SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR
WITH 5 ENTREPRENEURIAL TRAITS
Biodata
of Jack Ma
Name
: Jack Ma / Ma Yun
Born
: 10 September 1964
Age
: 51 years
Occupation
: The founder and chairman of Alibaba Group
Spouse
: Zhang Ying
No
of children : 3
Jack
Ma is one of the world’s greatest living examples of entrepreneurship today. He
is the man who has impacted the entire economy and internet industry of China.
Jack Ma is the founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group and now he is
officially the richest man in China with an estimated net worth of $25
billion. Jack Ma inspired a lot of
people nowadays to succeed in life. The reason why we chose Jack Ma because he
is a person who has strong leadership qualities such as open risk taker,
failure is an option, observant, proactive and team oriented.
1.
Failure
is an option
Rejections
and failures are synonymous with Jack Ma. We would not believe the number of
times this man has been rejected and failed. In his early childhood, Jack Ma
failed twice in his primary school examinations. When applying to universities
after his high school, he failed the entrance exam thrice before finally
joining Hangzhou Normal University. He even applied ten times to Harvard
University and got rejected each time. This was only during his education.
In
1988, after graduating from university, Jack Ma entered the Hangzhou University
of Electronic Science and Technology as an English teacher. In 1994 to 1988,
Jack Ma has been trying to start a business twice but he failed. Jack Ma still
not giving up on his effort and in 1999, he runs the business which is called
Ali Baba. He started the business with a capital of 500,000 thousand yuan.
Within 16 years, Jack Ma has successfully developed his business and now in
2015 he as a Chairman of Alibaba has become a famous entrepreneur in
globalization and being an example of role model for all of the entrepreneur
around the world. Jack Ma has proven that failure is an option for everyone to
become a successful entrepreneur.
2.
Open
Risk Taker
Jack
Ma is an entrepreneur who is willing to
take the risk. Risk is a factor as a result of any organization. The greater
the risk the greater the return.
When he
started Alibaba, he was immediately met with strong opposition from family and
friends. Looking back, he realized that the biggest
driving force for his then was not his confidence in the Internet
and the potential it held, but more of this : “No matter what one does,
regardless of failure or success, the experience is a form
of success in itself.” We have got to keep trying, and if it
doesn’t work, we always can revert back to what we were doing before. After
successfully setting up Alibaba, Jack Ma also dare to take the risks wisely by
engaging Alibaba into New York Stock Exchange with more than 20 billion in
stocks for sale. There was 160 banks and thousands of broker involved in the
deal. Alibaba is the largest online merchant in the world, with billion in goods and shares sold in 2013.
Jack Ma has proven to be a successful entrepreneur who had the spirit to take
the risk and finally succeed in business.
3.
Proactive
Proactive
is the creative sector to develop and empower human intellect, to plan an idea
into a new concept which is expected to be useful and helpful. Jack Ma is a
proactive entrepreneur . In the end of 1994, it was the first time Jack Ma
heard about the internet and in the early of 1995, he was introduced to the
internet by chance in America. Jack Ma sure that internet will change the
world. Immediately, he had some idea to do a web page. He found that the
internet business will grow in China and he decided to called his friends and
explained what he are going to do. Unfortunately, there is only one supported
his idea. Although Jack Ma has been through many obstacles and some of people
say he will not be able to do but still he tried not to give up and work hard
to achieve his dream.
4.
Observant
Entrepreneurs
who are observant can see the potential of the business to succeed. They can
observe the change that is happening around. They also can detect the changes
even just a little change and difficult to detect by others. Jack Ma is an
observant entrepreneur. Jack Ma is observant entrepreneur because when he first
time heard about the internet, he realized and believe that internet will
change the world. Jack Ma took this opportunity to start the internet business
and he believes that his idea will bring success to himself. Thus, he got the
idea to create a website and his idea was opposed by friends and family but
still he continued to believe in the power of his ideas.
Now,
Jack Ma founded Taobao, Alipay, Ali Mama and so on. Jack Ma’s success proved
again by the number of transactions in Ali baba.com to exceed one trillion yuan
in November 2012. He was successful in his business, which is not supported by
the public at an early stage. He was success with his observations that found
the internet can change the world. He is now the successful Chairman of Alibaba
Group and he was the first entrepreneur of China to appear on the cover of
Forbes
5.
Visionary
Visionary
is defined as having a vision, and goals to reach. A visionary who will
plan the future with imagination or wisdom. A
visionary entrepreneur will have a great vision to success in the business.
They have a brilliant idea to achieve the vision. Visionary entrepreneur also
dare to take risks to make plans about the future and it will not stop to be
planning until it reached the vision.
Jack Ma said he would like to see Alibaba exceeding
Walmart in sales in 10 years’ time. As the result, we can see that Jack Ma
is a determined person and far-sighted that have persisted in believing in the
future. Jack
a wants Alibaba
to be a platform for small businesses throughout the world. He wants to serve 2
billion consumers and help 10 million small businesses outside China sell their
products through the internet. Other than that, Ma said he might want to see Alibaba surpassing Walmart
in deals in 10 years' opportunity.
