Here’s an interesting article advocating for change in how we talk about entrepreneurship. The author criticizes the current state of “storytelling” about entrepreneurship, stating: “We’re selling a dream with real and damaging effects on our institutions and on people’s lives. It’s time for smart people to stop mortgaging their futures in pursuit of fantasies of super-success. I know it seems odd to say that stories of success can do harm, that an obsession with what seems to be the entrepreneurial dream could possibly be a negative thing. But it is, and in all sorts of ways.” Instead of analyzing entrepreneurship through rose-colored glasses, the author encourages entrepreneurs to be more honest, and to be open about the negatives of owning and operating one’s own company, such as negative effects on health as well as decrease in the amount of time spent with family.
While the article seems pessimistic at first, it ends on a high note, encouraging entrepreneurs to write their own narratives and “control their own businesses.”
This article discusses the factors that connect products and ideas from entrepreneurs to be socially responsible as well as change our own perception of how we view entrepreneurship and social cause. It’s very interesting that people perceive entrepreneurs as an opposite to social development, but we can view these principles as going hand in hand instead of in opposition. Entrepreneurship can spur innovation and design for the social cause.