Church planting, innovation, and entrepreneurship all fascinate and inspire me. As someone who has enjoyed the challenge of creating community where there isn’t any, watching friends of mine start their own companies, or working on my Doctorate of Ministry in Entrepreneurial Leadership at Bethel Seminary, I have a profound appreciation for the effort it takes to create something new. To me there is something truly noble about starting something from scratch to do good in the world.
In an article called Global Entrepreneurship Is On the Rise, Alicia Ciccone writes:
“The entrepreneurial bug appears to be spreading globally. According to the latest Global Entrepreneurship Monitor from Babson College, there are nearly 400 million active entrepreneurs around the world.
The annual survey polled 140,000 adults ages 18 to 64 from 54 different economies. GEM estimates that 163 million are women early-stage entrepreneurs, 165 million are young early-stage entrepreneurs (18 to 35 years old), 65 million entrepreneurs plan on creating 20 or more jobs in the next five years, and 69 million offer innovative products or services that are new to the market.
‘In an economy, you want to have some elements of stability, where firms maintain their businesses, despite facing ups and downs in their industry, their businesses or in the economy over time,’ Donna Kelley, Babson College professor and the study’s author, explained. ‘At the same time, there needs to be some dynamism, where new ideas and new firms sprout up and replace in part those that have run their course.'”
New friends of mine in Austin founded and teach at Acton (an MBA program where my cousin Adam studied). For a sampling of over 45 videos in their online library, go here.
You can watch a message shared at Gateway Church by Ted Beasley, one of the Master Teachers at Acton which includes the founder, Jeff Sandefer, sharing his story here.
What are some of the ways you have taken risks to start something new? What skills do you think entrepreneurs need to succeed?
Faith, Risk, and the ability to communicate Hope to name a few.
Such a great point, Brent! We need to become people who are willing to take risks AND be able to communicate why we are taking that risk when we invite others to join us.