And my daughter needed an entrepreneur….

And my daughter needed an entrepreneur….

The call came through my wife. My daughter, for a graduate course in entrepreneurship needed to interview an entrepreneur.  Did we know any?

Often my kids have asked for information from people we know or about people we know. This one, being it was long distance (not so long but she wasn’t around here) was a thought provoking one. Who was an entrepreneur? Was my next door neighbour, an optometrist, an entrepreneur because he had his own company as opposed to working for an optometrist? Is our dentist one? The list began to grow.

Should I feel bad because I wasn’t one? How about my cousins who had three women’s clothing stores that closed in the 80’s, would they count? The list continued.

When I sent it off to my daughter, there were many names and categories and descriptors involved.

She asked questions. Would my cousins do since they were no longer in business? Does old entrepreneurial knowledge still count? Would the lessons of the 80’s still hold up in today’s world?

The professor said they didn’t have to be in the fashion business even though my daughter’s program was fashion management. My fashion knowledge stemmed from my father’s time in the business, the 40’s through the 60’s, not exactly current, or was it? Do business ideas continue through time? How would I know?

In the end, I came up with the most entrepreneurial people I know, a couple in many businesses, but advertising and marketing seems to be the focus. Lately they have turned to health related coaching and weight management as their focus. OK, I have no idea what they really do, but they have seemed to make a living out of it for the past 25 to 30 years. My daughter made the decision to call them.

She called Jay Jacobs, who is accompanied in this photo by his daughter Jennifer and wife Kim and formerly Biggest Losers Jillian Michaels.  Jay and his daughter were on Biggest Loser Season 11.

Since this is not my journalism daughter, I will probably never read what she wrote or answered, so I will never know what it was about. However, as a parent, it warms my heart to see my daughter helped by friends. I would do the same for others and pay it forward if asked. Once in a while I’m asked for help with internships or co-ops and have tried my best to do my duty. It’s wonderful to see someone else do the same.

We’re all in this life together.