|
by
Vadim
Kotelnikov, Founder, Ten3 Business e-Coach,
1000ventures.com
"Everyone has a talent. What is
rare is the courage to nurture it in solitude and to follow the talent to the
dark places where it leads"
- Erica Jong
|
|
Entrepreneur (and an Entrepreneurial Organization) Defined
Entrepreneurship is first
and foremost a mindset.
Entrepreneur is a person who habitually creates
an innovates to build something of recognized value around perceived
opportunities.1
In this definition, all words are key words:
-
'Entrepreneur' - can be
an individual entrepreneur, but also an entrepreneurial team or even
entrepreneurial organization
-
'A person' - emphasizes a
personality rather than a system
-
'Habitually' - just
cannot stop being an entrepreneur
-
'Creates' - starts from
scratch and brings into being something that was not there before
-
'Innovates' - able to
overcome obstacles that would stop most people;
turns problems
and risks into
opportunities; delivers - sees ideas through to final application
-
'Builds something' -
describes the output of the creation and innovation process
-
'Of recognized value' -
encompasses economic, commercial, social, or aesthetic value
-
'Perceived opportunities'
-
spotting the opportunity to exploit an idea that may or may not be
original to the entrepreneur; seeing something other miss or only see in
retrospect1
What Entrepreneurs Are
Like1
-
Personality factors
-
born/made ratio - 50/50, a synergy
of genetic and environmental influence
-
motivation and emotion -
independence, competitive spirit, challenge, wealth
-
behavioral characteristics -
perseverance, determination, orientation to clear
goals, need to
achieve, opportunity orientation, creativity, persistent
problem-solving, risk-taking, integrity, honesty, internal locus on
control
-
personality attributes -
preferred styles: extrovert/introvert; sensor/intuit; thinker/feeler; and
judger/perceiver
-
Environmental factors
-
family background -
entrepreneurial heritage
-
age and education - begin
entrepreneurial activity early; are not over-educated
-
work experience - most
entrepreneurs first gain some work experience in the line of business
they later start up
-
Action factors
-
making the difference - initiate
change and enjoy it
-
creating and
innovating - a
continuous activity, seeing creative idea through to the end, and then
starting climbing another mountain
-
exploiting opportunities - able to
see or craft opportunities that other people miss
-
finding resources and competencies
- experts at exploiting contacts and sources
-
networking - expertise oriented;
know when they need experts and how to use them effectively
-
facing adversity - resolve
problems under pressure; turn problems into opportunities
-
managing risk - not adventurers,
but manageable risk takers; their success lies in caution, learning,
flexibility and change during implementation
-
controlling the business - paying
attention to details and essential ratios; exercising strategic
control over their business
-
putting the customer first -
listening to the customer and responding to the customers' feedback
-
creating capital - financial,
social, and aesthetic
 |
Bibliography:
-
"Entrepreneurs", Bill Bolton and John Thompson, 2000
-
"High Tech Start Up", John L. Nesheim, 2000
-
"Money Hunt", Miles Spenser and Cliff Ennico, 1999
|
