The Entrepreneurial Person

                               The Entrepreneurial Person

                                  

Entrepreneurship can be defined by describing what entrepreneurs do. For example: "Entrepreneurs use personal initiative, and engage in calculated risk-taking, to create new business ventures by raising resources to apply innovative new ideas that solve problems, meet challenges, or satisfy the needs of a clearly defined market."

But as the following definitions state, entrepreneurship is not restricted to business and profit:

"Entrepreneurship involves bringing about change to achieve some benefit. This benefit may be financial but it also involves the satisfaction of knowing you have changed something for the better.

"Entrepreneurship is essentially the act of creation requiring the ability to recognize an opportunity, shape a goal, and take advantage of a situation. Entrepreneurs plan, persuade, raise resources, and give birth to new ventures."

Who Are Entrepreneurs?

For a long time it was thought that entrepreneurs were special, that they were just born with the ability and desire to go their own way, on their own. Over the past twenty years or so, we've discovered that entrepreneurs learn to do what they do that they also learn, to a large extent, to be who they are. That's why we say they are made not born.

Here's a handy way to remember some facts about entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship:

Examine needs, wants, and problems to see how they can improve the way needs and wants are met and problems overcome.

Narrow the possible opportunities to one specific "best" opportunity.

Think of innovative ideas and narrow them to the "best" idea.

Research the opportunity and idea thoroughly.

Enlist the best sources of advice and assistance that they can find.

Plan their ventures and look for possible problems that might arise.

Rank the risks and the possible rewards.

Evaluate the risks and possible rewards and make their decision to act or not to act.

Never hang on to an idea, no matter how much they may love it, if research shows it won't work.

Employ the resources necessary for the venture to succeed.

Understand that they will have to work long and hard to make their venture succeeds.

Realize a sense of accomplishment from their successful ventures and learn from their failures to help them achieve success in the future.