Are entrepreneurs on the nose? Should I shut up?

Dear Aunty B,

I have been developing my profile as an “entrepreneur celebrity” as part of my marketing mix. I let my marketing guys put me in the middle of a recent brand building campaign for my company and got lots of good feedback including some media interest. I have a blog and talked to university students about being an entrepreneur! (I never got a degree, so how good was that!)

Anyway we are working on a new campaign when I noticed that suddenly I am being clobbered for being an entrepreneur.

In the last week I have been the butt of a few jokes from my staff and perfect strangers at a BBQ about margin calls, divvy vans and tax evasion.

In the papers every day there are suddenly stories about ”entrepreneurs” in trouble.

Should I change my marketing strategy?

Anon,
Sydney

Dear X,

Let me get this straight. You are going to change your strategy because of a bit of affectionate teasing from your staff and ignorant jibes from the media?

Are you nuts? Forget margin calls. The greatest threat to you, my friend, is your thin skin.

This is just the beginning of the entrepreneur backlash as the economy heads down.

The great contribution made by entrepreneurs will be forgotten. Instead the media starts to attach the word ‘entrepreneur’ to every crooked deed, to every unfortunate collapse, and to every bad call made by any hapless business person.

Happens every serious downturn, I am afraid.

So what should you do? Fight back, that’s what.

Remind anyone who will listen of the great good done by entrepreneurs like yourself – the hundreds of thousands of jobs created, new products and services developed, big companies walloped etc.

(If nothing else, it will reduce everyone to such a state of stupefied boredom; they will NEVER raise the topic with you again.)

Oh, and develop a thick skin. This vilification of the ‘entrepreneur’ has only just begun.

With you all the way on the great trip south,

Your Aunty B.