Business Times - 11 Jul 2009
IF Singaporeans today lack the entrepreneurial spirit, it could be because the motivational factors have changed.
'It was ambition that made me want to start a business but it is not the same kind of ambition that people have today,' says fashion retail pioneer Frank Benjamin, 74.
'I think entrepreneurs are those who have ambition but it is impossible to do today what I did in my time. Today, if you want to go into business, you have to have an idea or concept of what you want to do. And then it has to be supported by funds.'
Mr Benjamin may have some trouble articulating what exactly it was that motivated him to start a business in 1959, but you get the feeling it was not just money. 'In my time, even if you have no money, you were working. Whatever you made, you made and you sort of progressed. Today, you don't have the same criteria,' he tries to explain.
Growing up in a household of eight in 'dire circumstances' might have had something to do with it though.
After the second world war, Mr Benjamin's father who had a textile business lost everything and had to start from scratch. 'We did not have the usual comforts but it was a happy time because when you have nothing, you don't think of anything.'
After he got his Senior Cambridge Certificate from St Andrew's School, he did not think of furthering his studies. 'In those days you never think of going to university. You went out to work to get food for the home,' he said.
If it is survival instincts that makes a great entrepreneur one has to wonder about the resilience of companies that get handed down to the next generation. It is something that Mr Benjamin - who has three sons who have not had to fight to survive the way he did - has had to consider himself.
Mr Benjamin's oldest son is Douglas. 'I told him not to feel obliged to join his father's company. He has an economics degree, so I told him to please get a job in bank or some financial institution,' he recalls.
Douglas, however, said he had always known he would join FJ Benjamin so Mr Benjamin relented: 'I said ok, you work in warehouse, work in the shops, get your experience from the ground up. I didn't want to be in charge of him. I didn't want the others to think my children have a special place because of their father. So they all grew up with that kind of discipline, knowing there would be no free rides.'
Today, Douglas, 44, is chief executive of FJ Benjamin Singapore, while Sam, 37, is group director of timepieces, and Ben, 31, is a regional brand manager.
So, will there always be a Benjamin at the helm?
'One thinks of one's legacy but it is not in one's hands. You take it as far as you can go. I think we already have some sort of legacy built over the years. If this can continue in the same spirit in the same way, even from up there I would be very happy.'
IF Singaporeans today lack the entrepreneurial spirit, it could be because the motivational factors have changed.
'It was ambition that made me want to start a business but it is not the same kind of ambition that people have today,' says fashion retail pioneer Frank Benjamin, 74.
'I think entrepreneurs are those who have ambition but it is impossible to do today what I did in my time. Today, if you want to go into business, you have to have an idea or concept of what you want to do. And then it has to be supported by funds.'
Mr Benjamin may have some trouble articulating what exactly it was that motivated him to start a business in 1959, but you get the feeling it was not just money. 'In my time, even if you have no money, you were working. Whatever you made, you made and you sort of progressed. Today, you don't have the same criteria,' he tries to explain.
Growing up in a household of eight in 'dire circumstances' might have had something to do with it though.
After the second world war, Mr Benjamin's father who had a textile business lost everything and had to start from scratch. 'We did not have the usual comforts but it was a happy time because when you have nothing, you don't think of anything.'
After he got his Senior Cambridge Certificate from St Andrew's School, he did not think of furthering his studies. 'In those days you never think of going to university. You went out to work to get food for the home,' he said.
If it is survival instincts that makes a great entrepreneur one has to wonder about the resilience of companies that get handed down to the next generation. It is something that Mr Benjamin - who has three sons who have not had to fight to survive the way he did - has had to consider himself.
Mr Benjamin's oldest son is Douglas. 'I told him not to feel obliged to join his father's company. He has an economics degree, so I told him to please get a job in bank or some financial institution,' he recalls.
Douglas, however, said he had always known he would join FJ Benjamin so Mr Benjamin relented: 'I said ok, you work in warehouse, work in the shops, get your experience from the ground up. I didn't want to be in charge of him. I didn't want the others to think my children have a special place because of their father. So they all grew up with that kind of discipline, knowing there would be no free rides.'
Today, Douglas, 44, is chief executive of FJ Benjamin Singapore, while Sam, 37, is group director of timepieces, and Ben, 31, is a regional brand manager.
So, will there always be a Benjamin at the helm?
'One thinks of one's legacy but it is not in one's hands. You take it as far as you can go. I think we already have some sort of legacy built over the years. If this can continue in the same spirit in the same way, even from up there I would be very happy.'
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