Monday, May 11, 2009
Spirit of the entrepreneur
There’s been plenty written about the entrepreneurial spirit. It is said that the entrepreneur has an abundance of passion and ambition, that she is not afraid to fail and will not take no for an answer. She has a sense of urgency, the ability to tune out the negative and see opportunities everywhere. When you ask an entrepreneur why she started her business, she immediately jumps into her story, eyes lit up as if she were reliving that exciting time in her life.
Do you know this person? I do.
Entrepreneurs have been a bit hard to find in the past few months, having gone underground to nurse their wounds. It’s as if they had been sucker-punched by the swift downturn of the economy, left paralyzed and trying to regain their breath. The good news is that I’m starting to see them resurface, and this gives me hope.
Entrepreneurs are the forgotten heroes in these times. They are everyday men and women who are willing to put everything at risk to fulfill their dreams. They create products and services that the rest of us use every day, and in doing so, they also create the majority of jobs in America.
The entrepreneurs I talk to are not asking for a rescue or a handout. They just want a playing field that is free of unnecessary obstacles and penalties (read: those created by a well-meaning but often-clueless government). They want the opportunity to succeed or fail on their own merits, and they are willing to risk it all in the process.
I fervently believe we will recover on the efforts and indomitable spirit of entrepreneurs. And I hope we will get out of their way and let them run!
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