Business from the inside out

Innerpreneurship Articles

This Is Not For Everyone

The "On the other hand" selfportrait (bw outtake)
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I’m a romantic.

But I like my stories to be realistic too.

Owning a business is NOT for everyone.

Fuck, no. Suggesting such a thing would be just crazy talk.

I don’t know what your career needs.

Only you do. If you do the work to discover what you feel passionate about, and find purpose in it.

A More Accurate Innerpreneur Timeline

Innerpreneur Books

[tweetmeme] Almost two years ago to this date I had my first desire to write about Innerpreneurs. And, at the time, the only place I had ever heard of Innerpreneurs was in the cultural marketing book Karma Queens, Geek Gods and Innerpreneurs by Ron Rentel. Thus, I credited Ron for the creation of the word in my first article on the topic, Are You An Innerpreneur?.

It Ain’t So

Now that I am older and wiser, I’ve discovered that Rentel was actually the 3rd author, to my knowledge, to use the term.

Tongue Twister

Sharp Taste
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Is it just me, or is Innerpreneur not kinda hard to say?

photo credit: Chernobyl Bob

It’s Not the Money, Honey: The Real Purpose of Business

Business Point

[tweetmeme] I don’t care what the Donald says. The point of business is not to make money. The purpose of business is to expand who you are through what you do. And use profit to achieve a more noble end (and yes, self-development is a noble end).

I believe this because the worth of any business resides largely in it’s human capital (the value of its people) and in it’s intellectual property (the value of the ideas generated by it’s people). People make a business great, and they do so by being provided a vehicle to express who they are, and to create.

It’s this expression of our inner Self that is the real purpose of business, and our ticket to wealth.

Create Your Own Economy of Integrity

New Economy

You have a choice in the kind of market economy you participate in.

The type of economy you inhabit, as a customer and/or as a business, is yours to define. If you imagine a different kind of market society, and a different way of valuing the world, you have the opportunity to shape it. You are contributing to an integrity-driven economy each time you allow your values to drive your decisions.

Too often though, we betray our values when we find ourselves overcome by money pressures. In these moments, we see our integrity as a cost. But the true cost is acting on our price/profit-motivations, as we can make short-sighted choices that prove far more costly in the long-term.

Business Planning, not Plans

Planning
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I don’t believe in plans. But planning is essential.

Plans involve making educated assumptions on what the convenient future could entail for your business. But why plan for a future that isn’t going to happen the way you planned it to? In most instances, people think predicting the future is hogwash, but strangely not when it comes to business.

Planning involves educating yourself on where you are going, developing a strategy for how you are going to get there, and a vision of what you want to experience along the way. You don’t need to predict the future, you just need to know there is a route.

Process, not Product

I’ve found answering these 10 questions on business planning is a solid foundation on which to build a sustainable strategy for growth.

The Innerpreneur’s Guide to Planning Your Business

A. What You’re Getting Out of It

1. Why are you starting the business?