Concept of entrepreneur
The word “entrepreneur” is derived from the French
word “entrepreneur” which means to initiate or undertake. In the early
sixteenth century, the Frenchmen who organised and led military expeditions
were referred to as “entrepreneurs”. By French economist Richard Cantillon, the
term entrepreneur was applied to business in early 18th
century. According to him, the entrepreneur buys the factor services at certain
prices with a view to sell their products at uncertain prices in the future.
Entrepreneurs, who willing to take risk have been the leaders that have
produced our recent economic growth,
The concept entrepreneurship is based on the theory
of economy and society. The term entrepreneur is also coined by Frenchman J.B.
Say around 1800. He postulated that the major role of entrepreneur is to
exploit change, not by doing things better but by doing something different. He
viewed the entrepreneur as someone in society who upsets and disorganizes the
status quo.
Joseph Schumpeter, in his 1911 publication of “The
theories of Economic Dynamics” was perhaps the first economist to support Says
concept. He said that the entrepreneur is an advanced economy-a method of
production not yet tested by experience in the branch of manufacturer
concerned, a product with which consumers are not yet familiar, a new source of
raw material or of new market and the like. He viewed an entrepreneur is an
innovator, who introduces something new in the economy. Innovation may be
called as “an introduction of new product, an introduction of new methods of
production, developing new markets and finding fresh sources of raw materials
and making the changes in the organization and management.”
An entrepreneur, in the face of risk and
uncertainty, combines resources in new and different ways to create value,
often accomplished via the formation and development of new business ventures.
Entrepreneurship is also very much alive in existing companies. It can be found
in all sectors of society, not just in business. Although the concept
entrepreneurship was developed and popularized in the context of a business
environment.
16.3.2
Advantages to becoming an entrepreneur
Before starting a new venture, the potential
entrepreneur should carefully review the advantages and disadvantages of a
business, since success in never guaranteed. Most entrepreneurs invest their
lives in starting and managing their business.
1.
Opportunity
to gain control over one’s own destiny.
2.
Opportunity
to reach one’s full potential.
3.
Opportunity
to benefit financially.
4.
Opportunity
to contribute to society and be recognized for one’s efforts.
Potential drawbacks to be an
entrepreneur
Owning a business has
many benefits and provides many opportunities. Nevertheless, anyone planning to
enter the world of entrepreneur should be aware of the potential drawbacks.
1.
Uncertainty
of income.
2.
Risk
of losing your entire invested capital.
3.
Long
hours and hard work.
4.
Lower
quality of life until the business gets established.
5.
Complete
responsibility.
Characteristics of successful
entrepreneurs
1.
Commitment and determination
These attitudes are perhaps the most
important personality traits in determining the relative success of an
entrepreneur’s venture. Most new ventures require entrepreneurs to immerse
themselves totally in their business. Without this level of commitment, an
entrepreneur has much larger margins for mistakes.
2.
Desire for responsibility
Entrepreneurs feel a personal
responsibility for the outcome of ventures in which they are associated. This
willingness to accept the responsibility for the outcome of the entrepreneurial
venture is closely related to the deep desire of entrepreneurs to maintain an
internal locus of control.
3.
Opportunity obsession
Successful entrepreneurs are obsessed
with goal achievement. To them, an established goal comes from the recognition
of opportunity out of chaos.
4.
Tolerance for risk, ambiguity and uncertainty
Successful entrepreneurs are not
gamblers. They do not take wild risks. Rather, they are risk managers.
Entrepreneurs have to show patience while facing uncertain situation.
5.
Self-confidence
Successful entrepreneurs have
substantial confidence in them selves. They firmly believe that what they
accomplish is with in their over control. They tend to optimist.
6.
Creativity and flexibility
A creative entrepreneurial mind is
required to deal with the changing demand of their customers and their
businesses. The ability to respond in a flexible manner to constant change
requires a high degree of creativity.
7.
Desire for immediate feedback
Successful entrepreneurs have a strong
desire to improve their performance. They are always ready to learn from
mistakes.
8.
High level of energy
They are more energetic with full of new
creative ideas. They are ready to work for long hours and hard work.
9.
Motivation to excel
Successful entrepreneurs are highly
motivated and self-starters and appear driven internally to compete against
their own benchmarks.
10.
Orientation to future
Research has indicated that
entrepreneurs who created high growth ventures exhibited a far greater concern
for the future than did those who headed row and medium growth ventures.
11.
Leadership ability
Successful entrepreneurs have an ability
to exert influence without power. This tactics requires that the entrepreneurs
be more of a mediator or negotiator than dictator is. He is visionary leader,
not dreamer.
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