What Is Entrepreneurship?

INTEL SOURCE LINK:  1000ventures.com

Entrepreneurship is first and foremost a mindset. It is the art of finding creative profitable solutions to problems.

Every successful entrepreneur, every successful businessperson has been someone who’s been able to identify a problem and come up with a solution to it before somebody else did.

Who Is the Entrepreneur?

Entrepreneur is a person who habitually creates and innovates to build something of recognized value around perceived opportunities.¹

In this definition, all words are key words:

• ‘Entrepreneur’ – can be an individual entrepreneur, but also an entrepreneurial team or even entrepreneurial organization

• ‘A person’ – emphasizes a personality rather than a system

• ‘Habitually’ – just cannot stop being an entrepreneur

• ‘creates‘ – starts from scratch and brings into being something that was not there before

• ‘innovates‘ – able to overcome obstacles that would stop most people; turns problems and risks into opportunities; delivers – sees ideas through to final application

• ‘Builds something’ – describes the output of the creation and innovation process

• ‘Of recognized value‘ – encompasses economic, commercial, social, or aesthetic value

• ‘Perceived opportunities’ – spotting the opportunity to exploit an idea that may or may not be original to the entrepreneur; seeing something other miss or only see in retrospect¹

What Entrepreneurs Are Like?

Source: Entrepreneurs, Bill Bolton and John Thompson

1. Personality factors

   • born/made ratio – 50/50, a synergy of genetic and environmental influence

   • motivation and emotion – independence, competitive spirit, challenge, wealth

   • behavioral characteristics – perseverance, determination, orientation to clear goals, need to achieve, opportunity orientation, creativity, persistent problem-solving, risk-taking, integrity, honesty, internal locus on control

   • personality attributes – preferred styles: extrovert/introvert; sensor/intuit; thinker/feeler; and judger/perceiver

2. Environmental factors

   • family background – entrepreneurial heritage

   • age and education – begin entrepreneurial activity early; are not over-educated

   • work experience – most entrepreneurs first gain some work experience in the line of business they later start up

3. Action factors

   • make the difference – initiate change and enjoy it

   • Create and innovate – a continuous activity, seeing creative idea through to the end, and then start climbing another mountain

   • exploit opportunities – able to see or craft opportunities that other people miss

   • find resources and competencies – experts at exploiting contacts and sources

   • network – expertise oriented; know when they need experts and how to use them effectively

   • face adversity – resolve problems under pressure; turn problems into opportunities

   • manage risk – not adventurers, but manageable risk takers; their success lies in caution, learning, flexibility and change during implementation

   • control the business – pay attention to details and essential ratios; exercise strategic control over their business

   • put the customer first – listen to the customer and respond to the customers’ feedback

   • creates capital – financial, social, and aesthetic

INTEL SOURCE LINK:  1000ventures.com

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