Being an Entrepreneur and daring to follow your dreams takes incredible courage. Thriving in the jungle of entrepreneurship and life takes guts and creativity to work through problems and find solutions to overcome obstacles on the path to one's dream.

It is often lonely being an Entrepreneur and loneliness is arguably one of the biggest challenges an Entrepreneur must face. However, with the support of a movement and a community, Entrepreneurs everywhere can take comfort in knowing that they are, in fact, not alone and that so many like them share in their hopes and aspirations to achieve greatness in whatever it is that they do.

Perhaps this website or the sight of someone wearing an American Entrepreneur t-shirt will give an aspiring or budding Entrepreneur the impetus they need to move forward in the pursuit of their dream, their very own American dream. We believe that if we have been fortunate enough to be able to do that with even one soul, then this movement was surely worth our time and effort.

"Entrepreneur" has meaning that transcends the thought of a "traditional businessperson". Rather it defines the spirit of innovation and dogged persistence that can be found among people from all walks of life. An Entrepreneur aims to achieve something more than "ordinary", perhaps something great. If you believe in the American Dream, you are someone who is inspired by the stories of people who have followed their passions and reached their dreams.

An Entrepreneur is anyone who takes up a mission in the face of adversity whether it is allocating the best, newly-graduated American minds to impoverished public schools that are in need of talented teachers, the Entrepreneur that has figured a way to provide microloans to fledgling companies in third world countries, or the pioneering woman who is the first to break through the glass ceiling at her corporation and successfully join the ranks of upper management. It is the child who sets up their first lemonade stand in their neighborhood, the corner deli that proclaims to make the best pastrami sandwich in town, or the local dry cleaners that can get out any stain, no matter how deeply engrained. An Entrepreneur takes immense pride in their product, for their product is essentially an extension of their uniqueness and individuality. It is their mark on this world.

Whether that unique creation comes from a group of teens that form a rock band in their garage, banging away at the drums and driving their parents crazy only to become the next great music sensation, or the sole proprietor who operates their business from their kitchen mixing and baking batches of a new and tasty pastry concoction, or a new level of customer service experienced at the town's local bed-and-breakfast, American Entrepreneurship is all around us. We only need recognize it and let it be known that we don't take it for granted.

The American Entrepreneur is the small business owner who selflessly cuts their own pay to keep their staff from getting laid off. It is the aspiring musician who tirelessly plays their instrument in the subway because they want a public venue to share their passion with the rest of the world. It is the waitress that services our table at the local restaurant and goes to acting class later that night, eagerly awaiting her big role, her big break. It is the creator of a new type of sandal that can revolutionize our beach-going experience forever, relentlessly peddling their product by driving from store to store with a trunk full of their new creation. It is the entrepreneurial community leaders and activists that change the way things are done in our neighborhoods, so that we can lead better lives.

It is the inventors and patent holders' never-ending curiosity about the world that surrounds them, whose inventions serve as the foundations of the great companies of the future. It is the intrapreneur's revolutionary ideas for the companies they work for that advance their organization to the next level of success. It is the Restaurateur who uses local produce in her establishment's food and thus lessens her operation's carbon footprint. It is the aspiring fashion designer who endlessly toils in his studio apartment at 3am to perfect his creations for the upcoming runway show, and the farmer in the Midwest who diligently makes sure that the grounds are ready for the upcoming season of harvesting. It is the athlete lacing up for her daily run on her high school's track in hopes of one day competing in the Olympics, and the dot com developer's strained eyes from programming until the wee hours of the morning in dedicated pursuit of building the perfect piece of code.

It is the freelance photographer whose work is his art, the screenwriter who goes from producer to producer to have her film or television program brought to fruition, the scientist whose clean and new alternative energy discovery changes our methods of harvesting energy and powering our economy, the newly-minted American Citizen who opens a restaurant of his native country's cuisine, and the daydreaming student who aspires to one day pursue their own entrepreneurial ambitions.

Entrepreneurs act in spit of fear, not in reaction to it. They are not scared to achieve greatness, so they take control of the reigns of their own life. While an Entrepreneur's hope and faith gets incessantly tested to the nth degree, they steadfastly remain independent thinkers and hold tight to their beliefs and convictions.

The American Entrepreneur Project also recognizes and commends the parents, spouses, significant others, and other family and friends who sacrifice and rally around the Entrepreneur to give them the very much needed emotional boost of support that just might help make the difference in the outcome of their venture.

Often, the Entrepreneurs' story is one of repeated failure that finally and eventually leads to a story of success built on sheer passion and persistence. Entrepreneurs are not afraid to fail, and instead realize that failing is essential to ultimately realizing success. A failure for an Entrepreneur is an opportunity to learn from mistakes, dust their shoulder off, get back up, and try again.

"Only in America!" - Because only in America can one's wildest dreams have a fair shot at coming to fruition with hard work, dedication, and passion.

This is America, the home of The American Dream. It always was and still is the land of dreams and possibilities. This country was founded on the principles of entrepreneurship: independence, ambition, freedom, and innovation, and The American Entrepreneur Project does not see that ending anytime soon.

Ironically, the phrase "The American Dream" is generally agreed to have been first coined in 1931, in the midst of The Great Depression. Every great company in American history started as a small company, and many of America's most admired companies were founded in recessionary times. An economy like this one creates opportunities, and paves the way for the "little guys". Now, more than ever, we need to reignite our entrepreneurial spirit; this is the time when America needs to operate her entrepreneurial spirit at full throttle to build the best products, innovations, and companies in the world and lead America forward in this century. To do that, however, we first need to remind ourselves of our country's entrepreneurial roots and its history of entrepreneurial accomplishments.