. Although I have friends who are technopreneurs, it is still a question to me on how they make money out of they work which is IT-related.

Before I got I got into this subject, I am really into the cyber world. I am always updated on what is happening in Facebook, Twitter, and etc. world. I am even staying up the whole night watching videos in YouTube. Then a friend asked me once, “Do you have your own internet connection? “ And I answered “Yes. Why?” he then answered “Why not try blogging? So you will not be wasting your time and you can even earn from it”. That was the time I learned that you can earn money through blogging. Then onwards, I found out that my friends are selling their graphics online and some are negotiating with clients outside the Philippines. And I also have a friend whom just received his $300 pay-out from Google. So asked myself, what are they doing? Then I found out technopreneurship.

To start of, I would first define what technopreneurship is. Technopreneurship came from the words “technology” and “entrepreneurship”. When we talk about “technology”, obviously it’s all bout the latest gadgets, electronics and stuff. “Entrepreneurship” is business. Generally, it is the business involving technology. So “technopreneur” is a person that is doing business using technology. When I hear the word “technopreneur”, I keep asking myself if I could consider myself as one. If we break down all Steve Jobs’ characteristics as a technopreneur, I do not think I could fit in.

First is being charismatic, in selling, you should be good-mouthed, often use flowery words to encourage the consumers to buy. I don’t think I have charisma. I am not good at talking or creating good conversation. I am not charming in a way that people would buy everything that I offer. Some friends even told me that I many people are scared of me because I look tough and a snob. I hate flowery words and I go straight to the point.
Next is self confidence, again in business, having self confidence is must. You must be able to convince the consumers that you are reliable and not just blabbering. Now to talk about self confidence, that is also one of my weaknesses. I am really shy. I have low self-esteem and I easily get discouraged when I see works that are way better than mine. It is kind of an immature attitude but it is really hard especially now that starting to widen my mind on what the real world truly is.

Next thing is the ability to manage and lead, since in you make you own business or company in technopreneurship, you should have a good management and leadership skills to be able to run your business properly. And again, I am not good at managing or administering. I have been to a lot of leadership trainings and I have been a leader before but it is different. This is the real thing. Like in a certain part of my life like my time as I may say. I find it hard to follow any daily plan because I easily get distracted, I easily get tired and then I tend to ruin my schedule. I don’t know why. But I am really trying my best in becoming an organized person, especially now that we are in 3rd year college, projects are going to be stacked in piles and schedules would be really hectic.

Next is skills, if we talk about business, the first thing that pops out into my mind is selling; the first question that pops out into my mind is “what am I going to sell?” I do not have anything to offer to any consumers. I have some of my friends as graphic designers, web designers, bloggers and article writers. They earn money and I mean dollars just sitting and staring like hell on the computer. They have great minds, they are smart and open-minded, but me? I don’t think so. Although I am into photo editing, I don’t think that is enough. Like, I still need to dig deeper.

Next is having a million-mile long PATIENT. Everything begins with a scratch so you should work hard to do a step- up, especially now that the competition is very tight. As for myself, I am a little impatient. I want to earn right from the very moment that I started. My friends even laugh at me because I act childish, they said that it starts with zero, but if I will strive harder, money will come.

Alongside with patience is perseverance, as what I have stated above, you do not just wait, but you also make your move. Although I am impatient, I am by the way persevered in way that I am really willing to learn and enhance the things I that capable of doing as of now. Like when I have vacant time, I look for tutorials that really help me in improving my graphic-designing skills (it’s what they say). I also do blogging, to be able publish sensible posts, I read on how to create productive articles and especially study about grammars and widen my vocabulary. It really important since people around the world might be able to read what you wrote and could get something out of it.

To sum it all up, I am still in the process of absorbing all the adjustments that are happening around me. I am keeping an open mind for important learning to sink in so I should be able to use them while earning a little. Although I am not young anymore, I am still a baby when we talk about the business world. I am still learning and talking baby steps to move on and reach for success.



