Death to Sensationalism

 

              If I had a dollar for every time I received a condescending or patronizing glance when I told someone I do not intend to be an entrepreneur, I would have enough capital to start my own business and become one after all.  “But…aren’t you in business school?” They ask with a dumbfounded look plastered on their face. As though there is a stipulation on the bottom of a business degree that says thou shalt use for entrepreneurship only.         

          As a teenager I was enamored with the idea of running my own company, being my own boss, working on my own time, and all the other mystifications that entrepreneurship sells you on. But the more information I gathered, and the deeper my soul searching went, I concluded that me being an entrepreneur is similar to the square peg round hole dilemma. 

    To the people at networking events, on social media, or even on school campuses that believe entrepreneurship is the next (and only) viable step after studying business, I pose a series of questions. How good are you at coordinating other people? How good are you at coordinating yourself? Do you realize that most times working on your “own time” means working all the time? Where is your capital coming from? Can you woo investors? Do your parents have money? How much risk can you stomach? And lastly, do you have a heart of stone?

And to the people that are into business but are not so hung up on the entrepreneurial sensation, I say keep going. The world needs intrapreneurs as much as it does entrepreneurs. And maybe one day, you will find yourself being an entrepreneur anyway. But until then, death to sensationalism. 

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