My Entrepreneurial Itch
My entrepreneurial itch didn’t really hit me until I arrived at Wake and started to learn more about the Entrepreneurship Center. I thought, like most first years, that there was a career path that I had to take, not a career path that I could create. After taking ENT 105 this past semester, I gained sudden confidence in my ability to create a life based off of what I was passionate about. Hearing the various speakers in the course discuss how they had utilized their passion to create, inspired me to not just do something for the sake of doing it, but rather to create my own experience based on my passions.
Sitting in a classroom learning about entrepreneurship is remarkably ironic. There is a tremendous amount that you can learn, however, when it comes to truly delving into your passions and developing that sense of entrepreneurship, there is no substitute for valuable experience. That means gaining valuable experience from an innovative culture that is built on passion, goals, and growth. I also needed to see how successful entrepreneurs handled success, obstacles, challenges, and never settling for good enough.
As I sat in Campus Grounds on a Thursday afternoon, I was exhausted after taking a big exam, but anxious about my plans for the summer. My previous aspiration of another internship fell through, but I didn’t want to give up on trying to find somewhere that would give me an entirely new perspective, and allow me to make the most of my newfound sense of creativity and passion for a wide range of entrepreneurial interests. Then and there, I whipped out my laptop and on a whim, I sent my interest of a potential marketing internship at Village Juice Company through their “work with us” page on their website. I assumed that really nothing would happen as it seemed so unofficial, and frankly so informal, but sometimes, you just have to put yourself out there.
As I am slowly learning, it seems that everything happens for a reason, and just a few weeks later I received an email from one of the owners of the company! The email was a response to my original inquiry, and even more exciting was a query about my interest in working with them. In the future, when I look back on my journey, I am confident that I will be able to look back and smile when I think about the moment that I used just a laptop and a Gmail account to give myself a chance to work with a booming startup company, in the very industry that I am so passionate about. As I look at the definition of entrepreneurship, I was able to exhibit the very characteristics that those speakers in the class had shared!
This internship provided endless opportunities for me to engage in meaningful work, but the challenges that the opportunity provided in terms of my own growth, vision, and goal setting will resonate with me moving forward. Throughout my experience, I was able to gain confidence and experience working on marketing projects including blogging and attending digital marketing workshops. My internship provided opportunities I could only imagine such as working with high schools in solving a social media issue for the company or working directly with other companies to help develop online ordering platforms. Reflecting on my last day of work, I realized the work provided me with experience, but the experience was so much more than work.
As a developing and novice entrepreneur, this internship taught me that I have to be willing to put myself out there and be okay with being afraid. Applying blindly to this position, I had to give up the control in how I wanted my summer to look. When it comes to choosing the “startup” life, there is much more than building relationships and mentorship. You have to have faith in your own ability to make it happen. Throughout my internship, I gained an array of experiences that I would never be able to receive at an established or routine summer internship. Even more importantly, I gained confidence in my own ability and vision, learning to respect that I have the ability to achieve goals that I set for myself.
Written by Emma Ecklin, #WakeEntrepreneur