Working 9-to-5(ish): Is Making a Living Enough? Stories of Entrepreneurship (Level 4)

Session Description: Does this sound familiar?

Tumble out of bed
And stumble to the kitchen
Pour myself a cup of ambition
And yawn and stretch and try to come to life

Jump in the shower
And the blood starts pumpin'
Out on the streets, the traffic starts jumpin'
For folks like me on the job from 9 to 5

Workin' 9 to 5
What a way to make a livin'
Barely gettin' by
It's all takin' and no givin'

They just use your mind
And they never give you credit
It's enough to drive you
Crazy if you let it

We can all reach a point in our careers where things just flatline. Motivation, energy, opportunities, corporate culture. When that happens, you have two options; stay the course or find a new path. Staying the course is sticking with the devil that you know. You tell yourself that work isn’t your life and that the grass isn’t necessarily greener somewhere else. Finding a new path is scary and exciting, but maybe you start to hear an internal voice suggesting that if you are working like an owner already, perhaps it’s time to just become one.

Join us for this 60-minute presentation and hear 4 unique case studies of women medical education business owners, and how they got there. Representing various member sections and diverse business ownership models, we will discuss how you can change the experience of “staying the course” by leaning into intrapreneurship (flexing your entrepreneurial muscles within your current organization) or take the leap to becoming an entrepreneur when you find yourself more dissatisfied with your current situation and personal circumstances allow.

Can you see yourself as an entrepreneur?

In 2021, about 4 in 10 new entrepreneurs were women, and in 2021 more than 20% were between 55-64 years old. This represents a notable increase in older new entrepreneurs in the last 25 years. The share of new entrepreneurs who are Hispanic or Latino more than doubled to 24%, as did the share of new entrepreneurs who are Asian to 7%. The share of new entrepreneurs who are Black or African American increased from 8% to 10.%. The share of new entrepreneurs who are white declined from 77% to 54%.

A 2023 study of small businesses uncovered that business owners primarily went into business because they were “ready to be their own boss” (28%). They also reported overall dissatisfaction with corporate America (23%). These motivations show more people are ready to break away from a corporate lifestyle and take control of their own career path.

Fear and uncertainty may be the largest barrier to overcome for anyone contemplating entrepreneurship. According to a recent Forbes article, “…fear and failure are not the same thing. Fear kills more dreams than failure ever will.” Our stories will convey how risk aversion can put off career changes for years and highlight the final stimulus to taking action.