Ask an Expert: Entrepreneurs' similarities form a global bond

EVIAN, France -- If I asked you what two issues vex entrepreneurs the world over the most, whether those entrepreneurs hail from Argentina, the U.S. or Belarus, what would you say? Finding the money? Sales? Nope. Not surprisingly maybe, the answer seems to be "taxes and government regulations."

Boy do those issues bug us!

I am writing to you today from the site of the World Entrepreneurship Forum, sponsored by the Emlyon Business School and KPMG. I was invited to attend this conference, which brought together about 80 entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and academics from all over the world in order to compare notes, share ideas, and learn from one another.

What we have found is that the things that unite entrepreneurs across the globe are many, while the things on which small business owners disagree are few, albeit mighty.

Here's an example: While at a session near the end of the three-day conference, we were given the task of figuring out how best to take various entrepreneurial ideas out to the world (for instance, the importance of creating entrepreneurial curricula for grade and high schools.)

One gentleman in the group kept insisting that, before we ever get to that place, the idea of what "entrepreneurs" are and what they do first had to be disseminated. "There is no word for entrepreneur in my country," he explained. "People think we are simply selfish, profit-hungry businessmen." A woman from the Indian sub-continent agreed, noting "in my country, only people who fail to do well in school want to start a business."

Now, in the U.S. of course, that would never be an issue. Here, as in many western countries, entrepreneurs are admired, envied even. So that is a big difference.

Another noteworthy difference had to do with corruption. Many of the entrepreneurs in attendance from the developing world explained how graft and bribery were major impediments to getting anything done. That is simply less of an issue for us.

But far more interesting for my money was how much more we had in common. Almost without exception, the entrepreneurs who attended this substantive and fascinating conference were impressive, both in terms of their talent and achievements, but equally, with regard to their commitment and vision for a better world.