Characteristics of Entrepreneurs

 An entrepreneur is someone who takes a

risk in starting a business to earn a profit.
 Must have a developed initial plan and
desire to be your own boss
 Innovation and special skills are also
necessary
 Entrepreneurship is the process of
starting, organizing, managing, and
assuming the responsibility for a business.
 What Does it Take?
 Not all business owners are
entrepreneurs
 Must have confidence and capability to
turn an idea into a business
 Come from all genders, ages, ethnic
groups (more are male but more even for
young ent.).
 Must have an understanding of business
operations, but doesn’t need to come
from a degree
 Often ideas come from problems in daily
life…Makin Bacon® example
 Entrepreneurial
Characteristics
Most entrepreneurs possess the following
characteristics:
1. Risk Takers
2. Perceptive
3. Curious
4. Imaginative
5. Persistent
6. Goal-Setters
7. Hardworking
8. Self-Confident
9. Flexible
10. Independent
 Risk Taker
There is no sure thing in business. A
failed business could mean bankruptcy
or near bankruptcy. Not everyone can
cope with that stress

Successful entrepreneurs minimize and

manage risk through proper business
planning and assessment of the
venture’s prospects for success.
 Perceptive
Entrepreneurs do not avoid problems

Problems are perceived as

opportunities to learn, improve, grow,
create and develop new ideas
 Curious
Entrepreneurs like to know:
 How things work?
 Could things work?

And answer questions such as:

 What if?
 And I wonder…

Entrepreneurs do the research to find out the

answers
 Imaginative
Entrepreneurs imagine solutions
to problems and create new
products or generate new ideas

They have a vision (visionaries)

 Persistent
Successful entrepreneurs
face constant challenges
such as: 1.
mistakes made
2. money and family stress
3. confronting criticism 4.
unforseen events

Successful entrepreneurs do not

give up.
 Goal Setter

Successful
entrepreneurs are motivated
by:
1. setting new goals
2. mapping out the
steps to take to reach
their goals.
 Hardworking

No success comes easy. There is

no easy way to be successful.

The road to excellence is not

paved by a single act, but rather a
series of acts.
 Self-Confident
Entrepreneurs believe in
themselves – they have a postive self-
worth (self-esteem), and self- image

Believe their efforts will pay off

 Flexible
The only constant in life and
business is change

Entrepreneurs view change as an

opportunity

Must be able to be flexible and adapt

to changing trends in the market,
technology, economic environment
and competitive environments.
 Independent

Entrepreneurs have a need

to be in control of their own
destiny.

They don’t like to work in a

controlled environment
being told what to do.
 Entrepreneurial Skills
Skill means having the knowledge and ability to do
something specific.

Skills are easier to develop than characteristics.

Entrepreneurs have a variety of skills including:

1. Research
2. Leadership and Management Skills
3. Relationship Skills
 1. Research Skills

 One of the most important

research skills is knowing
what questions to ask.

 The first step in acquiring

knowledge and information is
asking a good question.
 Research Skills
Entrepreneurs may begin with questions
such as:
1. “Why is that?”
2. “What if?”
3. “How does that work?”
4. “How could I make it easier to..”?
etc
Research Process

1. Ask the questions

2. Gather the research
3. Organize the data collected
4. Analyze/Interpret data collected
5. Draw conclusions
6. Map out next steps
 Entrepreneurship and the
Economy
 Entrepreneurship is a key part of the
economy
 Nearly one in ten of all Americans 18-64 is
involved in some form of entrepreneurship
 More than 670,000 new businesses are
created annually
 Businesses with fewer than 500
employees are responsible for over 60%
of new jobs created between 1993 and
2003
Financing
 A majority of money needed to
start a new business comes
from the entrepreneur and
his/her family and friends

 1 in 5 Americans has invested

in a business of someone they
know well

 Venture capital is money

provided by large investors to
finance new products and new
business that have a good
chance of being profitable
 Venture Capital
 Late 1990’s many venture capital co. were
formed
 Supplied > $100 billion each yr. to new
businesses
 Most were high-tech e-commerce start-ups
 Failed…venture capital decreased
 Other sources include loans from banks,
credit from other businesses
 Productivity
 New and small businesses produce large
volumes of goods and services

 Businesseswithout employees besides

the owner account for $600 billion in sales
annually

 Over½ of the U.S. GDP comes

from small businesses each year!
 Opportunities and Risk

 There are many risks that go along with

starting a new business

 Must give up a regular job and stable income

 Benefits = personal control over

your own business & satisfaction
of creating a successful company
 New Business Opportunities
 Innovation is any invention or creation
that is brand new

 Improvement is a designed
change the increases the
usefulness of a product, service,
or product

 Either
of these types of inventions may
become the basis of a new business
 New Business Opportunities
(cont.)
 Inventors may sell idea to another co. for
development and sale

 Innovations can be anything from Post-its

(Arthur Fry) to an artificial heart

 New services can be considered improvements

or innovations as well

 Entrepreneurs are creative problem solvers

 Recognizing Risks
 Developing a successful new business is
not easy

 The National Federation of Independent

Business reports that of all new
businesses, only one third actually makes
a profit.

 Over50% of all new businesses are

discontinued.
 Recognizing Risks (cont.)
 The primary reasons that businesses
started by entrepreneurs close include:
• Lack of adequate capital
• Low sales
• Higher than expected expenses
• Competitive pressure
• An owner unprepared to manage a growing
business
• Operations requiring more time than the owner is
willing to commit
 Assessment
 Pg. 131

4 points

 Complete 1-4, 4 points