7/7ths: Why Entrepreneurship is About Fractions

By: Marie, guest blogger

For a few years, I worked for organizations that ran economic development programs funded by the Department of Labor, this job gave me ample opportunity to reflect on the importance of meaningful work.  During this time, one of the programs I was affiliated with was a vocational training school on the Salish Kootenai Native American reservation in Montana where they asked me to speak to their graduating class.  Much to my surprise I realized that imparting career advice to the future generation was daunting, so I did what most modern girls would do for inspiration and ideas, I Googled graduation speeches. Imagine that!  After watching dozens of speeches on YouTube, surprisingly, what stuck with me profoundly the most were not the words of Steve Jobs or Bill Gates but the words of a high school valedictorian who had come across the premise for his speech while doing his math homework.

He surmised that most of us are 2/7ths people.  

He declared that the week is comprised of seven days, and that those days are cut into 7/7ths.  Five of those days or 5/7ths of our time, most of us Americans report to offices where we accomplish tasks that require us to use a limited range of the skills and traits that comprise our complete existence, our humor, creativity, compassion, and honesty are often hung up with our coats when we walk in the door. On the remaining two days, or the 2/7ths of the time we call the weekend, we attempt to be complete people, re-engaging all the aspects of our fractured personalities. Therefore, we are whole people only 2/7ths of the time.  

While everyone must define what it means to be a 7/7ths person in his or her own terms, entrepreneurship corresponds uniquely to the ideal of being a 7/7ths person.  

In exchange for foregoing the securities of a paycheck from an established company, entrepreneurs can create businesses, products, company cultures, charities and even empires (think Google’s tech empire) that align with their passions. Often, passions come in surprising and unexpected forms, such as shoes. Blake Mycoskie, founder of Tom’s Shoes, had a passion for travel, fashion, and giving back. His shoe line, TOMS, donates one pair of shoes to someone in the developing world for every pair sold at retail. TOMS currently employs more than 150 people. Blake’s passion for fashion continues with a twist…company culture at TOM’s includes ”Fancy Fridays,” a spin on “Casual Fridays,” where TOMS employees wear typical office attire like suits (albeit with a hipster flair) instead of their usual weeklong wardrobe of jeans.  

In the process of creating businesses around passions, some entrepreneurs amass fortunes, expertise and clout that arguably give them the power to impact the socio-political landscape more than many seasoned politicians.   

Although every entrepreneurial journey is different, and for each entrepreneur that achieves heights, exponentially more fail to achieve greatness, or they simply create mediocre businesses that have  simply failed altogether. Presented with these overwhelming odds, why is it that so many of us feel compelled toward the entrepreneurial journey and exploration? 

Perhaps there is something primal about the pull of stepping outside of the known realm of safety to venture off on your own, relying on your own wit, instincts and talent for survival rather than sacrificing those things that make you a 7/7ths person in exchange for the security of a paycheck and a place in the status quo.  Previously, adventures and risk takers voyaged across the seas, facing astronomical risks and hardship, in conquest of better lives in new territories.  Many of those that achieved their goals were rewarded handsomely, with land and riches that were passed down to their ancestors for generations. Others perished in the pursuit.  

While there is little that is geographically undiscovered, entrepreneurship provides the modern adventurer a platform to face similar challenges on the open market. 

Like the quest for land, the quest for market space requires fierce determination.

Unless you are one of the lucky few that launched a business after college, finding your entrepreneurial niche also almost always requires navigating one major unpleasantry: your 9-5 job. 

However, with a little resourcefulness, you can begin acquiring tools and experience that will help you on your entrepreneurial journey.