No matter what industry or field you work in, whether you work for a multinational corporation, a mom-and-pop storefront, or in your home office, you are an entrepreneur. Congratulations!
Today’s workforce will have a completely different career experience from their parents and grandparents. Gone are the days of getting an entry-level job out of college, moving up, and retiring, all in the same company. Also gone are the days of having one career your entire working life, even if you change employers.
Today’s workforce is will change jobs every 3-5 years. Today’s workforce will have between three and seven entirely different careers. Whether you work for yourself or for others, if you think of yourself as an entrepreneur, you will succeed at life as well as work.
Entrepreneurs start new ventures despite the risks. Are you an Entrepreneur?
I work in an office. How am I an Entrepreneur?
You are a person with skills, providing a product. You take risks by spending your time on someone else’s projects in the hope that they will give you more business and eventually give you the opportunity to start something new. You are an entrepreneur.
I work in retail. How am I an Entrepreneur?
Working in a retail business doesn’t feel like entrepreneurship, but you can think of it as an internship by immersion. If retail is where you want to be, you can use this experience to learn the business from the bottom up and pick up lessons you could never learn any other way. You take the risk that the time you spend training will be valuable when you start your own new venture. You are an entrepreneur.
I am an artist. How am I an Entrepreneur?
If an artist does not think like an entrepreneur, no one will ever see their work. Artists are not traditionally comfortable with the business aspects of their careers, but without sales, all you have is living room full of paintings. Without auditions and demo tapes, you’re just singing in the shower.
Artists are familiar with risk and being accountable only to themselves. All they need is to put some of their drive into making art a business. If you are not thinking about marketing, you are missing out on a big part of your career. You are an entrepreneur!
I am a freelancer. How am I an Entrepreneur?
This one is easy! Your business is yourself. You develop a brand, a list of customers and a marketing strategy. You are out there scratching for more business and making connections to broaden your customer base. You are taking a risk every day that you might not have a steady income stream. You are clearly an entrepreneur.
I read an article on the Entrepreneurs’ Organization website called “What’s Your Personal Culture?” It really spoke to me about how to achieve an entrepreneurial mindset. If you have a clear mission, make smart business decisions about where to spend your time, and develop and implement a marketing strategy for yourself, you are indeed an Entrepreneur.
Wendy Stackhouse for Artisan Creative