Profiling the Entrepreneur - Essay Example

Entrepreneurship Name Institution Date Entrepreneurship Introduction The last two or three decades have seen an increment in the number of new business start ups owing to tax reductions, overall economic growth and affluence and technology advancements. With recent economic and financial crises, majority of organizations have downsized its workforce with a bid to increase their cost efficiencies and to enhance their competitive advantage. This has seen many employees in modern labor market re-evaluate their positions and have become entrepreneurs since they have established that the current marketplace has unstable or little financial and job security and there are no sureties of advancing up the corporate ladder (Trovao, 2008). Miner, (1996) indicates that technological changes have also added to the surge in enterprises since it has minimized the advantage large asset-affluent organizations had over undercapitalized startups. According to Burch, (1986) reduced computer and telecommunication costs have facilitated new enterprises by minimizing the cost of starting up. It is expected that technology and its continued use will facilitate more new businesses coming up. An entrepreneur is defined as an individual who establishes their own business. This report seeks to critically analyze issues relating to being an entrepreneur. Personal requirements of becoming an entrepreneur According to Evans, (2010) what establish an entrepreneur are their aspiration and the audacity they have to strike out on their own in the business environment regardless of market uncertainties and risks, rather than working for someone else. In starting up a business as an individual, there are great chances that the enterprise created generates success for the entrepreneur personally and financially. Burch, (1986) describes an entrepreneur as the person that undertakes a business enterprise, organizes and structures it, generates capital to fund it and assumes majority or all associated business risks. According to Hormozi, (2004), prior to establishing an enterprise and developing business goals, it is crucial for the entrepreneur to personally reassess themselves in terms of their hobbies, their family support, technical skills they possess, opinions of others about what they are best at and the amount of time at their disposal to operate a successful business. Although the personal requirements of becoming an entrepreneur are apparently endless, there are essential and basic attributes that every entrepreneur should have. There are varied personal requirements of becoming an entrepreneur which includes an innate desire to accomplish, where the entrepreneur must possess the determination needed to counter difficulties when they occur and they are not ready to quit when the business hits the rocks and it seems not to function as expected (Stephenson, 2012). Coupled with the desire to achieve, are the strong will, confidence and independence that are evident in almost every successful entrepreneur (Evans, 2010). This is particularly true of entrepreneurs in modern market and business environments which are not only competitive and volatile but are increasingly unsteady owing to changes to market forces. In such an environment, only the entrepreneurs, who are strong willed, determined, confident and those with an innate desire to succeed can effectively and efficiently establish and sustain successful enterprises in the long term. In addition, entrepreneur posses the personal attributes of being hard workers and nurturers of quality where in the former, the entrepreneur is committed to working long and tedious hours in order to achieve set goals within set timelines and for the latter, taking charge and monitoring the venture until a time when it can function on its own (Finkle & Deeds, 2001). Other than having the innate desire to succeed, self-confidence, determination and being a hard worker, other personal requirements of becoming an entrepreneur includes being excellence oriented and optimistic where the entrepreneur do their utmost best to be the best and achieve the best and seeing the best out of every situation and everything becomes a possibility respectively (Hormozi, 2004). Miner, (1996) notes that majority of successful entrepreneurs are proficient in organization since they are able to effectively and efficiently integrate together the essential components to ensure the venture attain its goals. Other than that, a successful entrepreneur and an effective one in establishing a venture and making it succeed in the long term is a risk taker (Kuratko & Hodgetts, 2008). The field of entrepreneurship is not for the weak hearted and those who are scared to take risks. By leaving the security of well paying jobs to strike on one’s own requires a risk-taking spirit that is ready and willing to face any eventuality that may occur since, starting out as an entrepreneur can result in two eventualities, either success or failure. In addition, a personal attribute vital for entrepreneurs is self-discipline and control where an entrepreneur is disciplined and accountable in their decision making to ensure proper management of money, time and other resources, which ascertain the cash is flowing in while the bills are getting paid (Evans, 2010). Trovao, (2008) indicates that becoming an effective entrepreneur requires an individual to not only be energetic and motivated to conduct all the duties and functions that comes with the role of an entrepreneur and have the enthusiasm and passion when doing it but also being patient and persevering