‘Salesman? Hell no!’ Identity struggles of nascent design entrepreneurs

Abstract

The present study offers new input to the discussion of how entrepreneurship education and training programmes can be tailored to suit design professionals. To a large extent, existing entrepreneurship teaching for creative people is based on a traditional administrative management logic that often results in a clash between entrepreneurial demands and creative identities. The paper is based on the following rationale: the better we understand designers' reasoning and their struggles concerning becoming entrepreneurs, the better we are able to design entrepreneurship learning experiences that meet their needs. Since designers' career‐making tends to be highly driven by their strong sense of identity, the paper takes an identity perspective. The empirical foundation of the research is based on observation studies and phenomenological interviews conducted during an eight‐week entrepreneurship training program. Twenty‐five nascent design entrepreneurs with a professional background as designers participated in the voluntary programme. The paper offers novel and critical insights into designers' experiences of the entrepreneurial identity and reasoning as they participate in entrepreneurship training.