What is an Entrepreneur?

When my friend told her 8-year-old nephew, Sam, that I am an entrepreneur, he took a few guesses about what that strange word means.

“Does it mean that she is a funny person?”  “Is she a puppeteer?”  Does it mean she’s sophisticated?” Does it mean that she makes entrees?”

Great guesses, Sam! Other than “sophisticated,” I think he came pretty close!

Some business owners I’ve encountered seem to believe that being an entrepreneur means flying by the seat of the pants: jumping at last-minute opportunities, changing course on a dime, winging it. Well, certainly a entrepreneurs must be nimble, and a small business can change course more easily than a large, bureaucratic organization. But that’s not the definition.

My American Heritage College Dictionary tells me that an entrepreneur is “a person who organizes, operates, and assumes the risk for a business venture.” No argument from me that entrepreneurs take risks!

Entrepreneurs may be all of these things. But mostly, I see entrepreneurs as world changers. We see a problem and push through to a solution. We redefine possible. We invent from a blank sheet of paper.

If you are an entrepreneur – or want to be – give yourself the gift of watching this 2-minute video. It will remind you why the way of the entrepreneur called to you in the first place. (Note: at the end, you’ll see that this is an ad for a digital phone system. This in no way takes away from the power of the message.)