This week is Global Entrepreneurship Week. We had to give it a mention because here at Work.Life we have an entrepreneurial spirit: it’s part of our DNA. The idea behind GEW is that mass participation in entrepreneurial events leads to more people with the confidence to start their own businesses. The global movement inspires entrepreneurs, creating connections and encouraging collaboration.
Over the past few days in London, there have been panels discussing everything from the number of female entrepreneurs to how to build the perfect start-up team; from advice given by the best in the business to Fuckup night where people share their stories of failure. So many of us have business ideas but just need a little nudge to pursue them. Hearing about the experiences of people who have made the jump can be a huge help.
Work.Life is full of entrepreneurs, so for our own little contribution to GEW we thought we’d ask a few of them the question: what does entrepreneurship mean to you?
“Being an entrepreneur is not being afraid to push the boundaries and experiment with your ideas.”
“When I think of entrepreneurship I think of a cheery quote (sometimes attributed to Churchill) that’s stuck to my wall on a crumpled post-it: “Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm”.
It’s a pragmatic and light-hearted attitude that I remind myself of from time to time. Entrepreneurship to me, means taking an idea – perhaps a scribble on a post-it – and transforming it into a something that solves a problem. Better still, a problem that people care about and value. It takes a bit of courage, perseverance and good humour, as told by my crumpled post-it.”
“An entrepreneur is someone that launches their own business, big or small. My advice to budding entrepreneurs is to go for it, take the risk.”
“Entrepreneurship is fundamentally not working for a corporate, not being employed and working for yourself. I find being an entrepreneur is far more exciting: you’re someone who thinks outside the box. Entrepreneurs are not scared to try. It’s all about putting yourself out there to try and grow a business, big or small.”
“Being an entrepreneur means getting on with it and finding people to work with.”
These wise words from within the Work.Life community might just give you the inspiration you need to make the leap yourself! If you need some start-up inspiration, why not come and visit us?
