Entrepreneurship

OK, so I just drank a beer more quickly than intended, which could negatively affect my coherence.

I'm currently taking an online course about creating a business plan, and it's so fucking cool! The first 2 lessons were released this week. My classmates come from all over the country; the highest concentrations appear to be from the Northeast (rah rah rah!) and the Southeast.

The first lesson is about entrepreneurship in general: what is an entrepreneur? How does one define success? What qualities make for a good entrepreneur? Our first assignment was to research the career/life of an entrepreneur we admire.

The discussion boards are where it gets good! It's so much goddamn fun to read about my classmates' ideas for businesses; they run a whole gamut. I would say that 95% of my classmates are passionate about something, so passionate that they want to begin a business. The other 5% are interested in starting a business, but they're not sure what kind. To me, this is strange, but I recognize that it's also how the necessary things get made. Like envelopes or, I don't know, elastic bands...or, god I can't even think of dull but useful things. I'm in the 95%. I'm starting a freaking wellness center. Useful? Er...

Anyway, the real fun begins when we post our assignments to the discussion board. I've been checking in to read my fellow traveler's bios of various entrepreneurs. (I wrote mine about Gary Hirschberger; email me if you'd like a copy and you know me well enough to know my email address.)

It strikes me that a characteristic of many of the best entrepreneurs is: They see a problem and need to fix it. No healthful, environmentally sound fast food offerings? Mr. Hirschberger began his own chain! (O'Naturals) Mr. Warren Errol Brown went to law school because he wanted to change the way sex ed was done (or not done) in this country. When he realized he was fighting an even more uphill battle than he'd thought, he turned to his true passion: cakes. And he began a successful bakery. There are other examples I can't think if right now.

I most admire the entrepreneurs who, like Mr. Hirschberger, root their life work in their values. Stonyfield Farm yogurt and O'Naturals have grown from his dedication to sustainable agriculture and community-building. To which I say: Rock on.

To sum up: It's cool. I'm taking this class.