I’ve always felt unworthy of labeling myself as an Entrepreneur. I don’t think a lot of people should call themselves an Entrepreneur. There is a level of dedication that goes with that life that I personally haven’t experienced yet. My life has been consumed with side hustles and mini projects, meaning that I feel okay labeling myself as one with entrepreneurial tendencies, but for now, that is all there is to it. I think there are a lot of people who feel the same.

I don’t know every detail of my future. Nobody does. You do what you can do on a daily basis and leave the rest to God. For now, I’m trying my best to develop strong habits while simultaneously giving myself time to explore the things that interest me. I might look back one day at this day with a regular job. Or as the head of a massive business. Maybe the beneficiary of an acquihire. Or one who completely embraces a minimalist lifestyle.

This brings me to the Provost Innovation Student Fellowship program at the University of Oregon. I was blessed with this opportunity a few months ago to explore the school’s entrepreneurial ecosystem along with 11 other bright and diverse students. The program aims to figure out how to develop entrepreneurship on campus and in the Eugene community.

But does anybody really know what they’re doing? There are so many factors that go into what makes an Entrepreneur and more importantly, an entrepreneurial community. Silicon Valley itself stemmed from a Stanford Professor named Frederick Terman, who created a tradition at the school to start businesses in the 1940s. Longevity and consistency rules when it comes to developing a community. It is a marathon not a race. I think that’s the mindset that needs to exist when you try to go about creating the next Silicon Valley, or any kind of entrepreneurial hub.

Austin and Miami have recently had an influx of entrepreneurs moving in. This is largely due to the lack of taxation, combined with the virtual revolution sparked by COVID-19 and technology like Zoom which enables remote working. I wish that Oregon could experience the same kind of tax relief, which would automatically spur a large number of talented people to move to Oregon.

In the mean time, all that I think you can do is help those who seek it. There are a lot of people who are hungry to learn about entrepreneurship and want to bring resources to their respective colleges, communities, and cities. Google has a culture that pushes a 80/20 rule. Spending 80% of your time at work, and 20% working on new ideas and innovations. Programs and thought processes like this could serve as the ideal hybrids to organically develop entrepreneurial hustles and businesses in the most organic way possible.