Redefining “Entrepreneur”

For four days last week, I had the pleasure of speaking at a conference of educational entrepreneurs and those who are considering making the jump into the start-up world. I speak at the conference every year and while it takes a toll on me, as I am not used to speaking for so many days in a row, I always leave invigorated.

The participants assemble from a wide range of backgrounds, but are all involved in education in one way or another. Most of the attendees are administrators.

In years past, I have considered the group to be made up of soon-to-be entrepreneurs or those who are considering becoming entrepreneurs. However, it has become clear to me that I need to change my definition of what an entrepreneur is.

Like all years’ participants, the most recent group was comprised of people who were not yet in business but were extremely ambitious and accomplished. The professionals in the audience fit the part as well: they looked like the principals, superintendents, and teachers that they were. But the group was also different in many ways from a typical group of professionals.

This group appeared to have a bit of a wild streak, and I got the sense that the participants were somewhat rebellious. To use a cliché, they walked to the beat of a different drummer. They were different and completely awesome.

While I would not have considered them to be entrepreneurs in the traditional sense of the term, as business owners, the participants were very entrepreneurial. Members talked about their efforts to improve education within the context of their schools. They spoke passionately of how they had worked to create new programs and services and revise existing ones within the context of their current jobs and “school” as we now know it.

At the conference, we talk about what needs to be done to start a new business. We speak honestly about the amount of work that goes in to it and the risk. And while a surprising percentage of attendees end up becoming consultants, a fair number have emailed me to thank me for my presentations and to say that they are grateful for learning how to start a business but have decided to stay with their current jobs.

That is perfectly okay. Because even those who do not go out and start the next Pearson Learning or Project Foundry, or Donovan Group for that matter, those who continue to work in a school, will be emboldened to become even more entrepreneurial in the system. That’s a very good thing.

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