What Does It Mean To Be An Entrepreneur?
What Does It Mean To Be An Entrepreneur?
OK, welcome back to the new subscribers, now we’ll all be on the same page. The reason I feel so strongly about Inc. Magazine is that I have found so many interesting ideas and articles in the past couple years that I have been reading it and I know my partner Jack Mencini has been reading it a lot longer than I have. Jack calls it the small business bible!
A great example of an interesting article is one in the August 2007 issue by Thomas K. McCraw who profiles an economist named Joseph Schumpeter (1883 - 1950). Schumpeter, like many geniuses, was not fully appreciated in his time. In 1911, at the age of 28, he wrote a book called The Theory of Economic Development which crowned the entrepreneur as the source of all economic progress!
Here are a couple of key points of Schumpeter that McCraw highlights in the article that caught my attention:
1. Failure is a phase through which nearly all people must pass on the way to success. The ability to take a punch and then get up off the canvas to win the fight is one of the defining characteristics of entrepreneurs. This is what we often refer to as the school of “hard knocks” that most small business owners go through to learn how to be a CEO. Nothing is a better teacher than making mistakes.
2. Schumpeter coined the phrase “creative destruction” to describe the incessant changes typical of capitalistic economies. This observation - that the same innovation that creates an opportunity for one business destroys another - became his signature insight. This is why you will rarely meet an entrepreneur who is comfortable in his or her current position. The moment you let up on the gas pedal and get comfortable will be the moment when your competition gains ground on you.
3. An outsider himself, Schumpeter believed that outsiders in general are better positioned to imagine big changes and new opportunities. Because of the tremendous obstacles entrepreneurs must overcome, Schumpeter held that successful innovation is “a feat not of intellect but of will.” This is what Jack and I lovingly refer to as “the grind” that typifies most successful small business owners.
4. A roster of leading entrepreneurs is like a hotel: “always full of people, but people who are forever changing.” What a fantastic visual!
If you are a small business owner who has not been a regular reader of Inc. Magazine, welcome aboard. I guarantee that you will find a handful of articles each month that resonate very well with you and that will inspire you to move your business forward.
I’ll leave you today with the challenge McCraw provides in his article, “Will you be the creator and developer of a new opportunity or one whose business is overtaken and destroyed by someone else, outworking you either at home or abroad?”
What Does It Mean To Be An Entrepreneur - To learn more about this author, visit Adam Sonnhalter's Website.
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If you’re a small business owner and you don’t subscribe to Inc. Magazine, stop reading this and go get yourself a subscription and then come back here!
OK, welcome back to the new subscribers, now we’ll all be on the same page. The reason I feel so strongly about Inc. Magazine is that I have found so many interesting ideas and articles in the past couple years that I have been reading it and I know my partner Jack Mencini has been reading it a lot longer than I have. Jack calls it the small business bible!
A great example of an interesting article is one in the August 2007 issue by Thomas K. McCraw who profiles an economist named Joseph Schumpeter (1883 - 1950). Schumpeter, like many geniuses, was not fully appreciated in his time. In 1911, at the age of 28, he wrote a book called The Theory of Economic Development which crowned the entrepreneur as the source of all economic progress!
Here are a couple of key points of Schumpeter that McCraw highlights in the article that caught my attention:
1. Failure is a phase through which nearly all people must pass on the way to success. The ability to take a punch and then get up off the canvas to win the fight is one of the defining characteristics of entrepreneurs. This is what we often refer to as the school of “hard knocks” that most small business owners go through to learn how to be a CEO. Nothing is a better teacher than making mistakes.
2. Schumpeter coined the phrase “creative destruction” to describe the incessant changes typical of capitalistic economies. This observation - that the same innovation that creates an opportunity for one business destroys another - became his signature insight. This is why you will rarely meet an entrepreneur who is comfortable in his or her current position. The moment you let up on the gas pedal and get comfortable will be the moment when your competition gains ground on you.
3. An outsider himself, Schumpeter believed that outsiders in general are better positioned to imagine big changes and new opportunities. Because of the tremendous obstacles entrepreneurs must overcome, Schumpeter held that successful innovation is “a feat not of intellect but of will.” This is what Jack and I lovingly refer to as “the grind” that typifies most successful small business owners.
4. A roster of leading entrepreneurs is like a hotel: “always full of people, but people who are forever changing.” What a fantastic visual!
If you are a small business owner who has not been a regular reader of Inc. Magazine, welcome aboard. I guarantee that you will find a handful of articles each month that resonate very well with you and that will inspire you to move your business forward.
I’ll leave you today with the challenge McCraw provides in his article, “Will you be the creator and developer of a new opportunity or one whose business is overtaken and destroyed by someone else, outworking you either at home or abroad?”
What Does It Mean To Be An Entrepreneur - To learn more about this author, visit Adam Sonnhalter's Website.
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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