If you’ve landed on this blog the chances are the word FUNPRENEUR has piqued your interest and you’re looking to know more. Hoorah, you’re in good company!
We’ve been in business together for twelve years now. It’s been quite the adventure and, for the most part, a fun one. But something has always niggled us. We’ve never truly felt like we “fit” the mould of proper businessy business people. We’re never going to be the ones in suits sat around Lord Sugars board room talking about boring things like ROI.
We say “Down with the corporate BS and up with the fun.”
And the more we talk to people in our community the more we realise that under the surface something really is bubbling away. A new breed of business owner is emerging. One that cares a lot less about that BS that we’re spoon fed about how to be successful. They are much more about business success on their own terms.
The rise of the Funpreneur is coming. Because quite frankly, if you’re not having fun and enjoying it why the hell are you still doing it???
Funpreneurs don’t need to keep telling you that they are authentic because its a trending buzzword. Its just something they are. In a world inundated with cookie cutter brands and generic marketing campaigns, Funpreneurs stand out by forging genuine human connections with their audience and the communities that they sit in. They are more interested in the people behind the business than how pretty their Instagram grid is looking.
Similarly, Funpreneurs are not afraid to think outside of the box, to experiment with unconventional ideas and take the odd calculated risk. They recognise that the world isn’t black and white and that it’s in the grey [ or the yellow!] where the magic really can happen.
One of the defining traits of a Funpreneur is their ability to make work feel like play. They totally reject the notion that success has to come at the expense of happiness, opting to create a work environment for themselves that is vibrant, inclusive and well…fun!
We’ve slowly been cultivating the idea of Funpreneurship over the last few years with Yellow Tuxedo. From silly little touch points with our audience, our approach to teaching and events like our virtual coffee mornings we run each month which could well be the least networkingy network events you’ll ever attend!
When we started those coffee mornings we just wanted to create a space for people to come together, those who might be sitting alone working from their dining room table in their home, to know that they weren’t alone and that our virtual kettle was always on. Four years later we have people skipping their formal networking meetings that they were booked onto [ like naughty school kids] to come and hang out with us because quite frankly they are sick of the death by elevator pitch approach to networking.
Back in 2020 we created our community, The Digital Circus. And although it is a membership built to support business owners with their online visibility, one of its core pillars is the fact that it is a space for different business owners from all walks of life to celebrate and champion each other in creating businesses that mean something to them.
Now in 2024 one of the driving forces of The Digital Circus is the notion of fun, freedom and flexibility. And thats pretty much why we at Yellow Tuxedo will never call ourselves a marketing agency. Our responsibility is to help give you the tools and the mindset to grow your business the way you want to, not to tell you how you “should” talk, act and make your audience feel with your marketing campaigns.
Both through Yellow Tuxedo and The Digital Circus we are all about the importance of human connection throughout the adventure of entrepreneurship.
One important thing to note when we discuss Funpreneurship as a concept is that we recognise that the word “fun” is different for everyone. And that really is okay.
Not everyone associates fun with silliness and stupidity like Alan does ????. But it really is the feeling you get when you are doing something you love and it gives you satisfaction. So whether its the fact that you are giving yourself time with your loved ones, sitting quietly with a nice cup of tea at the temperature its meant to be consumed at or going bungee jumping on a Saturday morning that is totally your decision. Nobody can “fun” shame you for doing it wrong!
Surrounding yourself with other people who appreciate the idea of funpreneurship will help you achieve that work/life blend that we should all strive to achieve.
We’re only on this planet a short time. Make sure that time is spent wisely.
Human connection is something that Yellow Tuxedo will sing about until we’re on our death beds. We really do feel its the missing piece for so many business owners trying to carve out their space in the digital landscape.
Cultivating genuine relationships with your customers, your teams, your business community, can only lead to bigger and better things, including trust, brand loyalty, new ideas, collaborations and further happiness for all.
And one step even further, finding the time to play together will only strengthen these things even more.
One of the biggest factors in funpreneurship is the idea of play. And when we mean play we don’t mean play and fun just for the sake of it. It is scientifically proven that harnessing the power of joy and creativity that comes from allowing yourself to play can drive innovation, can foster collaborations and ultimately make more of a positive impact on the world.
You just have to look at Lego and their creation of Serious play to get an idea of why we all need to let our guards down and play more.
Over the coming months Yellow Tuxedo will be delivering a series of events that build upon the idea of play being an important factor in helping you to build out your creative vision for your business, to help you make an emotional connection with your audience, to expand your comfort zones and ultimately help you unlock your inner Funpreneur.
If you’re questioning whether you actually are a Funpreneur or not, let us ask you this. Are you a regular business owner who wants to just run your business on your terms and not be told what to do every 5 seconds?
Do you like the idea of surrounding yourself with other regular people who want to lift you up and help you realise how awesome you are?
Then Funpreneurship is for you. Life is too short to take it too seriously.
So, here's to the rise of the Funpreneur – may their spirit of adventure and passion for fun inspire us all to dream bigger, laugh louder, and never stop playing.