particularly when the success is not easily coming and one encounters unforeseen set backs. Patience and perseverance ensures one keeps on moving despite the difficulties and offers one hope of a better days to come when the business is down (Milman, 2011). Miner, (1996) notes that an entrepreneur cannot succeed if they are not proficient enough in identifying and capitalizing on opportunities when they see them. Possessing business acumen to assess business opportunities is fundamental for entrepreneurs in taking advantage of market gaps and opportunities which is achievable by becoming aware of changes in preferences, needs, tastes, wants and expectations in the market environment and doing market research. Entrepreneurs ought to have the capability of being leaders who can inspire and lead others in the direction they want the venture to take and taking on the leadership role of identifying the most valuable and reliable resources and utilizing them effectively and efficiently (Stephenson, 2012). It is critical for entrepreneurs to engage in a venture that they enjoy because what one attains from their venture in terms of personal gratification, financial gains and stability are a sum total of what they put into their venture. Failure to enjoy what one does often reflects in the success or failure of the venture (Burch, 1986). However, possessing soft skills and personal attributes without adequate professional and academic qualifications on the line of business the venture is established, is a basis for failure in the venture. Academic and professional qualifications allow for making informed choices, applying skills and knowledge and ensure credibility in service provision or product delivery (Finkle & Deeds, 2001). For instance, a plastic surgeon opening up a cosmetic surgery clinic needs the professional and academic knowledge operate the clinic in order to enhance trust, reliability, confidence and credibility of his customers and more importantly ensure safety of his clients. 5 Australian Entrepreneurs Female entrepreneurs in Australia have in the recent past made headlines with majority of them making significant headway and success as entrepreneurs. Among top female entrepreneurs is Larissa Robertson. The success story of Larissa as an entrepreneur reads like a movie story and the icing on the cake was when she was rated second in 2011 Startup Smart Awards and rated the top in the Smart Company Smart50. According to Milman, (2011) what propelled her to the top was that as a financial controller for recruitment, landscape, property maintenance and training group SES, she proposed to the SES board to split the organization into two and the Board rejected her idea. Larissa didn’t give up and she pushed on anyhow by nabbing some of the employees and clients in the recruitment unit, buying off physical assets belonging to SES and beginning her own venture, SCO Recruitment Company and a non-profit making property management firm (Milman, 2011). The venture presently turns in more than eight million dollars in revenue. The road to success for Larissa as an entrepreneur can be attributed to her ability to identify opportunities, taking advantage of them and more importantly having the skills and proficiency, a desire to achieve, self confidence and determination to strike on her own when others fail or fear to take risks and in so doing succeeding in her endeavor. I associate her success with her risk taking attitude and her leadership ability since by starting of on her own, she was ready and willing to bourn any risks associated and face any eventualities and setbacks that would arise and she took individual accountability and initiative to lead others out of SES and offer them direction and motivation to accomplish what they set out to do. Another top Australian entrepreneur is Professor Maree Smith who has not only been successful in her career but also a successful innovator of varied innovations that have attracted and retained massive backing from investors as reported by (Milman, 2011). Professor Maree has been in charge of the Pain Research Group, University of Queensland where she has invented products that have generated real commercial value. Supported by Uniquest, Maree was able to acquire more than six million pounds in funding for her venture, Spinifex, a biotech start-up. Maree co-founded QRxPharma which has listed in the Australian Stock Exchange. In its debut, the venture had a market cap of 150 million dollars, which is a record breaker for an Australian biotech firm (Milman, 2011). Her road to success as an entrepreneur has been an integration of hard work, determination, innovation and creativity, patience and being a visionary. I can attribute her success to her ability to work on what she enjoys and loves and more significantly having the professional knowledge and academic qualifications to do what she does. In addition, she has sold herself as an expert in what she does which has enhanced her competitive edge that has attracted backing from investors. The third Australian entrepreneur is Rebekah Campbell who within one year, 2011, she launched her venture, Posse and in the same time duration, launching global versions of the site (Milman, 2011). According to the author, Rebekah has been able to secure Lars Ramussen, the creator of Google Maps as her corporate advisor and a member of the Board of her company. The company permits bands to reward their fans, which boost their profiles through social media. The idea for the company came as a result of stress she had to undergo shifting tickets as a band manager. Her road to