2001: An Entrepreneurial Odyssey

High school principals aren't usually considered entrepreneurs, but 37-year-old Mark Kushner, principal of Leadership High School, a charter school in San Francisco, is part of a new breed.

Several years ago, Kushner was living quite a different life--as an attorney who called a posh San Francisco penthouse home. "This is good," thought Kushner, "and I like it." But a nagging thought insisted he look for more meaningful work. Kushner tried representing charitable organizations, but the former high school teacher realized he missed interacting with kids. So he quit his job, earned a masters in education and, by fall 1997, had the knowledge and investors to start his own charter high school.

Located on the campus of Golden Gate University in San Francisco, Leadership High has 95 students in each grade, and has received 3,000 inquiries from prospective freshmen for the fall of 1999. The first class will graduate in 2001. Kushner hopes to open schools on other Golden Gate University campuses along the west coast. He also hopes to soon move out of his modest studio. He clearly didn't go into this for the money.

Kushner's experience is hardly unusual anymore. Today's entrepreneurs bring values and viewpoints not seen in abundance before, says Ron Guzik, author of The Inner Game of Entrepreneuring (Dearborn Publishing/Upstart). "These new values include making family life important, [being aware of] social issues and focusing on quality of life," observes Guzik. "The dominant value held by most entrepreneurs in the past was financial success. While this is still important, many people are including other aspects of life in their business goals."

While Guzik thinks this trend is happening throughout the work force, he sees it to a larger degree in the entrepreneurial sector. "I believe these trends are just getting started and will continue for many years," Guzik says.

This article was originally published in the April 1999 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: 2001: An Entrepreneurial Odyssey.