What Being an Entrepreneur Really Means

“And on the eighth day – God looked down on his planned paradise and said, “I need someone to challenge what people think is possible and push boundaries.” So, God made an entrepreneur.

God said, “I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, take a look around and figure out what he or she can do to make the world just a little bit brighter, to meet an unknown need, transform the way things are done now, and make life better for everyone.” God needed someone to come up with new ideas and change the world. So, God made an entrepreneur.

“I need a person who can be met with untold obstacles and people telling them ‘no’; then after not being able to go to sleep at night because they are worrying about making ends meet; roll out of bed the next morning, continue the hard work of building their own business, convince others that their work is just, and realize the dream in their heart they know must be true.” So, God make an entrepreneur.

“I need somebody who can work well with others- beyond just being a job provider, but instead inspire a sense of purpose and be generous with the lives of those who dedicate their time and energy to helping them realize their dream. They need to see opportunities in challenges, and convince others to champion their plan.”

God went on to say, “I need someone who is not afraid to make the hard decisions of when to hire and fire. Someone with the fortitude to press on, even when business slows to a crawl, and their employees can sense the eternal struggle in unspoken words. Someone who is willing to find creative ways to make their business survive; even if it means breaking a few rules along the way.” So, God made an entrepreneur.

He thought for a bit, then said, “I need these entrepreneurs to do more for the community than provide a product or service. It is not enough for this entrepreneur to realize their dream- they must improve their communities.” So entrepreneurs would raise their families, work late hours, attend church, parent-teacher and city council meetings, be active in community volunteer work, and attend their local Chamber networking events; all without complaint.

“I need someone who will inspire others to take the path less traveled, and show others that it can be done- despite all objections to the contrary.” And so it was with happy eyes and an excited voice that a child in Iowa was able to answer the question, when the teacher asked what they wanted to do with their life, ‘I want to be an entrepreneur‘.

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Credit to the great Paul Harvey and the Super bowl advertisement that inspired this message. Also thanks to Stanford Smith of Pushing Social who seeded the idea to run with this in a recent post.

Rob Williams is a Business Analyst for the
University of Northern Iowa.  This post originally ran on IASourceLink, part of U.S.SourceLink – America’s
largest resource network for entrepreneurs.