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ale Encyclopedia of Small Business:

EntrepreneurshipTop

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An entrepreneur is one who organizes a new business venture in the

hopes of making a profit. Entrepreneurship is the process of being an

entrepreneur, of gathering and allocating the resourcesfinancial,

creative,managerial,or technologicalnecessary for a new venture's

success. One engages in entrepreneurship when one begins to plan an

organization that uses diverse resources in an effort to take advantage of

the newly found opportunity. It usually involves hard work, long hours,

and, usually, the hope of significant financial return. More importantly,

entrepreneurship is characterized by creative solutions to old or

overlooked problems;ingenuityand innovation are the entrepreneur's

stock in trade. By taking a new look at difficult situations, the

entrepreneur discerns an opportunity where others might have seen a

dead end.

Entrepreneurship is also a source of more entrepreneurship. Societies

around the world have always been fueled by the innovations and new

products that entrepreneurs bring to the market. All big businesses

started out small, usually as one man or woman with a good idea and

thewillingnessto work hard and risk everything. While it is true that

many new businesses fail, the ones that succeed contribute a great deal

to the creation of other new ventures which leads, in turn, to a dynamic

national economy. Indeed, today's economists and business researchers

cite entrepreneurship as a key component of future economic growth in

North America and around the world. "Entrepreneurship is viewed as

thecatalystto transfer a segment of our new generation of [downsized]

people into self-employed business owners who will, in turn, provide jobsfor the rest," wrote Mitch Lenko in CMA."It is viewed as the necessary

component to the creation of new wealth; andhopefullyrepresents

thefountainheadfrom which will spawn innovative management

techniques for the design, manufacture and marketing of products that

will compete globally."
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Successful entrepreneurship depends on many factors. Of primary

importance is a dedicated, talented, creative entrepreneur. The person

who has the ideas, the energy, and the vision to create a new business is

thecornerstoneto any start-up. But the individual must have ready

access to a variety of important resources in order to make the newventure more than just a good idea. He or she needs to develop a plan of

action, a road map that will take the venture from the idea stage to a

state of growth andinstitutionalization.In most instances, the

entrepreneur also needs to put together a team of talented, experienced

individuals to help manage the new venture's operations.

Entrepreneurship also depends on access to capital, whether it be human,

technological, or financial. In short, entrepreneurship is a process that

involves preparation and the involvement of others in order to exploit anopportunity for profit.

Entrepreneurship Defined

The multiplicity of the entrepreneur's motivations and goals leads to

questions aimed atdistillingthe essence of entrepreneurship. To what or

to whom does one refer when one uses the word? Is there any difference

between a person who opens yet another dry cleaning establishment,

sandwich shop, or bookstore and the entrepreneur? If so, what is it that

separates the two? What characteristics define an entrepreneur and

entrepreneurship itself? Historians and business writers have struggled

with providing the answers. Even today, there is no widely accepted

definition, but the variety of possibilities provides important clues as to

what makes entrepreneurship special.

Harvard professor Joseph Schumpeter, for example, argued that the

defining characteristic of entrepreneurial ventures was innovation. By

finding a new "production function" in an existing resourcea previouslyunknown means through which a resource could produce valuethe

entrepreneur was innovating. The innovation was broadly understood; an

innovation could take place in product design, organization of the firm,

marketing devices, or process design. Nevertheless, innovation was what

separated the entrepreneur from others who undertook closely related

endeavors. Other researchers, such as professor Arthur Cole, defined
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entrepreneurship as purposeful activity to initiate, maintain, and develop

a profit-oriented business. The important part of this definition is the

requirement that individuals must create a new business organization in

order to be considered entrepreneurial. Cole's entrepreneur was a builder

of profit-minded organizations.

Still other observers, such as Shapero and Sokol, have argued that all

organizations and individuals have the potential to be entrepreneurial.

These researchers focus on activities rather than organizational make-up

in examining entrepreneurship. They contend that entrepreneurship is

characterized by an individual or group's initiative taking, resource

gathering, autonomy, and risk taking. Their definition could theoretically

include all types and sizes of organizations with a wide variety of

functions and goals.

