As the above poem states, Irish entrepreneurs (AKA IrishPreneurs) know that the Luck of the Irish doesn’t just occur spontaneously. Like all other entrepreneurs, IrishPreneurs create their own luck.

Successful entrepreneurs don’t sit back and wait for the gold to find them. They go out and get it. They jump on the phone and pound the pavement every day until they have created their own fortune—one gold coin at a time. It’s the proactive business owners who consistently go after what they want who make it to the top.

Here are some fast facts about successful IrishPreneurs, some you’ve heard of and some you may not have. Even if you’re already familiar with the work of the ones who are most prominently known as artists, you might not be aware of how much their entrepreneurial spirit factored into their success.

Bono was born in Ireland but rapidly found his way to international success as the lead singer of U2. Not long after the band made it to the top of the music industry, he became widely known for his philanthropic work, which has included increasing awareness about civil rights, world hunger, and HIV/AIDS. In fact, he has been called “the face of fusion philanthropy”, and part of the way he accomplished this was by collaborating with powerful leaders in the business world.

George Bernard Shaw is best known as an Irish playwright, although he spent the majority of his life in London. He’s perhaps most famous for writing Pygmalion, which was later turned into the musical My Fair Lady. Pygmalion is about many things, but one of them is the transformation of a flower girl into an entrepreneur who owned her own business. Shaw himself had a vast understanding of economic endeavors, as evidenced by his co-founding of the London School of Economics.

There are also some extremely successful, female Irish entrepreneurs you might not be familiar with.

Moya Doherty is the producer and co-founder of Riverdance and the director of Tyrone Productions, one of Ireland’s foremost indie TV producing companies.

Colette Twomey is the CEO and co-founder of Clonakilty Blackpudding Company, which is one of the best-known brands in the Irish food industry.

Terry Prone is the author of numerous books and is a columnist for the Irish Examiner. She’s also the chairperson of the Communications Clinic in Dublin, which specializes in PR and media coaching.

These IrishPreneurs have unquestionably found their pots of gold in often high barrier industries like music, theatre, dance, food and writing. Each of these artists are far from starving, yet what separates them from their peers who haven’t reached their own pinnacle of success?

Most entrepreneurs’ pots of gold can usually be found through a combination of personal gifts, talents, passion, and purpose mixed with consistent drive, discipline, and a little luck. All of these elements mix like the colors in a rainbow, which leads to personal fortune. Ask any business owner and they will tell you that the harder they work, the luckier they get.

Do you know where your pot of gold can be found? Do you know how to find it? What does it look like? Will it materialize in the form of a company, franchise, or your own book?

Successful entrepreneurs create their own rainbows to follow and follow them in order to create their own luck faster. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

For a “Find the Green” conversation with Cheryl, go here: www.CherylHeppard.com/apply