Why doesn't this happen in the business world?

Filed in archive Entrepreneurship on December 19, 2006

A great story in the Ottawa Citizen titled "Taking care of business: Rock icon takes teen under wing" cites the story of Randy Bachman mentoring and co-producing the first album of 17-year-old Lindsay Ell of Calgary.

"I just thought she was a rare gem. She's not doing this because it's a great party out there or to become famous. She's doing it because she loves music and she's talented," he says.

Ell's first CD, produced and co-written by Bachman and his wife, Denise McCann, is to be distributed by a soon-to-be announced major record company and will hit stores in the new year.

The great lesson in this story is to do something yo love and develop your skills and abilities. I realize that the music business has a lot more sizzle and money to be made when you hit it big but I think it is a shame that young entrepreneurs with talent, drive, and desire are not being picked up, promoted, and mentored like they do in the music business.

We need to make entrepreneurship more attractive by valuing entrepreneurial achievement more than we do. Maybe the movie the "Pursuit of Happiness" that I wrote about yesterday Success Is a Long Road will help get the message to the younger generation. Until we entrepreneurs start identifying young entrepreneurs and bringing them under our wings nothing will change. Are you wiling to step up plate? I know I am.