Self Employed Entrepreneurs or Deadbeats?

Networking and trade shows aren’t really my cup of tea, but I decided to give it a shot and see what all the hype was about. I attended a networking event for young entrepreneurs. There were plenty of colorful and interesting attendees that really sparked an attraction.

My experience immediately went rotten when a head hunter approached me, and proceeded to tell me that entrepreneurs were really just regular people that were unable to get and keep “real” jobs. Can you imagine?!?!?  After I fought off my overwhelming urge to kick him in the knees, and erased the insult off of my face, he pulled out a pretty shoddy business card (catch the irony), winked, and told me to call or text him so that he could “hook me up” with people that could offer me a “legitimate” opportunity. Yuk!

I started pondering what he said and wondered why his remarks caused me to get my back up. I realized that it was because they couldn’t have been farther from reality.  His blasphemous statement wasn’t just about me, but it was about an entire generation of young, forward thinking entrepreneurs who wanted to do more for themselves than a “regular” job could offer them.  In fact, when you think about it, entrepreneurs do more than those in a cushy 9-5 do with much less perks. Firstly, they are taking a chance on themselves, and betting on their own skills to create a future far better than working for someone else could propose.

They don’t have pension plans and health benefits. They can’t call in sick when their eye twitches or their ear aches.  They pay their own taxes, licensing fees, travel and office expenses. If you ask me, the self-employed bevvy are real fighters.

Think of the disquieting feelings that linger when a self-employed person lays their head down at night at the very beginning stages of their budding business and hopes that they make enough money in the coming weeks and months to stay afloat. The horror has a face, and a taste and it lives within us. Despite all of this, those strong ones persevere and get up and go back to the grind every day.

Think about the bigger picture, the country you live in was not founded and built by corporations and incorporations. It was built on single people doggedly putting their all into their dreams and creating opportunities for us.

If you are ever to be in a conversation with someone who believes that self-employed people are just too lazy to go out and find a real job, you make sure you engage them, and engage them well. After all, you know how utterly far-fetched that statement truly is.