The Entrepreneur

The Artist

A few days ago I was asked, “what gets you jazzed up about entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship?” Before answering, I shared my definition of entrepreneurship: the art of creating value. I told him that from this perspective, I considered the entrepreneur to be an artist. But I also made a distinction between entrepreneurs who are primarily focused on business, and entrepreneurs who are building brands.

The former, as I explained it, has a tough job, and deserves all the respect in the world for starting and maintaining something sustainable enough to be considered a business. The latter, however, thinks very differently about the work they are doing. Yes, they have to have a sustainable business, but brand, value, and people are the most critical factors in their decision making. This class of entrepreneur makes sure that their business is running well, but they are also focused on the integrity of the brand. The brand, as they see it, comes first because it is bigger than they are. It has a purpose, ‘a why’ that is beyond making money.

This is not an easy road to go down. It often means that opportunities to make a quick profit are missed. The person, his name is Ben, who asked me the question is in the chocolate business. According to the International Cocoa Organization, the top 10 global chocolate companies made a combined $80 billion selling chocolate last year. So the chocolate business is huge. But a big part of what makes it so lucrative is that 70% of the world’s supply of cocoa beans, the main ingredient in chocolate, come from impoverished cocoa farmers in West Africa. Some of which earn as little as 50 cents a day. Ben is building a brand that is intentionally moving away from this business model. All of his products are made using Fair Trade chocolate. He has decided to forego a proven profitable model to give poor farmers an ocean away greater equity in international trade.

From a purely business perspective, Ben’s decisions seem counterintuitive. What businessman consciously undermines an opportunity to maximize profit? Well, Ben is not a businessman, he’s an entrepreneur. He’s building a brand. He has created something of value. His customers may not know him, but they know what he has created. His brand connects with their values. For these customers, the purchase and consumption of his products have benefits beyond satisfying a craving. By buying Ben’s Fair Trade Certified chocolate, they are buying into the changing of a culture, the changing of a system of exploitation. They are part of the solution, not the problem. Their purchase is now an act of generosity, and a stance against the status quo. This is what it means to create value, and this is the work of the entrepreneur, the artist. And there are thousands more artist out there, just like Ben. Who wouldn’t be jazzed up about that?

To learn more about what Ben is building, or to purchase from his selection of Fair Trade Certified chocolate, please visit his website: www.fivenorthchocolate.com