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“The entrepreneur is our visionary, the creator in each of us. We’re born with that quality and it defines our lives as we respond to what we see, hear, feel, and experience.” — Michael Gerber

YESTERDAY, I was talking to several students and the subject – entrepreneurship — came up. The word entrepreneur originates from the French word, entreprendre, which means “to undertake.” Frankly, I was surprised because not too many students are poised to think about the entrepreneurship of exercise physiology. While entrepreneurship has many meanings, the practice of starting a new business is often the most common meaning of entrepreneurship.

As the conversation permitted, I told the students that I had just read an article entitled “Clinical Nurse Specialist Entrepreneurship” [1]. It seems that nurses and just about every other established healthcare professional is thinking about or engaged in entrepreneurship. As an example, think about the following article titles by nurses:

· Vogel, G. and Doleysh, N. (1994). Entrepreneuring: A Nurse’s Guide to Starting a Business. New York: National League for Nursing Press.

· Kowal, N. (1998). Specialty Practice Entrepreneur: The Advanced Practice Nurse. Nursing Economics. 16:277-278.

· Roggenkamp, S.D. and White, K.R. (1998). Four Nurse Entrepreneurs: What Motivated Them to Start Their Own Businesses. Health Care Management Review. 23:67-75.

· Dayhoff, N.E. and Moore, P.S. (2003). Entrepreneurship: Start-Up Questions. Clinical Nurse Specialists. 17:86-87.

· Andrica, D.C. (1998). Entrepreneurship: Is It For You? Nursing Economics. 16:330.

· Vollman, K.M. (2004). Nurse Entrepreneurship: Taking an Invention From Birth to the Marketplace. Clinical Nurse Specialists. 18:68-71.

· Palmer, J.W. (1996). Thoughts on Becoming a Nurse Entrepreneur. Emergency Nursing. 22:534-535.

Obviously, just from this short list of titles, entrepreneurship is important to nursing and other professions. I think it should be an important topic of discussion among exercise physiologists, too. Why? There are many reasons. One, in particular, is the stifling negative effect of the sports medicine influence on exercise physiology. In short, the idea of “exercise science” resulting in viable careers opportunities is an illusion of considerable tragedy [2]. For an engaging analysis of this point, refer to the October PEPonline article entitled “The Tragic Illusion of Exercise Science.”

Board certified exercise physiologists (BCEPs) represent a new breed of exercise physiologists in the United States, if not the world. They want control over their work, and they want to practice exercise physiology without restraints placed on them by association with exercise science and/or sports medicine. Entrepreneurship is all about transforming what is presently a gym and/or corporate fitness mentality that most often associates with exercise physiology (i.e., aside from cardiac rehab) into a completely new business-way to think about exercise physiology.

This is clearly consistent with the definition of entrepreneurship. That is, the “emphasis on innovation” [3]. From this viewpoint, one can define the actions of the ASEP leaders in the development of the exercise physiology professional infrastructure as the innovation that gives exercise physiologists the competitive advantage in the use of exercise as medicine. This thinking is in agreement with Schumpeter [4] who concludes the following: “The entrepreneur is someone who carries out “new combinations” by such things as introducing new products or processes, identifying new export markets or sources of supply, or creating new types of organization.” ASEP is such an organization plus the BCEP is the new product that markets both a new and improved career for exercise physiologists and a new healthcare professional.

It is not enough to simply get a college degree. Instead, academic exercise physiologists must nurture a new vision and perspective of exercise physiology. They must help with key areas, particularly new thinking and innovative ideas along with the entrepreneurial mindset. Building the next generation of leaders is critical to the future of exercise physiologists with the desire to promote a strong sense of professional accountability. Clearly, it is important that exercise physiologists do as nurses have done. Why not the following book titles or articles titles?

· Entrepreneuring: An Exercise Physiologist’s Guide to Starting a Business

· Board Certified Entrepreneurship: The Next Generation of Leaders

· Four Exercise Physiology Entrepreneurs: What Motivated Them to Start Their Own Businesses

· Exercise Physiology Entrepreneurship: Taking an Invention From Birth to the Marketplace

· Thoughts on Becoming a Board Certified Exercise Physiology Entrepreneur

It is just a matter of time and the world will see that exercise physiology has changed, and ASEP is just the beginning of the change process. But, exercise physiologists must put forth a sustainable effort towards professional development. The ability to manage their own profession is directly related to their own career opportunities. Such thinking requires mental flexibility and an aptitude for seeing beyond the sports medicine influence. Entrepreneurship equals new jobs, more revenue, and improved professional image. It is vital to the growth of the profession. Promoting entrepreneurship in academic courses, workshops, seminars, and national meetings is in the best interest of all exercise physiologists.

