en·tre·pre·neur/ˌäntrəprəˈno͝or/

Noun:

1. A person who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on financial risk to do so.
2. A promoter in the entertainment industry.

(http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/entrepreneur)

I didn’t have a lemonade stand growing up, but I did try a few businesses. I tried to sell my art (watercolor and the stuff I did at those paint me pottery places) at the end of my driveway, but my only customers were my father and a guy who made me get a can of coke from the fridge inside my house. My friend Lara and I tried to sell saplings door to door, which for a tree lined street didn’t go over well (bad market research). More famously and probably one of my lower moments, I tried to sell new lines added to old tunes like Ms. Mary Mack and the diahrrea song. Seriously. I used to write poetry a lot and there was interest in these revisions to old classics, but my execution failed. Fifth grade was a tough year. 

There wasn’t any incredible financial risk for starting these kiddie companies, although trying to sell my art was somewhat legit. Since I didn’t get an allowance, I had to do lots of chores for pennies and nickels here and there. I watched for sales at Rag Shop (the cheaper little brother of a place like Michael’s) and I tried to calculate, to the best of my ability, how to mark up my art to make up for my supply costs. Pretty sophisticated for an elementary school kid.  

Earlier this year I quit my job to follow my heart. I started freelancing/consulting full time with an eye out for the “perfect” full-time gig. It’s been one of the happier years of my adult life so far, but also a large burden financially. Going from self-employed to startup was going from risky to riskier. So while I’ve engaged in entrepreneurial activities and exhibit traits of an entrepreneur, does that make me one? I contemplated this recently when I felt I had been ousted from an opportunity because I wasn’t considered an entrepreneur due to my title as a community manager (this later proved sorta kinda false). Why did I get so hung up on this title? A part of me was offended they (supposedly) didn’t consider me an entrepreneur because in my head it translated to “you’re not the risk taker here”. I think at a startup everyone’s gotta be an entrepreneur and “own” the company if it’s going to succeed. I’ll be completely honest and say I’m about a paycheck away from not being able to pay rent each month. I’ve made some huge personal sacrifices as well, but I won’t go all sappy here. I’m also working twice as much as I have at any other job, which I don’t mind at all because I love it.

I guess underneath this pile of work, where some consider me a mere manager, I just wanted someone to recognize that I was a risk taker too and that I didn’t just work for one. It’s funny how we get caught up on these titles. 5th grade Trish would’ve pushed me down and stolen my lunch money.