Do You Want to Work For Yourself or Someone Else? The Entrepreneurial Mindset
Gail Summerskill writes on how the new entrepreneurial mindset is taking over the conventional “work for someone else” mentality.
“I grew up in a family whose members worked for people other than for themselves.
Jobs, careers and monthly salaries came from corporations or institutions. No one in my family tree started a business — small or large.
I was the kid who helped with lemonade and cookie stands in the neighborhood; it was not my idea to start them. Surprise and awe, therefore, were my reaction when I started dating my now husband, visiting him at the fine woodworking shop he owned, eating at his brother’s restaurant, and listening to the tales from my brother-in-law’s consulting jobs as a fire inspector.
My children grew up in a dual universe — around people who worked for themselves and those who worked for others.
I am glad that my children grew up knowing they have choices for their professional lives and can take their own ideas and turn them into realities. This is the lay of the job land now — flexibility, ingenuity, and change — and seeing a variety of career paths is important for children as they grow up.
I have learned a good deal from my husband and children about entrepreneurship.
A writer my entire life, I’m beginning to reap small economic rewards for the words I put on paper. Who knows — next tax season, I might need a tax accountant to file the fees I collect from a variety of my entrepreneurial jobs. Then again, I could just ask my husband, daughter, or son.”