If most of you don’t know I attend an art school here in Chicago. I attend Columbia College Chicago for Entrepreneurship of the Arts. Perhaps it’s a shift in what people think our economy will be like in the future, or maybe it’s just the school that I attend. But I have been noticing many people saying that they are “entrepreneurs,” though their major is not the same as mine. Often these kids who say they are entrepreneurs are studying film, dance or another major that doesn’t deal with an actual business. So it made me wonder how these kids are justifying their entrepreneurial ways. What do they think being an entrepreneur is? And I think the real assessment is what it means to you!

In case you didn’t know, our economy isn’t horrible this year. Our GDP (gross domestic product) is at a pretty good point (from unconfirmed numbers) around 3.56 percent. Our unemployment rates fall within the 3-6% range (which is confirmed as a positive economic indicator). But we are on a shift; next year is projected to be worse. So we are on a small downward slope. (Please don’t comment telling me that these numbers are wrong; they have not been confirmed since this year is not over.)

So what does this mean to people saying that they are entrepreneurs? Well, I think most students look at being a business owner as the “best thing possible.” In reality, our economy makes starting a small business more and more difficult. In fact, it is probably the hardest thing to do right now. In case you haven’t been informed, only 10 percent of small businesses succeed at staying in business for their first year. So to these uninformed students, saying that they are an entrepreneur is likely incorrect. But it isn’t incorrect in their thought process. When they say they are entrepreneurs they are referencing their ideas! I find this to be a very positive shift for the term “entrepreneur.” It doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to be a small business; it means you can be innovative or “entrepreneurial” about your specific subject matter.

And now back to our main point. Since many people consider their ideas as entrepreneurial in some way (which is primarily true), how do you assess your entrepreneurial ways? Do you find a niche and try to enter an already flooded market? Do you find a niche that needs a shift and decide to make that shift? I really do want to hear from you!

For informative purposes, I assess my own entrepreneurial ways differently. I want to know a little bit about everything. I am not saying that I would like to be perfect at everything. I am saying that I would love to have some knowledge about everything so I understand my possibilities (accounting, finance, marketing, advertising, graphic design, Web development). I have found a market that I think needs a shift and I have decided to enter it with high hopes. I am a dreaming entrepreneur, not necessarily a risk taker.

Assess yourself from home:

Do you take risks?

Do you come up with a random idea every day?

Do you move quickly on those ideas?

Would you take high risks for those exact ideas?

Do you consider yourself knowledgeable of the economy and the way it works?

How can you better your knowledge?

What are some things you don’t know about?

What are your goals in five years? Ten years? Fifteen years? (Can you draw a mental picture of what you would like to have in those 15 years? If so, think deep about those mental pictures and be very detailed)

These are some simple questions to ask yourself. Start evaluating yourself and your thought process. What you don’t realize is that assessing yourself and creating those goals (from your ideas) is more entrepreneurial than ever before. Thus, you have become an innovative entrepreneur (if you must categorize it).

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