Are Entrepreneurs "Born" or "Made"?

[Deb Neuman]

This is a column I wrote for the Maine Edge... born or made? What do you think??

You Know You’re an Entrepreneur When…

Sometimes it feels like a gift, other times like a curse. My name is Deb Neuman and I’m an entrepreneur. To quote Fergie, “the girl can’t help it.” I can’t help it that I have to constantly be “inventing” or “creating” and need lots of room and freedom to do so. I have to add a little “extra something” to everything I do. I have to make it my own.

I’m often asked if I think entrepreneurs are born or made. I believe that entrepreneurs are born. If there is such a thing as an “e-gene,” I’ve got it big time and it was evident at a very early age. Which leads me to wonder: How early do entrepreneurs begin to exhibit entrepreneurial tendencies, and what do those tendencies look like?

Recently, I was coloring with my two nephews, boys under 5 years of age. Hunter was very focused, concentrating on staying “in the lines” and selecting colors from his box of crayons that “made sense.” Jack was coloring too and suddenly became very upset. When I asked him what was wrong, he replied “I can’t stay in the lines!” Ahh - a kid after my own heart! Being the crazy Auntie I am, I encouraged him not to stay in the lines, but rather to make the picture his own. He seemed relieved to have been given permission to “break the rules.” I’m guessing Jack was also born with the e-gene.

So how do you know if you’re an entrepreneur?

You know you’re an entrepreneur when…

As a kid you disliked coloring books, preferring a blank piece of paper, clay or sidewalks to create your own unique works of art.

As a teenager you were constantly re-arranging your room.

In college you changed your major five times searching for the right “fit.”

You know you’re an entrepreneur when…

You can’t follow a recipe to save your life. You always have to add that little extra “something.”

The thought of working in a cubicle and doing the same thing from 9 to 5 every day feels like a prison sentence.

You would rather start something new than manage something that already exists.

You know you’re an entrepreneur when…

You are never satisfied and always thinking: “How can I do this better?”

You constantly think or say: “Wouldn’t it be cool if…?” or “Why doesn’t someone …?”

The words “We’ve always done it that way” disturb you.

You know you’re an entrepreneur when…

You want to make your own rules.

If you aren’t making mistakes, you fear you aren’t taking enough risk.

You turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.