An excellent post over here about what it means to be a “professional” (in its vocational usage).
This is an area I have a real interest in, mainly because of my history. To explain here is a synopsis;
I left school and completed an electrical apprenticeship,
Then spent two years travelling the world,
Then returned and bought part of a manufacturing business which I have run for the past decade,
While studying for some business qualifications,
And sitting on a number of boards, trusts and committees,
And doing some freelance journalism,
And being a commentator on business in general and IT business in particular,
And building my own house,
And doing some freelance consultancy in the strategic design/change management space,
And being a father,
And being involved in some commercial property investments and developments.
So what am I? An entrepreneur? An independent director? Self-employed? A freelance journalist? Or all of the above?
I honestly don’t know, in keeping with the original post, while I might think of myself as a professional, I don’t have the professional qualifications to do so (or at least not in the eyes of the law society or chartered accountants society).
It’s (in my mind) a great problem to have – modern society has a number of problems but its biggest benefit is that it allows us to chop and change and have eclectic and interesting career combinations.
So what do you do?????
Post script – My business card says Ben Kepes, “Director/Business Consultant/Investor” but then again thats one of the three business cards I use for my different roles!
Sounds like you’re a professional slacker 🙂
You and me both Raf, You and me both
😉
Ben – I’m interested in your experiences in buying a business, was it a good idea, bad idea, what were the pitfalls etc, what were your thought processes when you were buying it etc – can you spare the time?
coming up – watch this space!