Wednesday, February 14, 2007

What is an entrepreneur

What is an entrepreneur?
An entrepreneur, quite simply, is an individual who owns and operates their own business, assuming the responsibility, risk and rewards therein.

This is a short article on the definition of what is an entrepreneur that I found on the Liverpool John Moores University web site, have a read, let me know what you think

The first thing worth noting is that anybody can start up their own business. Entrepreneurs and business people come from all walks of life and have different backgrounds and life experiences. Many students are often deterred from starting up their own business, as they think that this is a path exclusively open to those who have studied business. If you look at the background of many successful entrepreneurs, one of the things that you notice is that this is frequently not the case. Business skills can be learnt.

Two elements are mentioned time and again by successful entrepreneurs as being crucial for success, namely the motivation and determination to succeed in your business venture and to make things happen. Successful entrepreneurs also have a healthy dose of self-confidence and an optimistic outlook on life. They must be prepared to take risks, but these are calculated risks. They don't plunge blindly into new situations. Instead, they are thorough and prepared, and weigh up the pros and cons of a situation before making a decision.
The ability to identify opportunities, learn quickly and apply this learning effectively are skills which are also important and need to be developed if the entrepreneur wishes to make a success of their business.
Richard Branson is respected both nationally and internationally for his entrepreneurial flair. It is often forgotten however that as well as his large number of extremely successful business ventures, he has had a number of projects that have failed. One of Branson's particular strengths as an entrepreneur is his ability to know when to call the day on a particular venture when it is not working. He is not afraid of admitting his mistakes. Richard Branson failed in business five times before becoming successful



Slainte

Keltie

1 comment:

Dr Rob Smorfitt said...

I think this article is extremely close to the truth. I would put a little more emphasis on being opportunity aware.

I believe true entrepreneurs are extremely opportunity aware. As a consequence they take advantage of more opportunities and therefore make create more wealth.

I think there is a link between being opportunity aware and serial and portfolio entrepreneurship.

Rob SMorfitt