Me, an Entrepreneur?

Photo by Emma Matthews on Unsplash

Do you need to make some changes in your life? Is your current job or career not quite the dream job you hoped for? Can you be successful in a job that unites your passions with productivity to bring you a profit?

According to Wikipedia, an entrepreneur is:
an enterprising individual who builds capital through risk and/or initiative

​Are you an entrepreneur?

Can you be successful in a job that unites your passions with productivity to bring you a profit?

Are you an entrepreneur?

Are you:

• willing to launch a new venture and accept full responsibility for the outcome?
• willing to accept the risk of failure?
• innovative?
• creative and think outside the box?
• energetic?
• a moderate risk-taker?
• looking for change?
• looking for opportunities?
• ready to take initiative?

If so, then point a finger at yourself and say, “I’m an entrepreneur!” (What was that? Did I hear a murmur, or did you shout?)

Try it again ... stand up, point a finger at yourself and say, "I'm an entrepreneur!" (this time with gusto!)

How I got started

I have to admit, I never thought of myself as an entrepreneur when I became a music educator. In 1996 as a senior at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, CA, I was working toward a degree in Music Education. My goal was to enroll in a credentialing program (which I did in 2001) and become a middle or high school classroom music teacher (which I did in 2002).

But, back to college days … In the spring semester during a private lesson, my piano teacher said, “You should start teaching piano.” I thought she was crazy! I told her I wasn’t interested and came up with many reasons why I wasn’t good enough. Over the next few weeks we had several brief conversations that boiled down to:

Teacher: “You should teach piano.”

Me: “No thanks. I’m not interested.”

You see, my teacher was trying to help a previous student find someone to give her studio of about a dozen students to, since she was moving out of country to work on a Ph.D. (You’re probably thinking, “Someone wants to hand you a private music practice, and you’re turning it down? Are you crazy?!”)

Finally, she spoke the words that tickled my ears and gave me motivation to get past my fears.

Teacher: “You should really think about teaching piano. You’ll make $37 an hour.”

Me: “Give me a phone number, please!”

At that moment, I realized a great truth. $37 an hour doing something I love sure beats just working to pay the bills. (I was making about $15/hour waitressing at nights and on weekends.)

That was the beginning of my journey as an entrepreneur. Unfortunately, at the time, I only thought of it as a job that would get me through until I could get my teaching credential. But thankfully, those six years of teaching helped me build a foundation for the thriving career I have now as a private music teacher.
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According to a U.S. Federal Reserve survey,

The average household net worth for entrepreneurs is five times more than that of the traditionally employed.

Do you see yourself as an entrepreneur? I'd love to hear your perspective in the comments below!