Entrepreneur.
I used to joke that the word “entrepreneur” was Latin for “I don’t have a job.” I’ve come across a number of people who – when asked what they do for a living – their response is, “I’m an entrepreneur.” Upon further probing, I discover that they dally in a number of different areas – maybe its a little real estate here … a little selling stuff on eBay there. And that just seemed odd to me.
How does one make a living doing tid bits of things here and there? Don’t people go to school and/or master a skill and then go work for a big company? Or pick a field of study like medicine or engineering and follow that path until they want to retire? My grandparents did it, my parents do it, and I’m doing it now too as part of my daily life as a working professional at a major metropolitan university.
I’m a play-by-the-rules kind of gal. I’m a Gen X’er. I like structure and plans and strategy….which is part of the reason I am a great event planner. I like a TO DO list, and I like to cross things off of it. I internalize my stress and take on way too much, and then I need my defined down time with limited interruptions. Even in this blog post, I’m explaining how I separate my daily routine from my new “entrepreneurial life.”
However, in my new “entrepreneurial life,” I’m discovering many new things about myself that I probably knew all along but never really ALLOWED myself to grasp on to and run with. I’m reading books about being an entrepreneur (currently devouring What If? & Why Not? by
Jen Groover), embracing technology (you should “LIKE” Jenna Felder Events on Facebook!), listening and learning from others both older and younger than me (thank you Michele Norris, Lee Williams, Carol Morsani and Emily Ley), opening myself up to some vulnerability (you have no idea how horrifying this actually is for me), and ALLOWING myself to think beyond my 9 AM – 5 PM world, and what I can accomplish beyond the rules of the 8 hour work day. I’ve discovered I like being passionate about something.
So while I’m negotiating the waters of how to answer my own question of, “what do you do for a living,” I’m embracing my passion for planning and strategy and creativity and people, and funneling it into a new venture for myself. And hopefully a new opportunity for us to work together. Special events are not only about colors, candles, and calla lilies. Special events are about people and a passion for sending a message that represents who you are and what your hopes, dreams, and goals are.
Welcome to my “entrepreneurial life.” It’s nice to meet you.