In his book Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Peter F. Drucker took the

ideas set forth by Schumpeter one step further. He argued that

Schumpeter's type of innovation can be systematically undertaken by

managers torevitalizebusiness andnonbusiness organizations. By

combining managerial practices with the acts of innovation, Drucker

argued, business can create a methodology of entrepreneurship that will

result in the institutionalization of entrepreneurial values and practice.

Drucker's definition of entrepreneurshipa systematic, professional

discipline available to anyone in an organizationbrings our

understanding of the topic to a new level. He demystified the topic,

contending that entrepreneurship is something that can be strategically

employed by any organization at any point in their existence, whether it

be a start-up or a firm with a long history. Drucker understood

entrepreneurship as a tool to be implemented by managers and

organizational leaders as a means of growing a business.

The Entrepreneurial Personality

Writing in his book The Entrepreneurial Mind,Jeffry Timmons defined

entrepreneurship as "the ability to create and build something from

practically nothing." His definition captures the spirit of the word, the

sense that entrepreneurs are like magicians, creating thriving
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organizations out of good ideas by virtue of hard work,cannybusiness

dealing, and personal skills. Timmons's words hint at the myths inherent

in the common understanding of entrepreneurship. They bring to mind

the great entrepreneurs who have become icons of American business

mythology.

Many businesspeople believe that entrepreneurs have a personality that

is different than those of "normal" people. Entrepreneurs are seen as

having "the right stuff." But defining the various characteristics and

qualities thatembodyentrepreneurial success can be anelusivetask, for

as Lanko indicated, "today's entrepreneurs are big and tall, and short and

small. They come from every walk of life, every race and ethnic setting,

all age groups, male and female, and from every educational background.

There is no mould for the entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs make their

ownmold."

But while it is hard to generalize about what it takes to be a successful

entrepreneur, some personality traits seem to be more important than

others. "While many authors and researchers have disagreed on the

relative significance of individual entrepreneurial traits, all agree on one

quality that is essential to all entrepreneurs, regardless of definition,"

wrote Lanko. "That quality is 'commitment'; it is self-motivation that

distinguishes successful entrepreneurs from those that fail. It is the

common thread in the lives and biographies of those that have succeeded

in new enterprises. It is the one quality which entrepreneurs themselves

admit is critical to the success of their initiatives."

Other traits commonly cited as important components of entrepreneurial

success include business knowledge (business planning, marketing

strategies, asset management, etc.), self-confidence, technical and other

skills, communication abilities, and courage. But there are other, lessobvious, personality characteristics that an entrepreneur should develop

as a means of further ensuring their success. In his

book Entrepreneurship: Texts, Cases, Notes, Robert C. Ronstadt indicated

some additional traits that help entrepreneurs build thriving

organizations, including creativity and the ability to tolerate ambiguous

situations.
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Creative solutions to difficult problems may make or break the young and

growing business; the ability of an entrepreneur to find unique solutions

could be the key to his or her success. One of the most vexing situations

entrepreneurs face is the allocation ofscarce resources.For instance,

owners of new ventures need to be able to decide how to best use asmall advertising budget or how best to use their limited computer

resources. Furthermore, they must be creative in their ability to find

capital, team members, or markets. Entrepreneurial success is often

directly predicated on the business owner's ability to make do with the

limited resources available to him or her.

In addition to being creative, an entrepreneur must be able to tolerate

the ambiguity and uncertainty that characterize the first years of a new

organization. In nearly all cases, business or market conditions are bound

to change during the first few years of a new business's life, causing

uncertainty for the venture and for the entrepreneur. Being creative

enables entrepreneurs to more successfully manage businesses in new

and ambiguous situations, but without the ability to handle the pressure

that uncertainty brings upon an organization, the entrepreneur may lose

sight of his or her purpose.

Finally, environmental factors often play a significant part in influencing

would-be entrepreneurs.

Often, personal or work history has led individuals to be more open to

taking the risks involved with undertaking a new venture. For instance,

individuals who know successful entrepreneurs may bestimulatedto try

their hand at running their own business. The successful entrepreneurs

act as role models for those thinking about undertaking a new venture,

providing proof that entrepreneurship does not always end in bankruptcy.

