Resources and Capabilities 59Situational Characteristics
Once an individual’s inclination to become an entrepreneur has been activated, situa-
tional characteristics help determine if the new venture will take place. The two situa-
tional factors are perceptions of desirability and perceptions of feasibility.
Perceptions of Desirability. Entrepreneurship must be seen as desirable if one is going
to pursue it. The factors that affect the perceptions of desirability can come from the
individual’s culture, family, peers and colleagues, or mentors. For example, the Sikhs and
Punjabis, who dominate the service-station business in New York City, also dominate
the transportation and mechanics business in their home country. Sometimes religion
can spark entrepreneurship and legitimize the perception of desirability. For example,
Zen Buddhist communities are historically self-sufficient economically and provide the
background for the story of an unusual entrepreneur, Bernard Glassman.
Glassman was born the son of immigrant Jewish parents and trained as a systems
engineer; now he is building a better world by combining Zen entrepreneurship with
a mission to help people at the bottom of the economic ladder. After Glassman’s intro-
duction to Buddhism, he found that meditation alone could not meet his spiritual
needs, so he chose the “Way of Entrepreneurship.” In 1983, he and his Zen commu-
nity launched Greyston Bakery in Yonkers, New York, supplying high-priced pies and
cakes to wealthy consumers. Glassman received his early training as a baker from
another Zen sect in San Francisco. Today his bakery grosses $1.2 million and employs
200 people whom many previously considered unemployable. Many entrepreneurs
say that they want to help the poor and needy, but Glassman has made it happen.
Through Greyston’s profits, he has been able to renovate buildings, provide counsel-
ing services, and open a day-care center. However, he still has to pay close attention to
the bottom line; the bakery is his mandala and he must concentrate intensely to make
it a success.^67
Perceptions of Feasibility. Entrepreneurship must be seen as feasible if is to be under-
taken. Readiness and desirability are not enough. Potential entrepreneurs need models
and examples of what can be accomplished. They require support from others— emo-
tional, financial, and physical support. Consider Jessica Rolph. She had worked for the
Federal Trade Commission in Washington and had been a political consultant for an
Internet company. She wanted to be in business for herself, but as she said, “lacked the
one big idea.” Enter Shazi Visram. She had a degree in visual arts from Columbia
University, and was teaching children how to use the Internet for a nonprofit organiza-
tion. The two met through mutual friends, and Visram described her idea for “produc-
ing and marketing organic food for babies.” No one had quite understood the power of
this idea until Visram met Rolph. They used their own money to prepare their pitch
and raised $500,000 from angels and manufacturers. They even won a $10,000 prize
for women-owned businesses. They named their company Nurture Inc. and their frozen
baby food is expected on the market any time now. Rolph concludes that the venture
was, “a choice between risking your personal security and your personal happiness.”
Visram says of her partner, “Jessica... somehow understood why I was doing what I
was doing. She understood the concept of giving back to society.”^68