By Jakki Williams
What is the Academic-Entrepreneur Self?
The Academic-Entrepreneur Self is an aspirational term coined here to represent the part of me seeking harmony in integrating my academic background and entrepreneurial interest.
I see mySelf as a heroine on a path — advancing through stages considered a road of trials. I speak to this journey from a personal reflection on the complexities, obstacles, and victories in seeking to fully awaken and embrace my Academic-Entrepreneur Self.
Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, I acknowledge how heart (Tin Man), courage (Lion), and mind (Scarecrow) play a vital role on my journey. I also view my journey toward an authentic Academic-Entrepreneur Self as akin to finding my way home.
But most importantly, I am learning that to be of service to others as an Academic-Entrepreneur is inspiring. To be fully immersed in the reciprocal appreciation of the value offered by my Academic-Entrepreneur Self to clients is a journey worth taking.
I resonate with the Heroine’s Journey map presented by Victoria Lynn Schmidt. Using her 9 stage model of the female experience of a psycho-social journey, I would like to give some specific examples of how I embraced my Academic-Entrepreneur Self.
Stage 1 – ILLUSION
Have you ever thought “I know I can do it if I was just given the chance?” This innocent question is what convinced me that all I needed was a passion for learning and a desire to be a subject-matter expert for success in academia. My innocence is a type of heroine’s dissatisfaction with the status quo that launches her on the journey.
For me, after years in Corporate America, advancing up the career ladder of three Fortune 500 companies, I believed that I had a deep desire to produce significant scholarly work and I had the coping strategies that would usher in my success in academia – if I just worked twice as hard as everyone else.
Stage 2 – BETRAYAL
In this stage, the inciting incident toward a broader calling beyond academia occurs. It becomes apparent that the coping strategy of the heroine is not effective and betrayal is perceived in relationships and/or toxic environmental conditions.
I found that the idea that I just had to work twice as hard fell apart. My assumed world was not as I thought when my dissertation proposal to “Study the Patronage of Minority Business” was not deemed scholarly. Although a second dissertation proposal was completed and, upon graduation, I landed a tenure-track position at a top research institution, I knew that my perceptions of academia had been negatively impacted/changed. I felt betrayed and unprepared for the rejection that I experienced.
Stage 3 – AWAKENING
An achievement orientation and socialization towards tenure fueled my push to publish scholarly articles, secure teaching awards, and chair a myriad of academic committees within the institutions that I served and to be of service to my academic discipline. I had autonomy and applied creativity in my roles and responsibilities.
However, the teacher, scholar, and administrator roles were less and less inspiring as the years passed. My curiosity about how to transfer my skills to an entrepreneurial arena was evolving from a whisper to a demanding voice that was so compelling that I began to look for tools, role-models, and opportunities to fulfill my aspirational Academic-Entrepreneur role.
Stage 4 – DESCENT
There are seven possible internal issues that the heroine can face in this part of the Heroine’s Journey – fear, guilt, shame, grief, lies, illusion, and attachment. As I listened to my inner voice that was motivating me toward Academic-Entrepreneurship, I experienced fear, guilt, shame, grief, and attachments at various times and to varied degrees.
I questioned how I would survive financially. I felt guilty about letting go of academic status and relationships. I felt shame in my gaps in scholarly productivity. I grieved the loss of the esteem that I held for academia. I had to let go of my dreams of building a stellar academic reputation that mirrored the subject-matter expertise attained in my Corporate life.
Stage 5 – EYE OF THE STORM
Although the Heroine may have a taste of success, it is short-lived and precedes more perils.
My taste of success came in the guise of completion of certifications needed to help integrate my skills and expertise for the entrepreneurial endeavor I wanted to pursue. At this point, success can provide a false sense of security and a crisis may appear – as it did in my journey.
At the point in time when I thought I would pivot and fully assume the role of entrepreneur, I had several significant family issues (both in elder-care and child-care) that needed my immediate and full attention for two years.
Stage 6 – DEATH
There is a feeling of “hitting rock bottom” and the heroine realizes that her original coping strategies are not effective and that their new-found skills/tools cannot sustain them. For me (and many in the world), this stage coincided with the Covid-19 pandemic. Although I maintained a vision of an Academic-Entrepreneur life, the global uncertainty of work-life, campus life, and family safety was overwhelming and sometimes felt hopeless.
Stage 7 – SUPPORT
Support arrives in the form of allies and potentially even the betrayer offering amends. In my journey, I connected with other entrepreneurs through networking groups. I also sought out accountability partners for Self-care activities. I chose to invest in tools and programs that would support my entrepreneurial interests.
My big learning is that collaboration is an effective coping strategy. I have to be cognizant of my predisposition to “go it alone” and “do it mySelf”. I now look forward to forming productive partnerships.
Stage 8 – REBIRTH
Networking and expanding one’s support system is needed in addition to brains, heart, and courage to be an Academic-Entrepreneur. Academics with niche expertise can repackage skills to reach a wider audience. I’ve also come to understand how creativity that I used in academic pursuits can be effectively applied in the entrepreneurial role.
Stage 9 – THROUGH NEW EYES
In this final stage, the heroine’s outlook on the world is changed. It is noteworthy that the journey is not one for seeking fame, but is taken more for internal change, spiritual reward and growth. As I see it now, whether or not one decides to open a business is not the ultimate goal of the Academic-Entrepreneur journey. Traveling this road of trials is an opportunity to explore the ways in which your skills can be repackaged to be of service to others. I found the journey gratifying.
It is my hope that in sharing my journey of 9 stages to embracing my Academic-Entrepreneur Self, other academicians will find guidance in exploring their entrepreneurial calling. Describing my journey was not to provide answers to the question of “what am I supposed to do to answer an entrepreneurial calling?” Instead, it is to answer the question “what should I expect in the pursuit of the calling?” .
Ultimately you come to know your Self better and to face your fears with compassion. A new outlook and Self-knowledge brings the reward of embracing the journey – pursuing the calling – rather than seeking the destination of the successful enterprise.
Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash