Career Panel

The entrepreneurship panel I attended on Wednesday, February 13, was an informative session of wonderful advice from six entrepreneurs. Although the industries varied from person to person, the advice was nearly identical across the board. The biggest key to success, as many college students have heard, is networking. Regardless of a person’s field, rank, or experience, you never know when someone will be able to help you in the future, whether it’s something they can do or someone they know. Another piece of wisdom was to shoot your shot because you never know what will happen. I specifically recall Andy Brown, Founder and CEO of Eat Pizza, saying how he found a company’s CEO on LinkedIn, figured out the companies email setup, and tried multiple emails until he got one through. He met with the CEO the next week. It’s important to not fear rejection because it could keep you from your big break.

These bits of information are really important to remember, particularly in a creative field. My field of study is English, but my goal is to be a writer, a creative writer with published stories for others to enjoy. After hearing the entrepreneurs speak, I realize that creative writing is being an entrepreneur–I have to sell my own work to as many customers as possible and find someone to help me produce and sell that product. Networking to know people who can publish my writing is a big part of it. Knowing someone can be the key difference between acceptance and rejection. It’s also important that when I do have a work, I send it to as many people and places as I can because I never know who might find it worthwhile.