The Accidental Entrepreneur 

By Mark Culos of www.theheartsinspiration.com

"I’m a __________ (fill in the blank), how did I end up needing to worry about billing, marketing, and all this other business stuff? I was just following my passion and now I find myself knee deep in details that seem so far removed from what I want to be doing.”

If these words capture the essence of how you are feeling, you may be an accidental entrepreneur. At a point in your life, the constellation of events that marked the genesis of your cause also pointed you towards the world of business. To realise your calling, you accepted the mantel of being a person of business. While what you are here to offer the world may have little to do with business, you understand that business offers the vehicle through which you can best manifest your destiny. Your enterprise may be large or small, newly formed or well established, wildly successful or just breaking even. What determines that you are an accidental entrepreneur is that you have arrived at this place of business without having intended to take this journey.

The pursuit of business is most often a by-product of a person following their passion. General Electric is the result of Thomas Edison’s exploration into the possibilities of the dynamo and other electrical devices. Microsoft is the result of Bill Gates belief that the computer would be a valuable tool on every office desktop and in every home. That both of these are now multinational corporations belies the fact they are primarily the vision of an individual. These businesses are only what they are in order to bring that vision to fruition.

When you are a sole proprietorship or a corporation of one, it is difficult to identify with captains of industry. The challenges you face are different and particularly in the early phases, the way forward is not clear. Striking a balance between the work that you do—your vocation—and operating your business—your enterprise—is anything but easy. The world of work is transforming rapidly with traditional relationships between employers and employees giving way to new concepts such as self-employment and free agency. It is important to note that there is a significant difference between being self-employed and being a person of business. Similar activities and outcomes mask the division between the two. As a person of business, you are bringing into being a unique enterprise.

No matter how unique your vocation is, there exists an enterprise that would welcome you and provide you with an ideal work environment. If your soul longs for such a place, set your intention upon finding such an employer and start that journey. If instead, your soul knows that it will only be satisfied through you establishing and growing your own business, accept that you are, accidental or not, a person of business. Attempting to answer why you started your business may only lead you to more questions. As long as you know that following the path you are on is the only one you can follow, throw yourself into the challenge of your business and let the world benefit from your passion.

Are you ready to bring some intentionality to this accident of fate that is your business? The eight-week teleclass, Business Acumen for the Accidental Entrepreneur, is designed to do just that so follow this link, www.theheartsinspiration.com/offerings/businessacumen.html, to sign up and take pride in being an accidental entrepreneur.

About the Author:
Mark Culos is an enterprise advocate who helps businesses come alive by unlocking the inherent poetry within them. To contact Mark, send him an email at mark@theheartsinspiration.com.