In most social occasions between strangers, the inevitable question “What do you do?” will arise. Research from George Mason University suggests that the majority of entrepreneurs actually resist describing themselves as such during these kinds of occasions.

“We were surprised to find no major differences in responses across informants from different countries in our study,” the researchers explain. “We also did not find major differences attributable to gender, even though prior research suggests that women face barriers when developing an entrepreneur identity.”

Choosing carefully

Instead, the researchers found that entrepreneurs will often cite the organization they work at, or the specific job title they have at that organization.

“What we noticed is that although they identify as entrepreneurs, which has prestigious connotations in that it shows drive and confidence and you’d expect them to use it, they didn’t,” the authors continue. “They avoided it to keep it simple. Instead, they answered by saying what field they worked in, such as ‘I’m in biotech,’ or by referring to a former professional title, offering, ‘I’m a recovering CPA’ or downplaying what they do, ‘I work in a factory,’ when they own the factory.”

The study suggests a couple of key motivations underpin entrepreneurs’ reluctance to call themselves such. The first of these is that they wanted to be as easy to understand as possible and worried that entrepreneur is too vague a term for many people to really grasp. This then underpinned the second motivation, as entrepreneurs were reluctant to create a gap between them and the person they were speaking to.

“Social context matters,” the researchers continue. “People assign different definitions to the word ‘entrepreneur.’ They think Elon Musk and Richard Branson, and don’t associate it with the reality for most entrepreneurs, the blood and sweat it takes to start a new business.”

Public perceptions

The participants explained that they felt that public perceptions of entrepreneurs were heavily influenced by the entrepreneurs in the public domain or that appear on TV shows like Shark Tank. While these kinds of entrepreneurs are popular, they don’t always reflect reality and are perhaps not the kind of company many entrepreneurs wish to keep.

There was also concern that describing oneself as an entrepreneur might create a distance between oneself and their associate. For instance, many said that they worried about appearing pompous if they described themselves as an entrepreneur. The researchers believe that this reluctance to refer to oneself as an entrepreneur can harm their prospects.

“Unfortunately, being uncomfortable using the word ‘entrepreneur’ can be self-sabotaging,” they explain. “Even casual conversations can open doors and how entrepreneurs present themselves, even in less formal situations, can have big implications.”

With entrepreneurship becoming a more popular route for people to take, this hesitancy to publicly admit to their role is something that needs to be addressed so that entrepreneurship is more normalized.