with Anthony Newcombe 

Topic: The most important characteristics of an entrepreneur 

Area: The impact of parents’ words on their children 

en·tre·pre·neur /ˌäntrəprəˈnər,ˌäntrəprəˈno͝o(ə)r/ 

noun: entrepreneur; plural noun: entrepreneurs 

1. a person who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so. 

(credit: Oxford Languages) 

Entrepreneur (my definition) – An entrepreneur represents many key elements wrapped into one.  First and foremost, he or she must be a born leader, a person who yearns to be the most responsible party in any business decision to be made.  An entrepreneur is creative, highly intelligent, and motivated to succeed at a level greater than the typical wage earner.  He or she understands that decision – or indecision – could mean the difference between a great idea becoming a great product, service, or organization – or just simply one of many “brainstormed ideas” that go nowhere. 

 An entrepreneur understands that he or she needs a roadmap to success.  By creating a comprehensive plan of attack, the entrepreneur will now be able to take educated and informed risks because all options have been weighed prior to committing one way or another.  Once all the possible angles have been carefully thought out, he or she will have shifted the odds of success as much as possible in his or her favor and will know that the time has come to seize an opportunity. 

I first wrote these words in 2013.  At the time, I had no idea that all these years later I would locate them buried in an old, abandoned email folder labeled “A.N. writings.”  Now, we’re closing in on the beginning of 2021, and my daughters (only 9 at the time) are preparing hastily for their college-entrance essays and wondering what it takes to “…one day create and open our own business and become entrepreneurs.”  Perhaps taking a moment to read dear ol’ Dad’s “writings” may help you out. 

At any rate, it only confirms the fact that our children really are always listening to us.  Our example may seem invisible to us, but we can never be certain that our children are following the tracks we are laying each and every day.  And even though we are sometimes oblivious to this phenomenon, it nevertheless exists in a very profound way – daring us always to be mindful of the long-term impact of our words. 

What do YOU think? 

A.N. 

Related links 

https://hbr.org/2020/07/so-you-want-to-be-an-entrepreneur