Is Entrepreneurship a Form of Individuality and Self-expression?

By Melanie K

Until recently, I was never interested in business. I have even avoided working for the private sector for more than a decade. As an undergraduate student of the environment, and being “green” minded, my friends and I thought that students in commerce had different values then we did, mostly to do with wealth, simply because they chose to study business. Now, after a graduate-level degree, several years in the workforce, and planning a career move, my point of view has changed. I’ve come to realize that business is a means to an end… and that end can be self-defined.

In her book, Big Vision, Small Business: 4 Keys to Success Without Growing Big, Jamie S. Walters says,

“…if we’re willing to step away from our torrid cultural affair with size and linear progressions even for a moment, we might allow that growth can also mean an evolution or transformation with an emphasis on qualitative aspects of business ownership, personal development, and contribution to the community.”

The article posted earlier this month by Christa Louw reflects one of the more common motivations for starting a home-based business – parenting. Others include transitioning into retirement, health reasons including stress management, and forced unemployment. But there are those of us who are in the middle of successful careers, without children, that are looking to entrepreneurship for other reasons. Also posted earlier this month on RFW, Gina Ratliff’s article discusses living authentically and how that fits into business. Entrepreneurship can allow us to better match the work environment with our individual personality, something that is frequently not fulfilled by working for some one else.

Here are a few thoughts on how self-employment can create a individualized work environment:

1) Self-promotion. Unchallenged and no where else to go, some of us have either hit that ever present “glass ceiling”, or have simply gone as far as possible in our current organization. Some of us want to be more involved in decision-making. Owning your own business is a self-promotion by making you the primary decision-maker.
2) Focusing on your interests. Many jobs are a mixed bag of projects some of which are interesting to us, and some that are not. Entrepreneurship allows you to custom design your business so that it focuses primarily on what interests you.
3) Learning new skills. If you have never been involved in running a business on your own before, there is tons to learn. Many regular jobs stagnate after a while, and we become bored. Self-employment brings on new challenges and learning opportunities that lead to personal growth.
4) Maximizing your productivity. Entrepreneurship provides scheduling flexibility, which is appealing to parents. But it also allows many of us to organize our daily and weekly work tasks according to our personal level of productivity. For example, my most productive time for intellectual work is in the first four hours of the day. I tend to plan and generate ideas while I’m exercising in the afternoon, away from my desk and computer. Many work environments do not allow for this type of personal scheduling.

Are you an entrepreneur who is expressing herself through her business? Are you planning to make this move? How else can entrepreneurship help women stay true to their individual personality? Share your thoughts with RFW!