Lockdown, dear Chancellor, is making more online shopkeepers than ever before. Just look at the share price of Shopify and indeed hedge fund interest in Wix. Our politicians and cobwebbed policy wonks have to keep up with this change. It is after all not only the future but the great potential social mobiliser if the talents in a council flat can be utilised for wealth creation with nothing more than internet connections and a laptop.
"Our high school guidance counselor used to ask us what you'd do if you had a million dollars and you didn't have to work. And invariably what you'd say was supposed to be your career." Office Space, 1999
Issue: Being an entrepreneur for everyone and anyone is an activity they just have to do no matter what, whatever their obstacles are. Some are driven by greed, others by guilt. Men had different motivations to men and those motivations were often swamped by counter-desires which were stronger than for men (eg the desire to make a better product was a comment women’s desire to be an entrepreneur, whereas for men it was to ‘make money and prove themselves’. So the counter pull for women of ‘raising their child and being what they perceived as a good partner/mother over-road their desire compare to a counter pressure on a man which was ‘security’ for family.
Solution: There is nothing wrong with not being an entrepreneur because you want to devote your time to something equally or more worthy. All our choices involve regret and sacrifices in life. The issue is which path has the least regret for you? Then you must put away the guilt of the choice. Easier said than done. Doubt is in each entrepreneur. It’s part of the training. That is why you need mentors and a brain trust. If you really want to be an entrepreneur and are looking for additional pushes – list them. Common ones are: this actually is helping my family; this is not a selfish act; this provides more security
"My ability to get through my day greatly depends upon the relationships that I have with women: my mother, my aunt, my girlfriends, my neighbors, the mothers in my children's school. I have this wonderful network of women where we rely upon one another for emotional and practical support. In these women I find a place of comfort and sanity and peace like no other. We ground one another." Michelle Obama, Campaign speech, July 2007
"When I talk with a lot of my women friends who have their careers, sometimes [they will] go into a company or a situation where they often think they should be like somebody else… but when you learn to be yourself, and go where your passions are, I think fantastic things happen out of that... So my women friends and I talk about that a lot: Follow your passions, and just be who you are." Belinda Gates
