The Entrepreneur Essay Research Paper

The Entrepreneur Essay, Research Paper

“Many successful entrepreneurs have emphasised that while successful entrepreneurs have initiative and take charge, are determined and persevere, and are resilient to adapt, it is not just a matter of their personalities, it is what they do.”

Jeffry A. Timmons – New Venture Creation. The entrepreneurial mindset can be described as desirable and acquirable attitudes and behaviours for entrepreneurs. By breaking down the six main themes of the mindset we can see why a good entrepreneur must possess these skills in order to succeed.

Commitment and determination are traits that drive an individual towards their goal. Without these skills, an individual cannot immerse themselves fully in their new venture. An entrepreneur has to be willing to undertake great personal sacrifice as a good deal of their own time and money is required to get a new venture off the ground and keep it flying once its up there. When faced with a problem, an entrepreneur must have the self-discipline not to be daunted by the prospect of the problem but to overcome it through persistence and perseverance. To do this, entrepreneurs require to be familiar with their own strengths and weaknesses and to know if the problem they are facing deserves their constant bombardment when searching for a solution. It is said, “an entrepreneur will give up sooner than others if they believe a problem to be unsolvable.” (Timmons pg. 220). It is this tenacity and decisiveness that will lead to an individual becoming a successful entrepreneur. Without commitment and determination, an individual would not be able to handle the pressures that go hand in and with starting a new venture and surviving the first tentative years.

It is extremely important for an entrepreneur to be a good leader, especially one who is the lead entrepreneur in a team. As it is the entrepreneur´s goal that the team must strive to achieve, the entrepreneur should have the ability to motivate and inspire his colleagues. By being a “hero-maker”, the entrepreneur can gain the much-needed loyalty and support required of the people that the venture attracts. The good entrepreneur knows that they cannot go it alone and will need a good team and by sharing the responsibility and the profit gained from the venture with those who have contributed, the entrepreneur shows his colleagues that he needs them as much as they need him. Of all the leadership qualities, it is paramount for the entrepreneur to be able to teach and learn at the same time. This point is well illustrated by the company principals implied by the late Ewing Marion Kaufmann, the entrepreneur who founded Marion, Merrell Dow, Inc, “one of the most extraordinary entrepreneurial success stories of our time” (Timmons pg. 215). These principals state “Managers who attempt to develop a new product and fail are not punished with lateral promotions, nor are they ostracised. Failures are gateways to learning and continual improvement”, (Timmons pg. 216).

“Successful entrepreneurs are obsessed with opportunity” (Timmons pg. 223). It is common belief that an entrepreneur is someone who can see an opportunity and go for it. However, this ability is not hereditary but can be acquired. An entrepreneur can only spot these opportunities when they have an intimate knowledge and understanding of their market and industry which they can only achieve through the afore mentioned commitment and total immersion.

The world of the entrepreneur is a constantly changing one and high levels of risk, ambiguity and uncertainty are all too common. To be a successful entrepreneur an individual must be able to tolerate these factors. Unlike most people´s stereotype of an entrepreneur being a gambler, the good entrepreneur always looks before they leap. They are always willing to take the risk but they will calculate it thoroughly to minimise the chances of the risk going wrong. Due to the ever-changing environment that the entrepreneur has to work in, they also have to be tolerant of uncertainty. “Jobs are undefined and changing continually, customers are new, co-workers are new and setbacks and surprises are inevitable.” (Timmons pg. 223). As a result of this lack of structure, there are constant conflicting factors to face, therefore the successful entrepreneur must call on their abilities to solve problems and integrate solutions in order to keep their eyes on the prize.

The successful entrepreneur is seen as a highly creative and innovative individual who can rely on themselves to think quick and act fast. In order to have this ability, the entrepreneur can have no fear of failure, “they willingly put themselves in situations where they are personally responsible for the success or failure of the operation” (Timmons pg. 224). The high level of innovation can be seen in the example of Bill Gates of Microsoft. Gates dropped out of Harvard in his mid twenties to write operating software for hardware companies. In the late 70´s, he founded Microsoft and with a 600% growth rate in the last ten years, Gates has become the world´s richest man. Gates success is largely due to his personal characteristics of insight and vision and the ability to realise his dreams and aspirations. Gates also possess the ability to use creativity in every decision that is made, for example; recently, Gates changed his title from CEO of M