My Entrepreneurship Story

When I was ten I wanted to be a fashion designer.

My mom (center) has always been the
biggest role model for my sister and I

My mom, the greatest of all humans (or so she's brainwashed me to believe), was ecstatic. That Christmas, she bought me a mannequin, and a box full of different fabrics, outlines and guides. I went away to work, cutting out different designs, and taking lessons after school from my best friend's mom. The designs were terrible, and nothing actually took the shape of an article of clothing, but my mom treated them like they should've been featured in New York Fashion Week.

I never became a designer. As a matter of fact, I'm an economics major; I'm good at math. And that was okay with my mom, because I was ten and I was creating art and turning my ideas into physical things. She was okay because I was ten and I was being an entrepreneur. And if there is one thing that I've learned since then, it's that being an entrepreneur truly means one thing: you believe you can do anything--some things clearly better than others--if you try.

Somewhere along the way I became scared to try new things or branch out. I stopped taking risks, and I stopped trying to exceed boundaries and test new limits. My mom never did. I watched her work and work, quitting her job as Executive Manager of HP in NYC to create her own company that helps others to do the same. She was somewhat like the Energizer Bunny, she never stopped going.

When college came I grew nauseous at the idea that my future was floating right ahead of me. The feeling was an extension of fear. Fear of the unknown, but mostly the fear of failing. It took me two years of changing majors and stalling one step behind everyone else to realize the potential I had. I was, and I am a dreamer. But at that time it was like I was just asleep. When I woke up, everything changed for me. They say nothing changes over night; I think I did.

My fall semester of junior year I took a business speaking class, and our final grade depended on a group project that was to figure out a business plan to not only save, but improve, a failing company. I firmly believe I emerged as the "Gunther" of my group (as my favorite show, Grey's Anatomy, calls it--the emerging leader when a group of peers comes together to solve a challenge). My group was chosen to compete in the final competition, where the resulting winners would travel to Australia to compete once more.

My group didn't fly to Australia, and our plan was never sent off to the company we fixed, but the lessons I learned in that class were irreplaceable. I created ideas. I solved problems. I spoke in front of an audience and presented them with full power of persuasion. I wasn't just a student in that class, I was a professional. And after creating the solution to a company I'd never heard of, in an industry I know nothing about, I felt like I could take on any challenge.

I enrolled in Entrepreneurship, an elective choice among many, because I believe it will offer me the greatest opportunity to push myself further. Entrepreneurs are known for being go-getters, creators, and opportunists. So far, my college education has given me the knowledge to run a business. Now, I want to learn how to create my own.