Who I Am And How I Became A Writing Entrepreneur

I have to say, unlike lots of entrepreneurs, I never set out to be one at any point in time, it just kind of happened, almost by chance. I think the sort of people who do become entrepreneurs are sort of outsiders, loners, square pegs who don't fit in round holes.

Occupationally, socially, and academically, I never really fit in with those around me. I can never recall a time when I felt just like one of them, whoever they were. For this reason, I had to depend on my own inner resources.

When I got a job and didn't fit in, I thought it was them, not me, and would go looking to work elsewhere. The same thing happened socially. Not fitting in with any sort of group, I would look elsewhere, and fail all over again. Perhaps I expected too much. Maybe I was the problem, not them. I was a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, in among an array of suits and shiny shoes.

My first go at being an entrepreneur came about back in the nineteen eighties and was spectacularly successful. After graduating from university I became an advertising copywriter working for what is now part of McCann Erickson, one of the biggest ad agencies in the world. After a year I was headhunted by another, smaller agency, and a year after that I went to work for a small-time Public Relations agency. I had started at the top of the profession and seemed to be working my way down. What got the better of me was narcissistic office politics and maliciously one over-ambitious individual.

It seemed to me that the only way out of that toxic environment was to become a freelancer. So I guess I became an entrepreneur as a form of escape from narcissistic toxicity. Whatever the reason, over the following year I became a runaway success. Sadly, by the end of the decade, the UK economy had crashed and burned and my profession was decimated overnight, by virtue of which I was forced back into the miserable ranks of enslaved employment.

My next stint at being an entrepreneur came about in the South of Spain in the mid-2000s. By that time I had become a qualified teacher, remarried after an acrimonious divorce, and moved to live in Spain. And there I learned how it felt to be somebody who really didn't fit in. I worked in three or four private language academies and did not feel comfortable in a single one. The owners underpaid and lied to their employees and expected undying loyalty in return. I was left with no option but to leave and go it alone.

I opened my own language academy and it was very successful indeed. I had half a dozen employees and three schools contracted. I ran after-school classes and three-week homestay trips to the UK. I had a wonderful time. However, that too came to an end due to a second acrimonious divorce.

Once again out of work, I had to come up with a way of earning money to stay alive and pay my bills. Having previously been a moderately successful part-time performing artist, I set my stall out to turn that experience into yet another full-time career.

What I had not reckoned on was the reluctance of other local performers and venues to let me perform. So I opened my own piano bar and I have to say it was both a fantastic experience and a gratifying success. However, again, outsiders (neighbours and the police) caused the bar to financially fail and go out of business.

In the end, I kept going as a freelance performer and that worked well, winning over the other performers and venues with my ability and persistence. That was until ill health got the better of me and I was forced to leave Spain for Japan in order to get treatment and recover.

Now an outsider in Asia I have tried to restart my teaching career and found two things were against me. One, my age. Nobody wants a 70-year-old teacher. Two, there seems to be more of a demand for American English over English English. Whatever it is, it is what it is.

So four years ago I started to write on Medium and became a successful writer, until last August (2023) when Medium began to move the goalposts to rein in their monthly outgoings. My stories were no longer being curated and my income plummeted. It ultimately felt like I was being forced out to seek success elsewhere. And that elsewhere is right here with The Opus Connection. If I am not welcome on Medium then I shall plough my furrow in an acreage of my very own.

In summary, I have habitually become an entrepreneur by default rather than by desire or design. Knock me down and I simply bounce back up, dust myself off and start all over again. I am an entrepreneurial Wackamole.

Of course, for the time being, I shall remain writing and editing on Medium (Illumination). However, ultimately I want The Opus Connection to be super successful. I can see no earthly reason why it can't be. It offers me a winning combination of the Medium editor, with all the bells and whistles, and then some, and the Substack capability to monetize the platform.

Medium is missing monetization, Substack is missing a Medium Editor. This Ghost platform has both. What could possibly go wrong? If the people who own and run other platforms can be successful, then so can I. We'll see.