Isn't it interesting how we're all searching for peace? Not global peace - because most of us can't do much to influence that - but personal peace: the freedom from fear and nervousness in our lives? But surely such peace is an unnatural state for a business owner?

Let me illustrate. Watch a buck in its natural environment. It dips its head to nibble some grass, and then quickly lifts its head to check the environment. It does this constantly. And if it hears a sound, or senses a disturbance, it stops and checks it out. Only once it's satisfied that there is no imminent danger does it go back to eating. And when it does get alarmed, it overreacts: rockets vertically and hits the ground at 45km/h.

The point is simple. If the buck stops being nervous, it's going to last no more than 30 minutes in the wild.

We business owners are the bucks and the deer and the meerkatte of the commercial environment. We're supposed to be nervous - all the time. And we're supposed to keep checking out the environment in between sips of our beers. And we are supposed to go to bed each night wondering about the source of tomorrows money. And we're supposed to wake up every morning wondering the same thing.

In fact, let's be honest with each other. Even if you're a full time employee it's good to be nervous. The only difference between us self employed folk and employees is that we have more clients [hopefully]. If you're an employee you have just one client [your employer] and any self respecting entrepreneur will tell you how dangerous that is.

Don't get me wrong. We are not supposed to be paranoid - although it's only paranoia if they aren't really after you. But a judicial sense of light entrepreneurial anxiety is a wonderful survival mechanism. It allows you to listen to your gut feel about events. How often has your gut suggested that a particular action was unwise - but you've ignored it and eventually you've walked away with a large bite out of your side?

It's astounding how few of us these days read. Not just books but magazines. How else can we stay current with what's happening in our business environment [and what's about to happen] than by feeding our brains information? Many years ago I was encouraged to read the Financial Mail. We students were told we would not understand more than a few words in the first issue we read, but over time we would start to learn the jargon, and after a few months we would quickly understand all the pages. It's the same with PC magazines.

Our government is really gung-ho about creating jobs. But what if technology [when last did any of us read a PC magazine] genuinely has replaced many jobs? Who really needs a secretary when it's so easy to keep track of your life with a PC, or to dictate letters to voice-recognition software? Who needs a switchboard when you can route incoming calls directly to where you are - cellphone and all? Who needs a debtors clerk when you're taking your clients payments by credit card? Who needs postal staff when emails don't come in envelopes? Who needs PC wiring and cables [and all the support staff] when wireless networking is simple and effective? I could go on, but a few folk at the table next door are attacking a New Zealand cricket supporter and I must go help.

Please don't flame me for asking a few simple questions. Our environment is changing, and it is OK to be nervous. In fact, it's a really good way to feel because you're far more likely to react well if you're aware of what’s looming. But please don't ask your doctor for medication to get rid of the feelings of entrepreneurial anxiety. How long would a buck last in the wild if it was on valium?

In closing, being a buck is cool. But being a Cape water buffalo – that’s like a nervous buck on steroids - that would be even cooler.

© Peter Carruthers, www.petesweekly.co.za

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