In addition, work experience can provide entrepreneurs

withinvaluableexperience and knowledge from which to draw. "First and

foremost, entrepreneurs should have experience in the same industry or

a similar one," insisted thePortable MBA in Entrepreneurship."Starting a

business is a very demanding undertaking indeed. It is no time for on-

the-job training. If would-be entrepreneurs do not have the right
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experience, they should either go out and get it before starting their new

venture or find partners who have it."

The Process of Entrepreneurship

The myths that have grown up around the great entrepreneurs in

America have focused more on the personality of the individual than on

the work that he or she did to create a prosperous organization. What

sticks in our memories are the qualities of a great entrepreneur, those

personality traits that "make" a great businessperson. Successful

entrepreneurs, however, work hard to build their organizations, starting

from little and undertaking a process that results in a thriving business.

Even the best ideas become profitable only because the entrepreneur

went through the steps necessary to build a company from the groundup. Successful new ventures do not appear magically out of theswirlof

themarketplace;they are planned, created, and managed.

It is important to understand some of the stages a businessperson must

go through in order to create a successful entrepreneurial venture. All

entrepreneurs go through three very general stages in the process of

creating their ventures: a concept formation stage where ideas are

generated, the innovation and opportinity are identified, and the business

begins to take shape; a resource gathering stage where necessary

resources are brought together to launch the new business; and a stage

where the organization is actually created.

CONCEPTFORMATION.Before any business opens its doors, it must

make crucial decisions about the way the business will be run. This first

step in the entrepreneurial process is where the entrepreneur determines

what kind of potential market exists for the business and forms a rough

idea of how topenetratethe existing market. During the concept

formation stage, the entrepreneur must answer hard questions about the

potential business as well as his or her own motivations for starting his or

her own business. The answers to these questions will provide the

framework for future planning, growth, and innovation.
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There is a great deal that is unknown to the entrepreneur before he or

she starts out. The viability of the venture depends on the individual's

ability tolessenthat which is unknown and maximize that which is

known. The central question an entrepreneur should ask him or herself

during the idea generation stage is whether there is actually anopportunity for a successful venture. That is, will starting a new business

enable the entrepreneur to accomplish things or meet personal and

professional goals that he or she might not otherwise meet? Some

entrepreneurs want to make a certain return on their efforts and

investment or are looking to run a business that will afford them a certain

lifestyle. Others are looking to capture a certain percentage of the market

and thus increase their wealth. Still others go into business for

themselves because it would afford them the independence and freedomthat working for someone else would not. Before taking theplunge,

prospective entrepreneurs should investigate the extent to which their

envisioned business will give them an opportunity to meet their goals.

A new business can be opened by anyone with the capital and time to do

it. Nevertheless, businesses that will be successful for years to come

must maintain a certain level of financial soundness. Among the first

questions an entrepreneur should ask are those that explore the potential

profitability of the venture. The entrepreneur should be able to estimatesales and selling expenses as well as other costs of doing business. In

order to develop a sense of theeconomic feasibilityof a venture, the

entrepreneur should investigate the size and other characteristics of the

potential market for the product or service, including competitive

pressures and capital start-up requirements. Quantitative analysis of the

opportunity is a vital part of the conceptualization of the business. The

results of "running the numbers" and creating a set of figures with which

the future can be planned will enable the entrepreneur to determine

whether the potential business will be profitable. "There is no more luck

in becoming successful at entrepreneurship than in becoming successful

at anything else," wrote William D. Bygraves in The Portable MBA in

Entrepreneurship."In entrepreneurship, it is a question of recognizing a

good opportunity when you see one and having the skills to convert that

opportunity into a thriving business. To do that, you must be prepared.
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So in entrepreneurship, just like any other profession, luck is where

preparation and opportunity meet."

