When You Think About It, We Are All Entrepreneurs

At the core, entrepreneurs are problem solvers. They are the people who learn to pivot, who are biased for action, and who are always in the business of finding opportunities. And yet, when we hear the word “entrepreneur,” we often immediately think of someone who launches and grows a business.

It’s time to broaden our definition.

I’m going to lean on the definition of entrepreneur offered up by Jordan Raynor in his book, Called to Create. Raynor, a professing Christian, explains that we are effectively “called to create” and that in being a Christ-centered entrepreneur, we are someone “who takes a risk to create something new for the good of others.”

So let’s take this definition and break it down into three parts: an entrepreneur is someone who:

1. Takes a Risk

2. Creates Something New

3. Serves Others

Well, not sure about you, but I, for one, resonate with that definition. Raynor has put into words the incredible power and pull that “teaching the entrepreneurial mindset” has had for me over the last twelve years. It has never been just about churning out entrepreneurs; rather, it has been about instilling a mindset in our students where they are willing to step into risk (redefining failure) so that they can embrace their natural creativity (ideation and problem-solving) in order to serve other people (demonstrating empathy).

In other words, if we focus on these three aspects, we see the value of thinking and acting like an entrepreneur, or rather demonstrating and living out the "entrepreneurial mindset.” This mindset is based on the four fundamental attributes of a healthy growth mindset, developing grit, redefining failure, and seeking opportunity, all of which are encompassed in regularly taking risks in order to create something new for the good of others.

When we embrace entrepreneurial programming on our K-12 campuses, and when we infuse entrepreneurial mindset education into our pedagogy, we are effectively helping students live out these three aspects in a real and practical manner, and that, in effect, is a transformative experience. Want to hear more of my conversation with Dr. Jen Bennett? Click here to check out our podcast episode.