What Makes An Entrepreneur?
So does anybody know what an entrepreneur is? Is a small business owner an entrepreneur? Well, I would have thought so as generally entrepreneurs are widely regarded as being self employed. But does this really mean that a small business owner is an entrepreneur? Some would say that they aren't and would say that in fact, some significant differences exist between the two groups! Their first argument would be that businesses that simply replace an income stream that would be earned though being employed by one earned as being self employed is actually not entrepreneurial as an entrepreneur creates enormous value.
If you think of the successful entrepreneurs in history they have in general been operating in a high risk area or followed a high risk strategy. They have taken a market (or created a market) and shaken it up through some sort of innovation. The risk has been high, the rewards significant and have come quicker. The non entrepreneurial business man would be operating in a less risky area, maybe with an existing product (competing on price or service) and with rewards coming far more slowly.
To balance this discussion and understand the confusion you need to look at where most business owner and entrepreneurs started from. And it is most cases, it's the same place. To make money, by adding value to people's lives in some form or another. And both have followed the well walked (and very brave) route of setting up as a business,
clearance north faces jacket, a limited company or sole trader and trying to get their idea accepted. Many have failed as some of the most successful entrepreneurs and small business owners will tell you.
Can we clarify further? Are there any defining characteristics of an entrepreneur? An entrepreneur is often seen as someone who is smart, innovative and creative. They are seen as driven and people who look at everything that happens to them, good or bad as a learning opportunity. Problems are inevitable in any business and like many business owners, entrepreneurs will see these as opportunities. The word entrepreneur comes from the French 'entrependre' which means 'to undertake' or 'to begin something', and having a passion to deliver something new, creative, innovative and big is core to the entrepreneurial spirit.
What is also interesting is that according to various reports and surveys nearly half of the UK working population want to start up their own business based on their own concept! However less than 6% actually manage to follow this dream through. Which is a shame, since entrepreneurship has a significant, positive impact on our economy and society! Entrepreneurs can create new markets,
vibram 5 fingers shoes, remove old markets and impact existing markets, reducing prices, improving service and generally adding real value from a consumer perspective. And this fact is celebrated across the World during Global Entrepreneurship week.
The importance of entrepreneurs is being globally recognised. So much so that the process of their development through the education processes is now under scrutiny. As the UK Prime Minister, David Cameron said during Global Entrepreneurship week, 'the future of our economy depends on a new generation of entrepreneurs coming up with ideas'. Leaders are beginning to realise the importance of entrepreneurship and the importance of developing entrepreneurs. This includes the development of education processed that promote business and a good understanding of enterprise.
Nearly every leading university within the UK now has enterprise centres which provide support to students hoping to become self employed once they have graduated. Additionally, there is a huge amount of funding available for entrepreneurship research, support, advice and education. For example, The Institute for small business and entrepreneurship is the UKs largest and, now,
ferragamo sale discount, most well established network for individuals involved in small business and entrepreneurship. According to The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), there has seen a 46% rise in the number of graduates who describe themselves as self-employed or freelance. This has risen from 4190 in the academic year of 2002-3 to 6130 in 2008-9.
So how can Margaret Thatcher help in all this? I didn't think I would be saying that, but do you remember the Enterprise Allowance Scheme of the 1980's? It was a scheme that essentially helped the longer term unemployed start up their own business. Now Cameron has just announced the introduction of a similar scheme. Not only will this scheme help financially but it will also provide support and guidance. And considering HESA report that young adults are five times more likely to be unemployed than starting their own business, we think a scheme like this is really needed.
So are entrepreneurs born or developed. Well both. Certainly they use to just appear, but this is probably due to the lack of focus on development (i. e. they were self taught) but nowadays anybody who has the two core competencies of being smart and being a grafter can succeed in the entrepreneurial world!
Many entrepreneurs are actually beginning to recognise opportunities abroad where there are many attractive sources of capital. For this reason, business start ups are becoming multinational at an earlier stage. So, if you are considering looking beyond the national boarders it is generally beneficial to be multilingual on some level. Similarly,
buy timberland UK, networking and building relationships is essential. Entrepreneur Guru Peter Jones, the star of Dragon's Den, offers 5 steps to entrepreneurial success; 1 Have a Vision; 2 Be Confident; 3 Be results-orientated; 4 Take action; 5Use your influence and 6 Don't underestimate your abilities!
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