I have never considered myself as particularly predisposed to being an entrepreneur. Now certainly, I have always been somewhat independent-minded and rather hostile to burdensome rules and regulations, especially those that I saw as particularly micromanaging and which I have generally quietly but persistently ignored. This is not to say I am hostile to law (quite the contrary), but that I have always valued my own abilities to interpret law and have disliked overly close supervision beyond being told what needed to be done and (if I did not already know) how it could be done. The fact that I have a fairly large amount of self-will (even if it is a fairly quiet and polite sort of stubbornness) has made me a poor fit for overly rigid corporate cultures. I also loathe paperwork and tend to be easily overwhelmed by keeping up with papers and notebooks, which also makes me somewhat ill-suited for the current fashion of ISO-type paperwork and procedures.

Perhaps I have never considered myself an entrepreneur because of the image I have in my head about what that means. I am not the sort of person who enjoys or is particularly proficient at self-promotion. The marketing arts in general are matters I find deeply uncomfortable, when not distasteful. This is not that I think them unimportant—clearly someone has to do such matters (the same is true with paperwork), only that I would much rather that person not be me. As a result of my own reticent nature about self-promotion, some of my more pushy businessmen friends and acquaintances have been surprised at my ease and success in networking. Networking is enjoyable for me—I especially enjoy food (I am a social eater; I hate eating alone). It is just that I am more comfortable with creating content than I am with marketing it. If others enjoy it and share it, all the better, but I feel uneasy about tooting my own horn. I am uncomfortable with the attention.

However, if one defines entrepreneur fairly widely, not only I but a great number of my friends would qualify as entrepreneurs. For example, one of my friends just started up a blog on entrepreneurship [1], a savvy way to record one’s thoughts and get free advertising for one’s business. I know many friends who run window washing businesses, and quite a few adjunct professors of history, and a few other freelance writers and editors like myself. All of these people (myself included—since I have written for hire) could be considered in the broad definition entrepreneurs. We all live by our wits (which I can handle—I’d starve if I had to live by my ability at selling things). Whether one is a freelance writer, or the owner of small business, or the Avon or Mary Kay lady, or an adjunct teacher of history, one is a part of the entrepreneurial culture. The faces of that culture are diverse indeed. And it is not in the least unfriendly company.

[1] http://pdxpicker.wordpress.com/2011/09/13/lets-give-this-blogging-thing-a-try/