Daring to dream
by Jenjira Knernschield, posted Sept. 29, 2008
In theme with the MU School of Journalism’s Centennial & dedication of the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute, the Entrepreneurship Club invited back alumna Rieva Lesonsky to discuss modern business and the people behind it. The journalism graduate shared her experience and expertise Thursday, Sept. 11, about the constantly evolving environment of entrepreneurship.
Lesonsky, a journalist and best-selling author, has written, co-written and edited several books about being and becoming an entrepreneur. After working as an editor for Entrepreneur Magazine for 25 years, Lesonsky resigned and is now the chief executive of SMB Connects, a company that exchanges content and information for Web sites. Her personal business venture is now in its sixth month of operation.
The number of entrepreneurs has significantly increased in the last 30 years, Lesonsky said. She attributed this to society’s continuing integration of technology, which has made startups easier to get off the ground.
“A junior achievement survey that was done last year said that ‘business owner’ was the most popular choice for a future career among high school [students],” Lesonsky said. “This kind of came out of nowhere. When I looked up the word ‘entrepreneur’ in 1978, it existed, but it wasn’t in the dictionary as it is now.”
Lesonsky compared the aspirations of her graduating class of 1974 to today’s recent graduates: while her classmates were looking forward to working for IBM or Proctor & Gamble, a recent survey by the Hoffman Institute found that among 20- to 24-year-olds, 300,000 of them have already started their own businesses.
It’s hard to get an accurate number of how many entrepreneurs there are today. Lesonsky pointed out that this is due to a poor definition of the term ‘small business’ that has never been rectified.
Lesonsky closed her lecture with firm words of encouragement: “I’ve always been a dreamer. It always starts with a dream. Entrepreneurs are just the people who dare to dream. People are going to tell you you’re crazy, but you’re not. Don’t let anyone ever discourage your dreams.”