In the end, it will be clear that the BCEP entrepreneurial is innovative when it comes to the exercise prescription, self-confident when overseeing musculoskeletal and cardiovascular profiles, fiercely competitive about exercise as medicine, and intensely obsessed as a professional. They are interested in creating a credible healthcare practice that is founded on mind-body interconnectedness. In fact, as Howard Marguleas said:  “Never cease to pursue the opportunity to seek something different.  Don’t be satisfied with what you’re doing.  Always try to seek a way and a method to improve upon what you’re doing, even if it’s considered contrary to the traditions of an industry.”  

Hence, as I wrote in an article published in PEPonline, year 2000 [5], “In the not too distance future, Ph.D. academic exercise physiologists, who probably know little to nothing about entrepreneural ventures as an emerging trend in our economy, will be expected to offer entrepreneurship courses for undergraduates and master level prepared exercise physiologists. The question is whether they will find the time to leave the laboratory to address the new opportunities in the public (service) sector. Another question is whether they will help their students form the necessary, strategic alliances with other entrepreneurs, locally and otherwise. Students who develop entrepreneurial, negotiation, and legal skills will be prepared for the 21st century.”

Reference

1. Leong, S.L. (2005). Clinical Nurse Specialist Entrepreneurship. The Internet Journal of Advanced Nursing Practice. 7:1:1-8.
2. Boone, T. (2007). The Tragic Illusion of Exercise Science. Professionalization of Exercise Physiologyonline. 10:10 [Online]. http://faculty.css.edu/tboone2/asep/Tragic_Illusion_Exercise_Science.html
3. QuickMBA. (2007). A Definition of Entrepreneurship. QuickMBA.com/ [Online]. http://www.quickmba.com/entre/definition/
4. Schumpeter, J.A. (2002). Biography of Joseph Alois Schumpeter (1883-1950). The Concise of Encyclopedia of Economics. [Online]. http://www.econlib.org/Library/Enc/bios/Schumpeter.html
5. Boone, T. (2000). The Exercise Physiologist as an Entrepreneur. Professionalization of Exercise Physiologyonline. 3:1 [Online]. http://faculty.css.edu/tboone2/asep/jan2.html
6. Boone, T. (2003). The Entrepreneurship of Exercise Physiology. Professionalization of Exercise Physiologyonline. 6:3 [Online]. http://faculty.css.edu/tboone2/asep/EntrepreneurshipOfExercisePhysiology.html

Athletes, coaches, trainers, parents, society, and researchers know that performance enhancers are used to do more work than possible without them. There are many reasons why athletes use ergogenic aids. Just a few include fame, fortune, and scholarship from winning the gold. No wonder athletes are willing to ingest or inject almost anything to win. And, the CEOs of companies that market supplements and illegal drugs know it. The idea of helping athletes to cheat makes no sense to them. The spirit of competition is a meaningless subject, as is their unethical behavior. Promoting drugs to teenagers is their business. They are “The Cheat Pushers.” They are in the business of promoting the “win at all cost” mentality. After all, their only concern is making big bucks. Forget about the side effects. The CEOs, consultants, and sports nutritionists who promote and commercialize performance enhancers are no different from individuals who sell crack on the street corner. They don’t care about possible long-term adverse effects and/or complications. The “win at all cost” attitude permeates many sports nutritionists. The idea that their research justifies promoting supplements is wrong. Athletes should win based on who is naturally the best athlete at that point in time. Using sports supplements to level the playing field is unfair. It is also unethical. It should not be tolerated, and those who promote sports supplements should not be rewarded. And, sports nutritionists, in particular, who consult (and therefore essentially work for the CEOs of sports supplement companies) are engaged in unethical professional behavior that should not be tolerated. For an excellent read on “Steroids and Other Performance Enhancers” by Robert J. Dimeff, M.D., refer to Chapter 21 of Clinical Preventive Medicine by Richard N. Matzen, M.D. and Richard S. Lang, M.D, M.P.H.