I’m from Australia and I cringe thinking of the word “entrepreneur” (albeit being one) – wonder what it’s like in other parts of the world!

    Is “entrepreneur” a dirty word where you’re from?
    byu/gauravioli inEntrepreneur



    Posted by gauravioli

    16 Comments

    1. Yes here businessman means a person who is crooked with a stick wearing a gold ring in right hand and a gold watch in left with an expensive suit.

    2. Yeah, here too (Canada). Most say I Own X or run Y. Entrepreneur gives that eccentric dude inventing toilets that don’t clog vibes.

    3. The adjective “entrepreneurial” feels different IMO than the noun “entrepreneur”. When someone claims the noun, it often has a negative connotation and appears as self-labeling. When someone exhibits entrepreneurial tendencies, they simply are doing the work required of entrepreneurs. It describes the behavior and the mindset they operate under.

    4. I live in Silicon Valley. Business plans here are like movie scripts in Hollywood: everyone has a pitch lined up.

    5. If you publicly refer to yourself as an entrepreneur – it usually means you don’t actually do anything.

      If you are actually an entrepreneur – you usually refer to yourself in a more specific role – ie “I work in this and that industry, I run a this and that company(ies)” etc.

    6. Canada 🇨🇦
      In college it means weed seller.
      Before 30 it means ambitious startup but likely broke af.

      Now again. This is for the word entrepreneur. Not small business. Not self employed. Entrepreneur.

    7. Some people in my country used it for almost everything. Often scammers or jobless people offering MLm and calling themselves entrepreneur. Lastly, I saw someone who claims to be a freelance entrepreneur. He is a freelancer doing cold calls.

    8. Helpingotherssurvive on

      Is it the tall poppy thing in Australia? I’ve always wondered if the cringe comes from people who wear the label but haven’t really done anything yet – like calling yourself one is presumptuous.

    9. From the comments and my own experience it’s not the word, but people using the word to describe themselves. But that’s true for almost any label. It’s even damaging internally – if you think fo yourself as who you *are* instead what what you *do* you set yourself up for an identity crisis sooner or later.

      It seems fine to describe other people or categories in general. I mean “he’s an entrepreneur”, “entrepreneurs are usually…” and “I’m an entrepreneur” have very different feels to them.

    10. ComprehensiveYam on

      Bay Area, CA. Practically a religion. Many circles worship entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs. You can sit in any cafe and overhear deals going down, plans being schemed etc.

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