Spare me the entrepreneurial clichés and motivational quotes - I prefer a dose of reality

MY LAST ARTICLE touched on my difficulty with having the job title of entrepreneur.

It made me think more on the term and what it is about it that makes me cringe a little. And I think I’ve got it: entrepreneurial clichés.

My business partner, Elaine, and I were recently asked by a radio interviewer, “What time do you get up in the morning?” proceeded by, “I’m always so interested to know with entrepreneurs…”

The several-second-long silence was quite telling. I didn’t really know how to answer.

Should I go off on some sort of inane tangent explaining that whilst I did set several alarms that morning I slept in until 9am because I had been so engrossed in the new series of Chef’s Table on Netflix, I didn’t remember to charge my phone?

Or should I fabricate a little so as to play into the platitude of 5am rises due to an interminable entrepreneurial drive? (I spoke briefly and ineloquently avoiding the question altogether, if you’re interested.)

We have had several early rises. Of course we have. But with our business and ambition constantly growing, we realise just how important tenacity is when  working for yourself. Productivity and perseverance is key to driving our business – a statement utterly redundant in its obviousness.

Improper Butter's Hannah O'Reilly, left, and Elaine Lavery on Dragons' Den in 2014

Over the last three years, however, we have become aware that this quest for productivity must be matched with patience, a work/life balance and an honest dose of reality.

Another recent question we fielded whilst perched on an entrepreneurial panel was a prompt for the best business book we’d ever read. Perhaps to claim the title of true entrepreneur one ought to possess a library of enlightening literature on enterprise and indeed ‘the entrepreneur’ herself.

Perhaps I ought to own dog-eared hardbacks from Richard Branson and Sheryl Sandberg and find myself enthralled by their unprecedented aspirations and wistful recounts of deals gone by.

But books on business have little impact on me. Very little. That may seem fiercely naive and immodest, but I assure you it’s not. It’s not that I don’t respect and admire the likes of the aforementioned people. Of course I do. I just prefer to avoid buzz words and entrepreneurial clichés in my spare time.

Then there’s perhaps the most banal of all, “What’s your favourite business quote?”. Christ.

I don’t know the names of many famous entrepreneurs as is, let alone what they once said. The pressure to sound clever and supply another’s inspiring words in the correct order is all too much for a girl who often forgets her own phone number.

As a recent graduate with only three short years in business maybe I’m probably not experienced enough to justly comment on the realm of entrepreneurship. I know it’s not all quotes and autobiographies, but often it feels that way to me.

I previously thought the job title of entrepreneur may be a term one grows into. I may be wrong. Some young entrepreneurs are unabashedly proud of their status from the moment they hand it to themselves. I admire that – I genuinely hope one day I’ll grow into it too. For the meantime, I’ll just keep cringing.

Hannah O’Reilly co-founded Improper Butter with Elaine Lavery in 2013. They have been writing about their experiences in a regular startup diary on Fora.

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