Invisible Entrepreneurs

Walking by the campus sidewalk, I made my way to the lecture theater for my class.
Around me were hundreds of other students walking in various directions.
From different faculties and field of study, the whole picture gives one a sense of diversity.
I was like a fly within a swarm of many others.
However, people overlook the fact that out of this community of students, many are true practicing entrepreneurs.

Of course, it is never obvious just by judging from appearance or background.
From the exterior, they are just medical students, computer programmers, life science researchers, potential engineers, promising lawyers, musicians and business students.
They don't carry labels advertising: "I'm an entrepreneur."
They don't go around telling everyone about their past business adventures with a “I'm better than you” tone.
They don't appear to have a part-time job, what more an enterprise.
They wear the same clothes all other geeks and punks wear.
But looks can be deceiving.

In the interior, there is an entrepreneur at work.
There is a creator-of-opportunities being brought out silently.
They study during the day and invest in US options during the night
They make so much from sales that they are on their way to wealth before graduation.
They busy themselves studying negotiation and marketing from various sources available to them and practice their learnings religiously.
They make products and render services related to their passion and interests.
They play leadership roles in various organizations and societies, both commercial and non-profit.

They are “invisible” enterprising people.

It's surprising how many people are enterprising in nature but we don't see them.
It is another case of "Don't judge the book by its cover."
Another way to put it is "Don't judge the book by its authors."
In any case, the content of the book which determines the value is independent of the cover, title, author, publisher and sales.
It is easy for us to look down at someone thinking that they have wasted their life doing what they do, but in reality, these "little guys" spend their time productively and leverage every opportunity they get.

Just the other day, I bumped into my room cluster mate in the library.
While waiting for the bus, we engage ourselves in a friendly chat.
Turns out that he is a seasoned online auctioneer, a regular on Yahoo auctions.
He has made many profitable transactions despite the fact that he has not reached the level where he can support his own living, yet.
Fact is, I have been struggling with online auctions and haven't made a single sale yet.
Later in the day, we had a sharing session and he showed me how he pulled of some of the transactions that stuffed cash into his pocket.
There were of course "success stories" and "lessons of failure".
He even has a business set up with a few friends on event management.
I would never have known that judging by his age.

A friend of mine invested in the local stock market and made a killing for himself.
The good news is he payed for his education and living cost without taking a single cent from his parents.
Curious about his education in investing, I did a candid interview with him.
I was expecting him to give credit to many mentors and seminars he attended in acquiring his stock-savviness.
To my surprise, all he did was read books by Peter Lynch and Warren Buffett and applied them to the stock market.
He learned from the school of hard knocks and made many losses before he won his prize.
Professionally, he is an engineer in training.
Who could tell he was an experienced stock trader as well?

A course mate of mine in the School of Computing is a good demonstrator of the entrepreneur spirit.
She did an internship with an advertising company for months before committing to her studies.
Now, she is a sought after part-time web developer working on various projects outsourced to her by societies and individuals.
This is all in addition to her existing projects in events of her own.
The contacts she established with tech people from previous meetings puts her in many functions and opportunities with key decision-makers in the corporate world and the government.
One would never be able to guess that just by judging her cheerful personality.

Conclusion:

One can never guess the presence of an entrepreneur hidden in their peers.
For all you know, it might be the person closest to you.

Are you missing good opportunities because you underestimate the ability of strangers and friends?