RESOURCE GATHERING.The first stage of the entrepreneurship

process should give the individual enough information to decide whetheror not the business has the capacity to meet the individual's personal and

professional goals. Once the decision has been made, the entrepreneur

may: 1) continue to work in his or her present employment capacity; 2)

begin looking for a new entrepreneurial opportunity that is a better fit; or

3) beings the second step in the entrepreneurial process, that of

gathering the necessary resources.

Without a sufficient supply of resources the opportunity might never be

turned into a business that makes money for the entrepreneur. In theresource gathering stage the entrepreneur begins to assemble the tools

that he or she will need to make the business idea a successful one. In

general, a person has to gather three types of primary resources: capital,

human/managerial, and time. Capital can be financial (in the form of

cash, stock ownership, or loans), intellectual (patents, trademarks, brand

names and copyrights), and technical (innovations in design or

production that competitors can not or will notduplicate). Human

resources refers to the individuals who will help the entrepreneur take

advantage of the opportunity, either as employees of the new

organization or as paid andunpaidcounselors. In order to create a viable

organization, an entrepreneur has to be ready and able to manage the

resources at his or her disposal, bringing them together in advantageous,

efficient ways that meet the needs of thefledglingorganization.

An often-overlooked consideration in the resource gathering stage is

time. Many entrepreneurial ventures that manage to succeed do so in

part because they were launched at an opportune time, and because theirfounders were able to carve out an adequate amount of timea most

valuable resource, after allto attend to themyriadstart-up needs of the

business. For instance, a business based on a patented technological

innovation has a certain amount of time to operate before the patent

expires and competitors can duplicate the innovation. When the patent

expires, the competitive advantage held by the business is diminished or
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gone. Other businesses may be based on selling to an emerging market.

The entrepreneur who runs the business has a certain amount of time

before potential competitors notice that the business is (or will be)

profitable. In that time framethe window of opportunitythe

entrepreneur who found the opportunity must manage resources so thatthe business is established and protected from the threat of competition.

In such instances, however, the would-be entrepreneur also needs to

avoid the common mistake of rushing in to take advantage of the

opportunity without adequately addressing all of the various elements

that produce a successful start-up.

ORGANIZATION CREATION AND DEVELOPMENT.

This stage of the entrepreneurial process is the actual establishment andopening of the business. During this stage, the entrepreneur goes from

being just avisionaryto a visionary with a business to run. One way to

examine the changing managerial activities of the entrepreneur is to look

at the different roles filled by the entrepreneur as the business develops.

As the founder of the organization, the entrepreneur sets the philosophy

of the organization, establishes the strategic focus, and educates new

employees. In this role, the entrepreneur lays thegroundworkfor the

emerging corporate culture. In addition, most entrepreneurs serve as the

primary promoters for their new start-ups. They must act as the new

venture's chiefspokespersonin contacts with financial backers,

prospective clients, employees, suppliers, and others. In addition, as

founders (or founding team members) of organizations, entrepreneurs

are often called upon to provide counsel or advice to community

members or employees. The roles that an entrepreneur must fill demand

flexibility and creativity. In order to successfully manage a new venture,

an entrepreneur must be comfortable in all the roles.

Entrepreneurship and Leadership

Entrepreneurs must also be able to balance their managerial duties with

leadership activities. In other words, they have to be able to handle both

the day-today operations of the business as well as decision making

obligations that determine the organization's long-term direction,
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philosophy, and future. It is aprecariousrelationship, but entrepreneurs

must be both managers and visionaries in order to build their

organizations. Indeed, researchers contend that many otherwise talented

entrepreneurs have failed because they were unable to strike an

appropriate balance between details of management and the largermission that guides the new venture. Many entrepreneurs eventually

reach a point where they realize that these twin obligations can not be

fully met alone. It is at this point that staffing decisions can become a

critical component of long-term business success. In general,

entrepreneurs should search for ways to delegate some of their

management tasks rather than their leadership tasks. After all, in most

cases the new business has long been far more dependent on its

founder's leadership and vision than on his or her ability to monitorproduct quality or select new computers.

