Language is powerful. The words we choose to try to engage and educate in the entrepreneurship field can either invite or alienate.

When I set out as a creative graduate, wanting to make a living from my creativity, the language of enterprise and entrepreneurship was not even on my radar, let alone in my lexicon.

I had a basic understanding of what working for myself would mean, but only because I had an older friend who had a business. I had to get help to understand how to set up as a sole trader. I registered as self-employed; I used the term freelancer to describe some of the work I did, and a portfolio career was familiar to me.  It would be a while before any digital space existed and titles such as digital nomads and remote workers were coined, never mind labels such as side-hustler, solopreneur, or slashie!

Becoming a Babel Fish

Having subsequently worked across the creative, education and business sectors, I soon learned how important it was to find ways to understand and speak the right language in the right context. It confirmed my belief that finding a common language is important.

I have often called myself a Babel fish. In Douglas Adams’ book, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” the Babel fish is a small, yellow, leech-like creature that plays a crucial role in intergalactic communication. When placed in a person’s ear it allows the host to instantly understand any spoken language, making it a universal translator.

Just as the Babel fish translates languages, I have translated business concepts into accessible language for those that I have supported in working for themselves. I have supported creative artists, and makers in my previous role in arts development (and suggested they should be encouraged to embrace the C word, commercial, in their practice, that is another blog as yet unwritten!).

Enterprise Adviser is in my job title here at Nottingham Trent University. I prefer this to being labelled a business adviser because for me, my role encompasses generating interest in enterprise and entrepreneurship and the skills and competences that encompasses for life, including the crucial competence self-confidence and self-efficacy, whether that leads to venture creation or not.

Creatives and Change Makers, Beyond Business Equals Pursuit of Money

We need to connect with our creatives and spark the curiosity of our social scientists by speaking their language, talking about the context of their industries, and helping them to discover and work with their values to harness their enterprising tendencies. It is crucial that we are offering a broader vision of what an entrepreneur looks like. When exploring freelancing we must challenge and ditch the “just a freelancer” when we hear it (again a whole other blog!).

I advocate strongly for the definition of entrepreneurship at the heart of of the EntreComp framework “Entrepreneurship is when you act upon opportunities and ideas and transform them into value for others. The value that is created can be financial, cultural, or social”

This gives us the opportunity to go beyond business as being merely about making money for money’s sake (though if that is where your values lie, then that is a route you can take, mine suggest it may be a little soulless) I believe that whilst not everyone can be an entrepreneur, everyone can be entrepreneurial.

Owning Entrepreneurial Language

As educators we need to;

• translate business concepts into language that resonates with students and graduates from different schools

AND

• encourage ownership of entrepreneurial language to describe the skills and competences being expressed in the various sectors in which they will be operating

I believe that doing both in tandem, we will create a more inclusive and engaging learning environment and dispel the toxic stereotypes around how an entrepreneur looks, sounds, and behaves.

Will you join me in becoming a Babel fish? Together, we can navigate the entrepreneurship ocean and create a more inclusive environment for us all.