New book spreads an enterprising Christmas message

You are an Entrepreneur by David Gibson is a fictional tale which follows the story of Clark, who loses his job at Christmas time. With the help of his ‘Uncle Dave’, an entrepreneurship guru, Clark uses his entrepreneurial skills to turn his fortunes around and help others over the festive period.

David, from Ballinderry, is one of the world’s leading enterprise educators.

A Senior Teaching Fellow at Queen’s University Management School, he has won international awards for his pioneering model of enterprise education, which is now embedded across all disciplines at Queen’s.

David said: “You are an Entrepreneur is aimed at anyone who wants to make a change in their business, career or personal development. The story is deliberately set at Christmas time. This is the ideal time for people to take stock, put their difficulties behind them and realise that anything is possible. So this Christmas, get hunting for the business opportunity in your life and have an enterprising new year.

“The economic downturn is affecting people from all walks of life. Perhaps you thought you were in a job for life, but now you are facing redundancy. Maybe you are a young person or a graduate finding it difficult to get a foot on the career ladder, or a business owner trying hard to make ends meet.

“While it might be tempting to bury your head in the sand and hope that everything will be okay, the best thing you can do is to look for the opportunities in your own situation and make things happen. In other words, find your inner entrepreneur.

“Being entrepreneurial is not necessarily about making millions; instead it is about having a mindset which is geared towards making a contribution, and the skills to turn opportunity into reality. This is what I teach my students at Queen’s, and it is the foundation for You are an Entrepreneur.”

David wrote the story to help a young graduate to turn his career around and start his own business. It has been endorsed by celebrity sportspeople including boxer Ricky Hatton and Queen’s Park Rangers and England footballer Andrew Johnson. Hatton said the book, “shows what you can do if you think of others, take risks and learn from your mistakes.”

The book rounds off a busy year for David, which saw him named among the top three entrepreneurial educators in the world and the most innovative educator in the UK, for the third year running. Earlier this year, David received the OBE for services to education. He also received the Business Education Award at the 2012 UTV Business Eye Awards.

You are an Entrepreneur is available to download (£10) from www.youare-an-entrepreneur.com or by emailing [email protected] All proceeds will go to charity.