The mission of the new venture can only be fulfilled if the entrepreneur

remains entrepreneurial throughout the life of the organization. That is,

innovation has to be a primary strategy of the venture. Drucker pointed

out that the venture must be receptive to innovation and open to the

possibilities inherent in change. Change must be seen as a positive for a

business to remain entrepreneurial. Therefore, management of an

entrepreneurial organization requires policies that encourage innovationand rewards those who innovate. If the venture is to remain dedicated to

entrepreneurship, management has to take the lead in establishing the

patterns that will lead to a dynamic, flexible, and vital organization.

Further Reading:

Brockhaus, Robert H., Sr. "The Psychology of the Entrepreneur."

In Encyclopedia of Entrepreneurship, edited by Calvin A. Kent, Donald L.

Sexton, and Karl H. Vesper. Prentice-Hall, 1982.

Bygrave, William D., ed. The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship.2d ed.

John Wiley & Sons, 1997.
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Collins, James C., and William C. Lazier. Beyond Entrepreneurship:

Turning Your Business into an Enduring Great Company.Prentice Hall,

1995.

Dalley, Jeff, and Bob Hamilton. "Knowledge, Context, and Learning in theSmall Business." International Small Business Journal.April-June 2000.

Drucker, Peter F. Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Practice and

Principles. Harper & Row, 1986.

Hamilton, Barton H. "Does Entrepreneurship Pay?"Journal of Political

Economy.June 2000.

Lenko, Mitch. "Entrepreneurship: The New Tradition." CMAThe

Management Accounting Magazine.July-August 1995.

McGrath, Rita Gunther, and Ian MacMillan. The Entrepreneurial

Mindset.Harvard Business School Press, 2000.

Ronstadt, Robert. Entrepreneurship: Texts, Cases & Notes. Lord

Publishing, 1985.

Timmons, Jeffry A. The Entrepreneurial Mind.Brick House Pub. Co., 1989.

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Wikipedia on Answers.com:

EntrepreneurshipTop

Home>Library>Miscellaneous>Wikipedia

Entrepreneurship is the implementation of an individual's talent in the

resources in which he is available with; and expanding these resources in

the future so that one can get individual as well as general i.e. social

success.Entrepreneurshipcomes from the French verb 'entreprendre'

which means 'To undertake,' is the act and art of being

anentrepreneuror one who undertakesinnovationsor introducing newthings, finance and business acumen in an effort to transform innovations

into economic goods.[1]This may result in neworganizationsor may be

part of revitalizing matureorganizationsin response to a perceived

opportunity. The most obvious form of entrepreneurship is that of

starting newbusinesses(referred asStartup Company); however, in

recent years, the term has been extended to include social and political

forms of entrepreneurial activity. When entrepreneurship is describing

activities within a firm or large organization it is referred to as intra-

preneurship and may include corporate venturing, when large entities

spin-off organizations.[2]

According to Paul Reynolds, entrepreneurship scholar and creator of

theGlobal Entrepreneurship Monitor,"by the time they reach their

retirement years, half of all working men in the United States probably

have a period of self-employment of one or more years; one in four may

have engaged in self-employment for six or more years. Participating in a

new business creation is a common activity among U.S. workers over the

course of their careers."[3]And in recent years has been documented by

scholars such asDavid Audretschto be a major driver of economic

growth in both the United States and Western Europe. "As well,

entrepreneurship may be defined as the pursuit of opportunity without

regard to resources currently controlled (Stevenson,1983)"[4]
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Entrepreneurial activities are substantially different depending on the

type of organization and creativity involved. Entrepreneurship ranges in

scale from solo projects (even involving the entrepreneur only part-time)

to major undertakings creating many job opportunities. Many "high

value" entrepreneurial ventures seekventure capitalorangelfunding(seed money) in order to raisecapitalto build the business.

Angel investors generally seek annualized returns of 20-30% and more,

as well as extensive involvement in the business.[5]Many kinds of

organizations now exist to support would-be entrepreneurs including

specialized government agencies,business incubators,science parks,and

someNGOs.In more recent times, the term entrepreneurship has been

extended to include elements not related necessarily to business

formation activity such as conceptualizations of entrepreneurship as aspecificmindset(see alsoentrepreneurial mindset) resulting in

entrepreneurial initiatives e.g. in the form ofsocial

entrepreneurship,political entrepreneurship,orknowledge

entrepreneurshiphave emerged.

