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What a great story Lane! I guess every business takes time to grow, they are rarely profitable from the first day. Also I imagine it is a learning process: when you begin you don't know how everything works, but with time and experience you get better at managing a company. Can I help?
undercovered passion is music= Mm, you can say: his secret passion is music.
he could not keep holding his passion hidden = We have an expression: He diced to follow his passion and begin a new path...
low audience = small audiences
See you,
Pieter

When I read the word entrepreneur I think of my boyfriend Marcos. He has a regular office job but his real undercovered passion is music. Few years ago he could not keep holding his passion hidden so he encouraged himself to begin a new path in his professional life. He started a modest promotional firm, organizing small concerts for a low audience. Some of those gigs were not profitable, even cost him money but none of these were sufficient to give up with his dream. Nowadays, three years later, he is making much bigger concerts, running a big annual festival and getting complete Spanish tours for foreign bands. Thanks to his courage and seriousness, he generated confidence among the audience, achieved reliability among his coworkers and bands have entrusted him to represent themselves in this sometimes too competitive music world.

Hi Masa, thanks for your contribution. Do you run a business by any chance? :) Of course you are right - it's simply not true that all business people are selfish and greedy. On the contrary. Most of them are generous to their workers and pay their taxes.
See you!

I don't think you necessarily need to be selfish or greedy to successfully run a company, but I do agree with JRV that entrepreneurs need a big dose of courage and audacity. They need a good eye for opporunities and courage and initiative to seize them. They also need to be competitive and creative, unafraid to try new things to improve their business.

What other groups are often disadvantaged in education and work?

I think people in war-torn countries or regions are also disadvantaged due to the circumstances they're in. In these places, if the schools aren't shut down, just getting there could be a risky thing to do. Surviving becomes a priority.

Thanks for your messages JRV. I know, who would want to run a business nowadays? To make a company profitable is like going to war, it's a non-stop battle and you have to concentrate on it day and night. And I think you are right: the companies that come out on top often bend the rules to get ahead. It's not a satisfactory system!
See you,
Pieter

My opinion in this case is that the only reason to be disadvantaged in education and work is only an economic issue. Unfortunately, money is running the world. True left-wing policies can change it, so why don't we really take a chance on them?

Hi, everyone.
Here I enclose some personal thoughts about the subject:
I think it needs a huge dose of courage to be an entrepreneur today. When I hear the word, I think of a person able to stand against all circumstances in order to run a long-term profitable business. I largely admire people like Sarathbabu, but my idea of an entrepreneur is perhaps less altruist. In the capitalist world we live, an entrepreneur first needs to be greedy and selfish if he wants to succeed. I don't want to be rude, I admire them in some aspects after all... and I have to admit I don't have courage enough to be one.

Hi Maarit, nice to see you again! And thanks for your messages. I think being in business must be a very difficult job - there are so many things you have to take into consideration, there is so much competition, it must be very difficult to ensure that the company makes a profit! I prefer to be a teacher, quite honestly!
See you again soon,
Pieter

What other groups are often disadvantaged in education and work?

For example disabled people, women and blacks are groups which can be disadvantaged in education and work. However it depends mostly in a society where they live. Women in Europian coutries have quite good situation if you compare it to the situation of Asian or African countries.

Kind regards Maarit

Hi,
My busband is an entrepreneuer. He has a company producing cleaning agents. I admire his ability to organize his work. He works average 35 hour a week. So he has time to our family as well.
I think I have a very good profession now, the lecturer of Chemistry. I have long holidays and I can organize my work easily. I would not want to be an entrepreneuer. It is enough that there is one entrepreneur in our family.

Best regards and happy new year 2014
Maarit