Entrepreneurs help build a better world. Yankee invites you to test the entrepreneurial waters

by George Putnam, president and CEO, Yankee Farm Credit

I admire entrepreneurs. In fact, most people do.

That’s why I want Yankee Farm Credit, including our managers, directors and employees, to be entrepreneurial. I’d also like Yankee to be a business that entrepreneurial customers consider as a valued partner.

Anyone can be an entrepreneur — from people who start new businesses to those who run seventh generation businesses. Entrepreneurs can also be employees, working for someone else.

Entrepreneurs have more than a job. They have a mindset. They believe that things can always be made better. They are optimistic. They are restless. They are builders.

Entrepreneurs rely on creativity and organization to build a better world. Some think that creative people are not organized, and that organized people can’t be creative. Entrepreneurs must be both.

They use creativity to envision new and better products, new and better services, new and better ways to work. And because the world is complicated, entrepreneurs must also be exceptionally well organized. For example, they must obtain land, capital, buildings or equipment; they must comply with laws and regulations; and, of course, they must satisfy employees, customers and suppliers. Anyone who can combine these qualities of creativity and organization is certainly one of my heroes.

Entrepreneurs also make the world better by generating profits. You may think profits are merely an incentive or a reward, or that they are a selfish concept. I disagree. Profits are a signal of something much more profound and desirable than mere money.
 

"Entrepreneurs make the world better by generating profits.… Profits are a signal of something much more profound and desirable than mere money.”"

Profits are the excess of income over costs. Consider that to have income you must sell something to someone else. If the other person buys your product or service freely, that indicates that you did something worthwhile. If you provided that product or service at a cost that allows you to retain a profit, then you used your resources wisely. Providing what others want and also using resources wisely — that’s what makes the world better.

How can we encourage entrepreneurship?

I suggest three rules:

• First: Let’s reward success. Profits are a sign of success and a reward. Let’s promote the mindset that profits are good and highly desired. Let’s appreciate profits and the people who make them.

• Second: Learn from mistakes. If we can learn from minor mistakes, then that’s a good lesson. Learning is at the heart of entrepreneurship. By learning from mistakes, we increase our chance for success, and reduce the chance of catastrophic failure.

• Third: Don’t make too many rules! Rules can stifle creativity and create barriers, which even the most organized people may not be able to overcome. And rules often have unintended consequences.

Calling all entrepreneurs

Please call your loan officer, financial services representative or me if you would like to share your entrepreneurial dreams. All of us at Yankee Farm Credit would be pleased to discuss your ideas with you.

Perhaps together we can build a better world.

This letter appeared in the Spring 2007 issue of Financial Partner (F.P.) magazine, Yankee Farm Credit's customer publication. Click here if you would like to start receiving F.P. magazine in the mail.

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