success as an entrepreneur is her ability to turn threats and weaknesses into opportunities. Other than that, her success can be associated with her venturing into a field she is familiar with. She is flexible to changes and capitalizes on them while continuously learning from her experiences and from others. The other entrepreneur is John Desmond Singleton who has established his wealth and affluence in the business of advertising since the seventies (Stone, 2002). Currently, Singleton has massive investments in radio, publishing and in breeding and racing thoroughbred. He has entered Business Review’s Weekly’s list of the Rich 200. He co-owns The Matty Johns Show and he is a half owner of Magic Millions (Stone, 2002). His success as an entrepreneur lies in his working in an area he understands and enjoys, his determination and he has successfully managed to lead proficiently. He has been self-disciplined in his investments and he has been successful in organization by being able to successfully integrate together fundamental components to ensure his ventures succeed. Nicole Kersh is an Australian female entrepreneur who started the 4Cabling company in a male dominated field (Milman, 2011). Her venture was established from the ground in 2006 while working at the family’s cabling firm. Presently, the company she owns generates more than three million dollars in annual revenues. Just like majority of successful entrepreneurs, Kersh’s success has been due to her risk-taking attitude, patience, self confidence and determination to work in a pre-dominantly male field. In addition, she reveals attributes of hard work, motivation and she is driven in carrying out all the functions and roles that comes with being an entrepreneur. Reflection and Action In economics, there are four factors of production namely labor, materials, capital and the entrepreneur with the latter bringing the other three factors together to ensure the production process is effective and successful. An entrepreneur is more often than not the visionary and they shoulder the associated business risks. As a prospective entrepreneur I have realized that becoming a successful one requires more than just having the professional and academic backing and additional personal skills and abilities are required. Based on the varied personal requirements of becoming an entrepreneur, I have identified that I have unique strengths that makes me a potential entrepreneur and a successful one for that matter. I have high level of creativity and innovativeness, high degree of self efficacy, motivation and self esteem and I am a visionary in my outlooks as I often continuously seek to counter challenges, take and manage them, continually learning from others and from myself and I always take initiative and individual accountability for what I engage in. In addition, in the past I have been flexible to changes by responding efficiently to changes and being updated and aware of trends and changes in the environment. I have been able to anticipate changes, adapt to the changes, and capitalize on the changes and responding to them in good time. Nevertheless, I have been limited since I am yet to fully master the attribute of self control and self discipline especially when it comes to management of my resources particularly money. I have the tendency to spend on what I have not budgeted for and making impulsive buying. This weakness can ruin my chances as an entrepreneur since I will have to be accountable in how I manage the cash inflows and outflows and failure to be disciplined in my resource allocations can result in having more expenses than the cash inflow which can spell doom to my venture as suggested by. Other than practicing self discipline, I expect to take a course in financial management and financial planning to learn varied techniques I can use to not only spend wisely but also invest wisely. More importantly, I desire to equip myself with skills and knowledge for running my own enterprise and ensure I continuously learn from my experiences, failures and success of others (Miner, 1996). References Burch, J.G. 1986. Profiling the entrepreneur. Business Horizons, pp13-16. Evans, N. 2010. Becoming an Entrepreneur: Find Out If You Have Got What It Takes to Become an Entrepreneur and Build a Big Business. London: Becoming an Entrepreneur. Finkle, T. A., & Deeds, D. 2001. Trends in the market for entrepreneurship faculty, 1989-1998. Journal of Business Venturing, 16. Pp 613-630. Hormozi, A.M. 2004. Becoming an entrepreneur: How to start a small business. International Journal of Management, Vol. 21 No. 3, pp 278-285 Kuratko, D.F. & Hodgetts, R.M. 2008. Entrepreneurship: Theory, Process, and Practice. London: Cengage Learning. Milman, O. 2011. Success Stories: Australia’s top 10 female start-up entrepreneurs. Pitcher Partners. Accessible from http://www.startupsmart.com.au/success-stories/australias-top-10-female-start-up-entrepreneurs/201111034428.html Miner, J. B. 1996. The 4 Routes of Entrepreneurial Success. San Francisco: BerrettKoehler Publishers. Stephenson, J. 2012. 25 Common Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs: Do you have what it takes to get through hard times? Here are the traits that help home-based business owners thrive. Entreprseneur. Accessible from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/200730 Stone, G. 2002. Singo: Mates, Wives, Triumphs, Disasters. Sidney: Harper Collins. Trovao, G. J. 2008. Entrepreneur: Power, Myths and Magiu Dynamic Tips to Start, Create, Grow, and Maintain a Phenomenal Small Business & Personal Success. New York: Universe. Read More