3. Would you take the same path that Steve Jobs took? Why or Why not?


If we analyze the journey of Steve Jobs on his way to success, we will see that not all of his experiences and decisions are on the positive side. There are both positive and negative things that contributed to his success. I was able to know those factors because of watching the movie. I have learned a lot from Steve Jobs, especially, he showed us different kinds of attitude or outlook that we have to possess when we are engaging in the technopreneurship world; the way he deals with the every uncertain encounter in his life and how he handles and manages his growing business.

So if I am going to be asked of I would take Steve Jobs’ path, I would preferably say no. Why? Simple, I want to have my own experiences and I want to decide on my own without being influenced by other people. I want to see how I am going to deal with my own problems, uncertainties and sudden sacrifices. My parents are really working so hard for me to finish college and I do not want to waste them away because of desperation on being the same as Steve Jobs. I want to earn a degree and see on what I can do from it. I know it is really risky, but I feel like I am going to miss half of my life if I would not do it. Although I am not going to follow Jobs, I will still set him as someone to look up to, someone that whenever I think about him, it would give me the courage to fight, go on with everything and succeed. I will get something from what I see from him and try to apply it in my own life.

First is to be determined in every way. Like no matter what the world throws upon me, I will never ever take my eyes away from the prize. I would think of something that would really make me strive harder and would motivate me to do great and succeed. Having this attitude is very important, especially that I am now dealing with the real thing. No more games and childish thoughts. Like in school, every student should have determination on getting high grades and graduate on time. Although having cool brains and skills are an advantage, having a bit of determination would really lift you up among the average ones.

Being wise all the time is a great help. In business, there is no spot for idiocy; technoprenuers should be very wise and smart enough not to be fooled by any other person. Like what I saw in Steve Jobs, although he is not a logic-brained human, he was able to sell his products well, and look at him now. As for myself, I should be vigilant. I should have a wide range of awareness in the techno world. Ignorance is a big no no. It is not necessary that you have all the latest gadgets and electronic stuffs, but at least you have a background of it.

I will be persevered. Having brains and great skills are not going to be enough if you do not work for it. We Filipinos are popular because of our great perseverance. We are known to other countries as to be hard working and well disciplined. I should practice and practice to create great graphics and be able to sell it; I could construct great programs for big companies and then I would be very contented with my works.

I will have more self confidence. I know it is going to be a little harsh for me because I have never been too exposed to different kinds of people. Now, I should learn to be more confident and I will try harder to be able to create good conversations with different kinds of people. Like what Steve Jobs has, although he is that logically brained, he was able to put up Apple because of his guts and confidence that he would make it to the peaks of his career.

I will keep an open mind for new ideas to come; for new improvements to be applied on what I have right now. These improvements are very important in ever aspects of life, especially in our career as a technopreneur, where as we have said involves technology, and technology evolves so fast that we find it hard to catch up. So as fir me, keeping my mind open for ideas and great thoughts and is must in running my own career. Just like Steve Jobs, he is always thinking about what else he can add up to his products to sell more.

Next is keeping a positive outlook in life. Since business world is very chaotic, tons of competitions scattered everywhere and because people nowadays are desperate on making money, it is really difficult now for new technopreneurs in starting their own business. Big technopreneurs are taking advantage of them. So we newbies should be wise and vigilant on what is going on around us. As for me, I will put aside all the worries and try to live a positive life. With this kind of attitude, everything would be easy for me, no pressure and worries, and no STRESS. I am not going to think about negative things because they are going to help me, it just going to pull me down. Instead, I will think of the things that inspire me, I will think of positive things and try to live happily. In return, my clients will feel light too and I could make good business out of it.

As of the very moment, there are many opportunities waiting for us, the question is are we ready? This world hat I am going to be engaged is would be very harsh for me, but I am not scared of it. Other people might laugh at me because I am too desperate but who they are to care? I will have my own business so have to take their own. With God as my guide and inspiration, I know I will make it to success.