Back in the good old days, it was simple, but is fun now

You would have thought that it should be easier than ever for the aspiring entrepreneur to move into the realm of being a "successful" entrepreneur.

Look at a business such as Google or Facebook and you will see that truly the chance to grow successful at a lightning pace is unprecedented in human history.

Yet, a quick look through some autobiographies of the titans of yesteryears can almost make you wish for the simplicity of former times.

Once upon a time, it seems, employees were just grateful for a job. Imagine that, grateful to show up at the factory and receive their envelope of cash at the end of the month. No need for the owner to provide free food, a masseuse and  "play areas" to inspire relaxation and creativity.

As for customers, surely Henry Ford had it right with his refrain that the customer can have the car  "in any colour he wants as long as it is black". Today's customer needs money-back guarantees, quality assurances and value additions.

In fact, in order to get them to buy the products often, you now need to give them financing. Giving them money to buy your product? And if that was not enough, all of the above needs to happen along with reducing your carbon footprint, providing a fun environment to your employees and producing double-digit returns for the shareholders.

And, of course, greed is no longer good and any profit must immediately be returned back into the community from whence it came.

Still, it is not all bad. Start a couple of businesses today and if you are lucky, you earn the right to pontificate about entrepreneurialism in a national newspaper and hark on about how things must have been simpler in the olden days.

Although, truth be told, were it indeed the olden days, I think I would have thrown out my quill and ink a long time ago. Simpler they may have been, but give me speed and efficiency any day. Roll out the future.

Callum Laing is the founder and owner of several businesses with a presence in six countries. In his spare time, he runs XL Thailand, part of the largest social-entrepreneur network in the world.