Contents

1 History

2 Characteristics of an entrepreneur3 Concept

4 Promotion

5 Financial Bootstrapping

6 External financing

7 Entrepreneurship Education

8 Entrepreneurship Research

9 See also

10 References11 Further reading

12 External links

History
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14/22

Theentrepreneuris a factor inmicroeconomics,and the study of

entrepreneurship reaches back to the work ofRichard CantillonandAdam

Smithin the late 17th and early 18th centuries, but was largely ignored

theoretically until the late 19th and early 20th centuries and empirically

until a profound resurgence in business and economics in the last 40years.

In the 20th century, the understanding of entrepreneurship owes much to

the work of economistJoseph Schumpeterin the 1930s and

otherAustrian economistssuch asCarl Menger,Ludwig von

MisesandFriedrich von Hayek. In Schumpeter, an entrepreneur is a

person who is willing and able to convert a new idea orinventioninto a

successful innovation.[6]Entrepreneurship employs what Schumpeter

called "the gale ofcreative destruction" to replace in whole or in partinferior innovations across markets and industries, simultaneously

creating new products including newbusiness models.In this way,

creative destruction is largely responsible for the dynamism of industries

and long-runeconomic growth.The supposition that entrepreneurship

leads to economic growth is an interpretation of the residual

inendogenous growth theoryand as such is hotly debated in academic

economics. An alternate description posited byIsrael Kirznersuggests

that the majority of innovations may be much more incremental

improvements such as the replacement of paper with plastic in the

construction of a drinking straw.

For Schumpeter, entrepreneurship resulted in new industries but also in

new combinations of currently existing inputs. Schumpeter's initial

example of this was the combination of a steam engine and then current

wagon making technologies to produce the horseless carriage. In this

case the innovation, the car, was transformational but did not require the

development of a new technology, merely the application of existing

technologies in a novel manner. It did not immediately replace the

horsedrawn carriage, but in time, incremental improvements which

reduced the cost and improved the technology led to the complete

practical replacement of beast drawn vehicles in modern transportation.

Despite Schumpeter's early 20th-century contributions,

traditionalmicroeconomictheory did not formally consider the
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15/22

entrepreneur in its theoretical frameworks (instead assuming that

resources would find each other through a price system). In this

treatment the entrepreneur was an implied but unspecified actor, but it is

consistent with the concept of the entrepreneur being the agent ofx-

efficiency.

Different scholars have described entrepreneurs as, among other things,

bearing risk. For Schumpeter, the entrepreneur did not bear risk: the

capitalist did.

Some notable persons and their works in entrepreneurship history.

ForFrank H. Knight[7](1921) andPeter Drucker(1970) entrepreneurship

is about takingrisk.The behavior of the entrepreneur reflects a kind of

person willing to put his or her career and financial security on the line

and take risks in the name of an idea, spending much time as wellascapitalon an uncertain venture. Knight classified three types of

uncertainty.

Risk, which is measurable statistically (such as the probability of

drawing a red color ball from a jar containing 5 red balls and 5 white

balls).

Ambiguity, which is hard to measure statistically (such as the

probability of drawing a red ball from a jar containing 5 red balls but

with an unknown number of white balls).

True Uncertainty or Knightian Uncertainty, which is impossible to

estimate or predict statistically (such as the probability of drawing a

red ball from a jar whose number of red balls is unknown as well as

the number of other colored balls).
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The acts of entrepreneurship are often associated with true uncertainty,

particularly when it involves bringing something really novel to the world,

whose market never exists. However, even if a market already exists,

there is no guarantee that a market exists for a particular new player in

the cola category.

