This week a student who attended a talk I gave in 2011 in a small city on the coast in the south of Chile sent me the following email. English translation follows.

hola te escribo este correo porque estuviste en una charla de emprendimiento y a mi me encantaría ser emprendedor para ayudar a mi familia en especial a mi hermana que es sorda, pero no se como, no tengo los recursos necesarios, por eso necesito que me aconsejes de que podría hacer???

tengo algo en mente mi padre sabe arreglar bicicletas y tiene un taller pequeño y las ganancias le sirven para puro comer y no para comprar materiales y crecer.

seria como una meta poder tener una empresa no un sueño, una meta que se haga realidad.

le agradecería su expuesta.

::

Hi, I’m writing this email because you were at an event about entrepreneurship and I would love to be an entrepreneur to help my family, especially my sister who is deaf, but I don’t know how, I don’t have the necessary resources, and that’s why I need you to advise me on what I could do.

I have something in mind. My father knows how to fix bicycles and has a small workshop. From the earnings he can eat but he can’t buy materials or grow the business.

It would be like a goal to be able to have a company not a dream, a goal that comes true.

I’d appreciate your reply.

I’ve been in conversation with this writer, and I’ve already shared some initial ideas with him, but I’d like to open up his question to a broader audience. What do you suggest that he do?

photo credit: Mark J P via photopin cc