entrepreneur

In today’s business world the concept of ‘the entrepreneur’ is very popular and highly misunderstood. I had studied this concept at Regent’s Business School London a few years ago and would like to share my thoughts with you.

An entrepreneur, quite simply, is an individual who owns and operates their own business, assuming the responsibility, risk and rewards therein. He/she is someone always searching for change, responding to it and exploiting it as an opportunity. Entrepreneurship is risky but if it is based on ‘purposeful innovation’ it can be managed successfully.

The first thing worth knowing is that anybody can start up his/her own business. Entrepreneurs and businessmen come from all walks of life and have different backgrounds and life experiences. People 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. This is not true. If you look at the background of many successful entrepreneurs, one of the things that you will notice is that this is 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 to 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 that are also important and need to be developed if the entrepreneur wishes to be successful.

Don’t be afraid of failure – this is one of the things that I learned. We should learn from Sir Richard Branson. He 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 (Virgin Cola). One of Branson’s particular strengths as an entrepreneur is his ability to know when to call it a 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).

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Am I prepared to work hard?
• Am I determined?
• Am I motivated?
• Can I carry out the work with integrity?
• Can I accept uncertainty(risk)?
• Do I have the guts?
• Are my goals clear?
• Am I creative?
• Am I a (good) leader?

There are many more questions that you can ask yourself. There are no rules or preconditions to becoming an entrepreneur but if you’ve answered ‘Yes’ to most of the above questions then you can become an entrepreneur. If you answered ‘No’, it doesn’t mean that you can’t become an entrepreneur, it’s just that you must understand what it takes to become an entrepreneur. Becoming a successful entrepreneur – now that’s a totally different ball game!

I know many people who are happy working for someone else, where they don’t have to worry about risk etc., they do what they are told, get their salaries, bonuses and promotions and are satisfied with that. Well considering the current global economic meltdown, even these guys would be worried.

I prefer the flexibility of working for myself. But I only came to this after working for another company for some time. In my experience it is absolutely critical to work for someone else before starting up your own venture. The things I learnt on the job, from my boss, colleagues and other stakeholders, I could never have learned on my own. I ventured out on my own when I felt I was ready to do things my way and let me tell you I’m still struggling, but not for long. Trust me, the only place success comes before work, is in the dictionary. There are no shortcuts, be it for the entrepreneur or anyone else.

The question of – ‘Who/What is an Entrepreneur?’ has no one definition or answer. Agreeing with one particular definition/answer would restrict the understanding of (an Entrepreneur) the question.  Many people are attracted to the fame, wealth and lifestyle associated with entrepreneurs but the truth is that there are only a handful of wealthy and famous entrepreneurs and they have struggled and worked extremely hard to get where they are, I would also like to believe that they have had their share of good luck. It is important for any wannabe entrepreneur to understand all the risks involved and remember, “all that glitters…

Update: Also read “Business Plan: The Core of Entrepreneurship”

“Who will Finance your ‘Great Idea’?”

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