The place of the disharmony-creating and idiosyncratic entrepreneur in

traditional economictheory(which describes many efficiency-based ratios

assuming uniform outputs) presents theoretic quandaries.William

Baumolhas added greatly to this area of economic theory and was

recently honored for it at the 2006 annual meeting of theAmerican

Economic Association.[8]

The entrepreneur is widely regarded as an integral player in the business

culture of American life, and particularly as an engine for job creation and

economic growth. Robert Sobelpublished The Entrepreneurs:

Explorations Within the American Business Traditionin 1974.Zoltan

AcsandDavid Audretschhave produced an edited volume surveying

Entrepreneurship as an academic field of research,[9]and more than a

hundred scholars around the world track entrepreneurial activity, policy

and social influences as part of theGlobal Entrepreneurship

Monitor(GEM)[10]and its associated reports. nowadays, information on

this site is not available

Characteristics of an entrepreneur

Entrepreneurshave many of the same character traits

asleaders,[11]similar to the earlygreat man theoriesof leadership;

however trait-based theories of entrepreneurship are increasingly being

called into question. Entrepreneurs are often contrasted with managers

and administrators who are said to be more methodical and less prone to

risk-taking. Such person-centric models of entrepreneurship have shown

to be of questionable validity, not least as many real-life entrepreneurs

operate in teams rather than as single individuals. Still, a vast literature

studying the entrepreneurial personality argues that certain traits seem

to be associated with entrepreneurs:
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17/22

Bird- mercurial, that is, prone to insights, brainstorms, deceptions,

ingeniousness and resourcefulness. they are cunning, opportunistic,

creative, and unsentimental.

Busenitz and Barney- prone to overconfidence and over

generalizations.

Cole- found there are four types of entrepreneur: the innovator, the

calculating inventor, the over-optimistic promoter, and the

organization builder. These types are not related to the personality but

to the type of opportunity the entrepreneur faces.

Collins and Moore- tough, pragmatic people driven by needs of

independence and achievement. They seldom are willing to submit to

authority.

Cooper, Woo, & Dunkelberg- argue that entrepreneurs exhibitextreme optimism in their decision-making processes.

John Howkins- focused specifically oncreative entrepreneurship.He

found that entrepreneurs in the creative industries needed a specific

set of traits including the ability to prioritise ideas over data, to be

nomadic and to learn endlessly.[12]

David McClelland- primarily motivated by an overwhelming need for

achievement and strong urge to build.

Qualities

1. Disciplined

These individuals are focused on making their businesses work, and

eliminate any hindrances or distractions to their goals. They have

overarching strategies and outline the tactics to accomplish them.

Successful entrepreneurs are disciplined enough to take steps every day

toward the achievement of their objectives.

2. Confidence

The entrepreneur does not ask questions about whether they can succeed

or whether they are worthy of success. They are confident with the

knowledge that they will make their businesses succeed. They exude that

confidence in everything they do.

3. Open Minded
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18/22

Entrepreneurs realize that every event and situation is a business

opportunity. Ideas are constantly being generated about workflows and

efficiency, people skills and potential new businesses. They have the

ability to look at everything around them and focus it toward their goals.

4. Self Starter

Entrepreneurs know that if something needs to be done, they should start

it themselves. They set the parameters and make sure that projects

follow that path. They are proactive, not waiting for someone to give

them permission.

5. Competitive

Many companies are formed because an entrepreneur knows that they

can do a job better than another. They need to win at the sports theyplay and need to win at the businesses that they create. An entrepreneur

will highlight their own companys track record of success.

6. Creativity

One facet of creativity is being able to make connections between

seemingly unrelated events or situations. Entrepreneurs often come up

with solutions which are the synthesis of other items. They will repurpose

products to market them to new industries.[13]

7. Determination

Entrepreneurs are not thwarted by their defeats. They look at defeat as

an opportunity for success. They are determined to make all of their

endeavors succeed, so will try and try again until it does. Successful

entrepreneurs do not believe that something cannot be done.

8. Strong people skills

The entrepreneur has strong communication skills to sell the product and

motivate employees. Most successful entrepreneurs know how tomotivate their employees so the business grows overall. They are very

good at highlighting the benefits of any situation and coaching others to

their success.

9. Strong work ethic
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19/22

The successful entrepreneur will often be the first person to arrive at the

office and the last one to leave. They will come in on their days off to

make sure that an outcome meets their expectations. Their mind is

constantly on their work, whether they are in or out of the workplace.

