An entrepreneur: “one who undertakes,” says the OED. Or could we be a bit coy and say, “one who gives it a whirl?” And how might he live? By his wits and according to principle.
The first three, slightly modified, are lifted from a short essay by Milton Glaser.
- Only work with people you like.
- Don’t get a job. (Addendum: The career is dead, and the project, disconnected from a broader vision, is disorienting).
- Seek out nourishing people. Avoid toxic ones. (Read Glaser here.)
- Lines of thought: Learn the art of the zigzag: Few ideas or essays ever go in a straight line.
- Partnerships: Invite the other–try things out–thank him.
- Money matters: Never haggle. Ask what the other thinks is fair. (If you’re following principles 1-3 above, then the question of haggling should never arise.)
Andrew Taggart, Ph.D. 
2 responses to “Some entrepreneurial principles to live by”
Yes, I think so. I’m finding that a systematic philosophical blog is a strange animal indeed: one begins to develop a set of concepts and then imagines virtually every concept as if it were a hyperlink. On the concept of a career, see, e.g., https://andrewjtaggart.com/2011/03/17/the-last-career/ and http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2011/04/08/essay_on_academic_life_outside_the_university
This, by the way, is something I wondered by Plotinus. (All right, I’ve not read Plotinus, but I have heard Hadot’s short book on Plotinus.) So Plotinus opts for the life of mysticism. All right. But what happens after the mystical experience? “You’re instrumentalizing, Andrew!” Maybe, but I’m wondering: Suppose he were married, and he’s been having these mystical experiences. Does he love his wife more, care for his children better? Can something divinely felt bear on the mundane good?