Book Review for “The New Entrepreneurz”

Who are the new Entrepreneurz? They are the game changers who can be found playing different games across the spectrum. They are the business owners, the managers, the lawyers, the moms and dads, the lovers, the educators, the artists, and the healers.

Thus begins the easy to read and inspiring work by Ronen Gafni and Simcha Gluck, the partners and founders of the FreshBiz board game.  Utilizing their vast experience in business and coaching, they outline the basic fundamentals for a more meaningful and enjoyable life, the key of which is successful self-expression which they refer to as entrepreneurship.

“What is entrepreneurship if not self-expression? Whether a new business, a social venture, or a family vacation, it’s about you expressing yourself by creating a new reality from an idea.”

Unlike the past, however, where such self-expression was usually disconnected from one’s livelihood, in the picture they’re painting this unhealthy and limiting division no longer exists.

“As multidimensional creatures we realize there’s no dichotomy between self-expression and making a living.  Money and mission come together as a beautiful rainbow of products, services, and unique messages.”

Still further, they add:

For New Entrepreneurz, starting a business is no longer just a form of making a living. It is who they are. Although we do need to make money and support our families, just making a living is the old-school approach. Nor do they look at a business as another type of job. Instead, business is a blank canvas waiting to be colored with their passions, values, and mission.

Regarding the letter “z” rather than “s” at the end of the word entrepreneur, the authors made this change in order to emphasize some of the differences between normal “entrepreneurs” and the new “entrepreneurz”.  One essential aspect is that the new entrepreneurz have a playful nature and genuinely enjoy life. In the words of Gafni and Gluck:

The New Entrepreneurz are the ones who flick their magic wands to expand life, innovate seamlessly, create quantum leaps, and even have an air of serious playfulness as they do it. They make running organizations, businesses, and charities look and feel fun.

Not merely theoretical, along the way the authors also provide concrete examples of how life and business can be “played” differently, where sharing of ideas, collaborating with others and building communities of similar vision-oriented entrepreneurs – measures designed to afford one a sense of purpose and personal fulfillment – are no less important than making money.

Equally important, they emphasize that the fact that “Entrepreneurship is no longer just about business; it is the new mind-set.”

Although becoming “unstuck” in life and learning to express our true voice is not something that magically happens overnight, this book leaves one with the feeling that not only is such a change possible but perhaps it’s even easier than we thought it to be.  For this reason alone, The New Entrepreneurz should be added to one’s reading list.