IS THE WORD ENTREPRENEUR LAME?
By Bobby Riley | April 21st, 2010
In spirit of my last Lovemoney post. I was both convicted and inspired by a small chapter in a book you may all be very familiar with called REWORK by Jason Fried, that I plugged last August in a post called Inside Out. Recently finishing the book via Amazon’s Kindle app on my iPad, I was inspired to share some of Jason’s wisdom, albeit against my chronic use of the word Entrepreneur.
Let’s retire the term entrepreneur. It’s outdated and loaded with baggage. It smells like a members only club. Everyone should be encouraged to start his (or hers, I had to add that. Come on Jason!) own business, not just some rare breed that self-identifies as entrepreneurs.
There’s a new group of people out there starting businesses. They’re turning profits yet never think of themselves as entreprenuers. A lot of them don’t even think of themselves as business owners. They are just doing what they love on their own terms and getting paid for it.
So let’s replace the fancy-sounding word with something a bit more down-to-earth. Instead of entrepreneurs, lets just call them starters. Anyone who creates a new business is a starter. You don’t need an MBA, a certificate, a fancy suit, a briefcase, or above-average tolerance for risk. You just need an idea, a touch of confidence, and a push to get started.
Ok! I’m convinced, I’m never going to use the lame word again. Will you and others make the switch?