Creative entrepreneur or the Entrepreneurial creator?

The creator economy has only formally existed for decade, but it is now firmly established. With the Internet and many platform around the world;  all these changes broadened the way that people could express themselves. With Web 2.0, people began to express themselves on the internet and display their creativity.  Nowadays, many people earn their living on the internet. There are numerous businesses based on the internet, ranging from eCommerce sites selling the latest vacuum cleaners to online insurance agencies offering cut-price car policies. In many cases, these are merely traditional business models adapting themselves for a new setting. 

With Web 3.0, is an even more fundamental disruption, one that in time will leave everything hitherto in its shade. It is a leap forward to open, trustless and permissionless networks.  You will also find a whole new type of internet entrepreneur. These are the creators who make their living by performing some form of creative service online. These include architects, writers, musicians, artists, social media influencers videographers and more…. 

With Web 3.0, women, men, machines & businesses will be able to trade value, information & work with global counterparties they don’t know or yet explicitly trust, without an intermediary. The most important evolution enabled by Web3.0 is the minimisation of the trust required for coordination on a global scale. This marks a move towards trusting all constituents of a network implicitly rather than needing to trust each individual explicitly and/or seeking to achieve trust extrinsically.

An entrepreneur is, by conventional definition, someone who starts and runs a business, maybe taking on financial or personal risk in the process. But this description of entrepreneurship ignores the more nuanced aspects—the passion, the grit, the desire to bring ideas to life, the drive to solve a problem.  The creator economy and the gig economy helped to broaden the scope of what it means to be an entrepreneur. Maybe you’re assembling furniture or designing merch for a local band in your studio apartment. Either way, you’re working for yourself and taking your future into your own hands. 

The pandemic brought devastation to the entrepreneurship community through 2020—3.3 million businesses in the US closed between February and April. Yet, entrepreneurship offered a path for those looking to supplement loss of work, combat isolation boredom, or react to opportunities created by changing consumer trends. While business as a whole decreased during 2020, entrepreneurial spirit surged. 

So, how do I become an entrepreneur?

Simple: just start. There’s no test (unless you count the test of your will as you navigate the uncertain startup phase). There’s no required degree or years of work experience. When you’re your own boss, you make the rules. Lean on your best entrepreneur trait and take your business idea to the streets.  The downside is there’s also no guarantee, no steady paycheck. In most cases, though, the reward trumps the risk. Best case scenario, you build a life on your terms. If you fail, you’ll dust yourself off and, armed with experience and thicker skin, try again.