Characteristics of an Entrepreneur

Characteristics of an Entrepreneur

1. How does a small business differ from an entrepreneurship?

Small Business	Entrepreneurship
1. They lack innovation. The investment is done in small trades or products or services.	1. They’re backed by innovation. Entrepreneurs converts a threat or a challenge into an opportunity. They also scan the social or commercial environment for new ideas, products or services.
2. They’re usually started with small investment and have limited scope for growth and development.	2. They’ve very good planning and vision and possibilities of future growth and development are more.
3. When there is an anticipation of a loss, the small business owner will shift his trade or service.	3. Under such situations and entrepreneur would analyze the situation and improve his quality so that he meets the target.
4. May or may not create job opportunities.	4. Scope for creating more employment opportunities.

2. What is the corporate intrapreneurship? Give two examples?
Corporate intrapreneurship is an activity related to the innovations of some companies or corporate ventures leading to establishment of new ventures, new subsidiaries or new divisions. This results in when managers of some leading companies exhibit a sense of enterprise combining their resources systems, in unusual ways to get new products, new ventures or to provide new services.
One of the examples is the penetration of TATA into communications sector.
Other example is the establishment of retailing outlets by Aditya Birla Group and Reliance.
3. Why is the individual sense of enterprise of an employee in a corporate organization not deemed as entrepreneurship?
In corporate intrapreneurship, managers of some leading companies exhibit a sense of enterprise combining their resources, systems, in unusual ways to get new products, new ventures or to provide new services. They will not venture any of their personal capital or held any personal risk, in doing so. They do these actions as part of their regular activity in gratifying the customer needs, managing market or boosting the sales.
Though, all the above actions indicate the features of entrepreneurship, these individuals cannot be branded under the category of entrepreneurs.
4. Give two examples of opportunistic entrepreneurship?
An opportunistic entrepreneur is one who is not only technically competent, but has educated himself in not-technical subjects such as history, economics, law etc.
One of the examples is that of a small building developer and contractor, who has acquired sophisticated skills in management, precise bidding, accounting and budgeting and systematic market research.
Another example is that of a software developer who gets an insight into the subject international software export laws, corporate auditing, accounting and finance and uses this knowledge to establish an innovative software enterprise.
5. Why is an entrepreneur called an incubator of new ideas?
We can call an entrepreneur an incubator of new ideas due to the following factors:

1. An entrepreneur is not a routine businessman. He may not have even resources to start an enterprise. But he has new ideas to experiment and innovate.
2. He is full of energy to see his ideas put into action.
3. He is keen to generate a new vision, new products, new services and new methods of operating system.
4. The entrepreneur is a creative individual. He creates opportunities for innovation, experimentation and production.

6. Why should an entrepreneur have a high achievement orientation?
An entrepreneur should have a high achievement orientation for the following reasons.

1. In order to plan his methods and work in a focussed manner to achieve his goal.
2. To achieve success through non-routine methods
3. To accomplish things which are otherwise difficult, while obtaining job satisfaction through aggressive pursuit of his actions.
4. To pursue achievement through establishing certain standards and benchmarks of excellence.

7. Why should an entrepreneur be familiar with the skills of problem solving?
Entrepreneurship is always an exercise in adventure. That means that the entrepreneur should always be ready to meet challenges, resistance and problems. He should be ready to welcome those problems and attempt to solve them by application of mind, experience and through consultancy. Escaping from the problem does not qualify him as an entrepreneur. Problems will never bring discouragement for an entrepreneur but instead they act as source of inspiration for him.
8. A high sense of initiative is a prerequisite for an entrepreneur – Comment?
A high sense of initiative is a prerequisite for an entrepreneur because of the following reasons

1. His path is not defined but he should be the path finder. He would love to follow his own directions and instructions, not those of others.
2. He has to find new ways of addressing routine problems so that he can optimize on his time, money and resources.
3. To take advantage of the challenges and convert them into opportunities

9. Commitment and faith are required for the success of an enterprise – why?

1. One of the most important features of the entrepreneurs is their faith in the task they have taken up. If they lack faith, then they won’t be able to put in the required effort for the success of the enterprise.
2. The faith acts as an unshakable motivating factor in executing the task.
3. To intensify this, they should have commitment towards the task they have undertaken and feel that the assignment they have undertaken is exclusively because of their own choice and hence they need to own the responsibility of the task.

Thus the commitment and faith are required for the success of an enterprise.
10. Why should an entrepreneur have the quality of persistence?.
An entrepreneur should always be persistent so as

1. Not to be deterred by the failures.
2. To learn from the experiences and continue to work towards their goal through persistence.
3. To obtain feedback from the existing systems, take the criticism in the correct perspective and continue to act with the sense of courage and conviction.

11. Why does an entrepreneur seek a sense of independence?
An entrepreneur seeks a sense of independence because

1. It is the way he usually love to work.
2. It gives him the choice to take his own decisions and avoid intervention from others.
3. It helps him to achieve his goal of self-starting and being a master of his own.

12. What are the myths associated with entrepreneurship?
The following are some of the myths associated with the entrepreneurs.
Myth Entrepreneurs are gamblers: Entrepreneurs invest their time and money on unpredictable situations and try to assimilate others’ money or assets by unfair practices.
Fact: Entrepreneurs take risk, are adventurous and exploit opportunities but are not gamblers. They work hard and are rewarded for their enterprise and work.
Myth Entrepreneurs are born: Entrepreneurs are born with certain generic traits, which resemble the characteristics of an entrepreneur.
Fact: Though it is true only in some cases, all the characteristics of the entrepreneurs can be acquired, by careful study, observation and practice. Proper training also helps them to acquire the entrepreneurial skills.
Myth Entrepreneurs are high-tech professionals: Only those with high technical education can shape themselves as entrepreneurs.
Fact: Technology will help but is not a basic requirement for a person to become an entrepreneur. If a person has the ability to grasp the entrepreneurial skills, it is enough for that person to become an entrepreneur, though he is not a high-tech professional.
Myth Entrepreneurs have to be rich: It is one of the common myths that if one has to become an entrepreneur, then one must be from a sound economic background or from rich families.
Fact: Entrepreneurs doesn’t have to be from rich family. One must understand the place where the resources are available and work out a strategy to mobilize the resources to one’s own advantage. Money does not assure success nor does facilitate creativity and innovation.
Myth Entrepreneurs should have good knowledge of English: Some people believe that to become an entrepreneur, one must have a very sould knowledge in English.
Fact: English or any other language is not at all a barrier for an entrepreneur. It is only attittude that is trainable. Any one can acquire these competencies through one’s own mother toungue. One should acquire a reasonable amount of communicative skills so that one can communicate with others easily.