Who are you? Why are you an entrepreneur?

This is my first column in a series of columns on entrepreneurship that I will be writing for BizWest. I intend to share some of what I have learned as an entrepreneur, mixed with a little humor.  I also will present issues for reflection. I may use this column as a soapbox to encourage public action. I encourage you to hit me with your questions and issues and start a dialogue that makes this column both entertaining and educational.

I have been an entrepreneur for 36 years – that’s chronological years, not entrepreneur years which are three to seven years for each year of the average person. Entrepreneurs live a richer life – not always better – but we see more, do more and engage more in a shorter period of time.

I consider myself a “parallel entrepreneur.” I do product, business and economic development. I wear management hats in several businesses. I mentor a number of businesses and charities. I teach people how to raise capital.

I grew up in an entrepreneurial family and started my first business at age 7. My family ran a car and farm equipment dealership in Missouri and operated a farm in Kansas. I learned at a young age the meaning of “24/7,” “project management” and “high risk” – which in farming often is matched by a low reward, which is why I left the farm.

Prior to the recession, I considered claiming to be an entrepreneur a risky venture. Too many people assumed that entrepreneurs were just people who couldn’t get a job, couldn’t work with others and were a little odd. Fortunately, a massive collapse of our economy forced recognition of our need for innovation, new-job creation and small businesses. Entrepreneurs are now cool.

Colorado has become a hub for entrepreneurship. There now are almost as many meetups, incubators, accelerators, makerspaces and co-working spaces as there are Starbucks stores.  However, we still have a long way to go to make starting a new business a straightforward proposition. Our economy and culture is biased towards large business and 9-to-5 work days. There is always a shortage of capital. This is one of the reasons I started the Colorado Capital Congress with my friend and associate, Dan Taylor. We and our members are working to make it quicker, easier and less expensive to obtain needed resources in Colorado.

Answering the question of why you are an entrepreneur is important. You need to know what problem you are solving, not just what product or service you are selling. You need to know who benefits from your success; they are depending on you. You need to be able to measure your accomplishments and how others measure you. Knowing this explains what gets you up in the morning, and it explains why you get up again after you get knocked down.

It is not just about you! You recognize that you can make a difference. You can make the world a better place, and that is why you do what you do.

A really good book by Gary G. Schoeniger and Clifton L. Taulbert, “Who Owns the Ice House? Eight Life Lessons from an Unlikely Entrepreneur,” discusses the mindset of the entrepreneur – a person who does not accept life “as is” but who takes the risk of doing new and different things.  Colorado Lending Source soon will be presenting an educational program developed by the Kauffman Foundation that is based on this book. In this program you can determine if you want to be in charge of your own life – or delegate control of your life to others.

I believe that entrepreneurs make the world a better place by converting innovation into new products and services that raise the quality of life.  Being an entrepreneur is not for everyone. It is hard. There is no shifting responsibility. You own your failures. However, that is better than the alternative – not being an entrepreneur.

Contact Karl Dakin of Dakin Capital Services LLC at 720-296-0372 or kdakin@dakincapital.com.

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