Over the years I’ve worked alongside all sorts of fascinating entrepreneurs in the high-tech industry. Real founders of real companies – some even made it big. For a long time I had a big title and a big function. I even ran a well-funded startup for a while.
But I was never an entrepreneur.
Having been involved in several private rounds of funding, IPOs, even a merger or two, I’ve accumulated quite a contact list of VCs and investment bankers. I can put an investor pitch together that’ll get you reaching for your checkbook.
But I’m still not an entrepreneur.
And, get this: I’ve owned my own business for more than a decade. Aside from a bit of a squeeze after the 2008 recession, it’s done pretty well, paid the bills and all that. But you know what?
I still don’t consider myself an entrepreneur.
The reason? I don’t get hung up on labels. And it’s a good thing because, if I did, I probably wouldn’t be much use to you or my consulting clients.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that job titles aren’t important. I think they’re very important. If you’re the head of engineering, you have to deliver products on time and on budget and they better work or heads will roll, starting with your own.
If you’re an executive officer of a public company, that’s a very big deal with big responsibility you have to take seriously because thousands of customers, employees, and shareholders depend on you.
Those are the things that I focused on for the first 23 years of my career. And that’s how I gained the knowledge, the skill, and the insight to do what I do today.
“Entrepreneur” may mean a lot of things to a lot of people these days, but it’s not a job function. It’s not even a job title. It’s just a label. And focusing on a label will keep you from finding your true passion.
You see, it takes time to figure out what you’re meant to be, what you’re capable of doing better than anyone else. Your true calling is never just a label. It’s a job, an area of expertise, an innovative capability. Your true calling doesn’t just jump out at you and shout, “Here I am.” You have to find it. And that can only come from experience.
Read more from Entrepreneur