10. Passion

Passion is the most important trait of the successful entrepreneur. They

genuinely love their work. They are willing to put in those extra hours to

make the business succeed because there is a joy their business gives

which goes beyond the money. The successful entrepreneur will always

be reading and researching ways to make the business better.

Successful entrepreneurs want to see what the view is like at the top of

the business mountain. Once they see it, they want to go further. Theyknow how to talk to their employees, and their businesses soar as a

result.

Concept

It has assumed super importance for accelerating economic growth both

in developed and developing countries. It promotes capital formation and

creates wealth in country. It is hope and dreams of millions of individuals

around the world. It reduces unemployment and poverty and it is a

pathway to prosper. Entrepreneurship is the process of exploring theopportunities in the market place and arranging resources required to

exploit these opportunities for long term gain. It is the process of

planning, organising, opportunities and assuming. Thus it is a risk of

business enterprise. It may be distinguished as an ability to take risk

independently to make utmost earnings in the market. It is a creative

and innovative skill and adapting response to environment.

Promotion

Given entrepreneurship's potential to support economic growth, it is the

policy goal of many governments to develop a culture of entrepreneurial

thinking. This can be done in a number of ways: by integrating

entrepreneurship into education systems, legislating to encourage risk-

taking, and national campaigns. An example of the latter is the United

Kingdom's Enterprise Week.


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Outside of the political world, research has been conducted on the

presence of entrepreneurial theories in doctoral economics programs. Dan

Johansson, fellow at the Ratio Institute in Sweden, finds such content to

be sparse. He fears this will dilute doctoral programs and fail to train

young economists to analyze problems in a relevant way.[14]

Many of these initiatives have been brought together under the umbrella

ofGlobal Entrepreneurship Week,a worldwide celebration and promotion

of youth entrepreneurship, which started in 2008. Empirical evidence

obtained from real-world data also suggests that in transition economy

and in troubled times, entrepreneurship and creativity are factors that

can save the corporate sector from plunging into a downward spiral of

unemployment, downsizing and further chaos.[15]

MokaleFinancial Bootstrapping

Financialbootstrappingis a term used to cover different methods for

avoiding using the financial resources of externalinvestors.Bootstrapping

can be defined as a collection of methods used to minimize the amount

of outside debt and equity financing needed from banks andinvestors.[16]The use of privatecredit carddebt is the most known form

of bootstrapping, but a wide variety of methods are available

forentrepreneurs.While bootstrapping involves a risk for the founders,

the absence of any otherstakeholdergives the founders more freedom to

develop the company. Many successful companies

includingDellComputers andFacebookwere founded this way.

There are different types of bootstrapping:

Owner financing

Sweat equity

Minimization of the accounts receivable

Joint utilization

Delaying payment
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Minimizing inventory

Subsidy finance

Personal Debt

External financing

Many businesses need more capital than can be provided by the owners

themselves, and in this case a range of options are available including:

Angel Investors

Venture capitalinvestors.

Crowd funding

Hedge Funds

Alternative Asset Management

Some of these source provide not only funds, but also financial oversight,

accountability for carrying out tasks and meeting milestones, and in some

cases business contacts and experience - in many cases in return for an

equity stake.

Entrepreneurship Education

Most prominately entrepreneurship education and the teaching of the

adedemic culture of entrepreneurship, remains with the catalyts of the

Australian Graduate school of Entrepreneurship (AGSE) at Swinburne

University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia which in March 1989

formed the first Master of Entrepreneurship and Innovation which teaches

the corporate, technological and socio-environmental importance of

entrepreneurship, also Swinburne has an undergraduate

entrepreneurship program that teaches entrepreneurship from a grass-

roots level.

Entrepreneurship Research

Most Entrepreneurial research hot spots occur within a large

entrepreneurial community such as the Masters of entrepreneurship and

innovation (MEI) alumui and entrepreneurship PHD students at

Swinburne University and Babson college which focuses primarily on the

characteristics of entrepreneurs and the changes within the business

culture as the result of more entrepreneurial management and thinking.
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