Admitting it is the first step towards success!

Global Entrepreneurship week has got us thinking about what "entrepreneurship" really means, what skills you need to be an entrepreneur and why admitting it is the first step towards success! Today I've been asking myself what I did to earn the title 'entrepreneur' and whether I deserve it!

Hello, My name is Amanda and I am an Entrepreneur.

Two years ago I graduated from University and found myself in a familiar position, I had arrived at the successful end of yet another journey to recieve more academic qualifications and I had no idea what to do with them. Though previously this confusion had always resulted in a further spin on the education merry-go-round and yet more qualifications in subjects which really interested me but were, quite frankly, too diverse and wide ranging to be of any direct professional benefit, this time I was beginning to think I should get myself a career. And that was the magic word "career". I didn't want a job, I wanted a life.
I have a confession to make....I dislike work, I always have.Yet I spend around 60 hours a week, every week, on Red Button Design.
Why? because my definition of 'work' is something I don't want to be doing. I wanted to work with the United Nations but couldn't commit to the long stretches of field time at little or no notice. I wanted to work with Charities but found conflict in the ethics of relying on donors to fund growth in the developing world. I had and no aspiration to be an "entrepreneur" I just wanted to go about my life, achieving the things I wanted, doing what I found most interesting and rewarding and generally spending my time supporting the things I believed in. For me, that meant avoiding 'work' as I defined it and building my dream career.
To do this I have probably put in more hours that I would have in any standard 'job', I have survived on far less money, less sleep and less of a social life, and it's far from over yet. Why? In the hope that the gamble pays off and I end up with a career that I love to spend my time on. For more on this topic take a look at the "Turn your passion into profit!" debate

So should I call myself an entrepreneur?
- because I registered a Ltd Company?
- because I appeared on the Dragons' Den?
- because I raised money?
- beacuse I am my own boss and make my own decisions?

Yes, all of those things but critically entrepreneurship is all about taking a calculated risk to make your dreams happen, it's about having a go. So if you have an idea that you'd like to make reality, stop putting it off! Have a go this global enterprise week and start calling yourself an entrepreneur too.