Define Entrepreneur.

An entrepreneur is someone who has an idea and who works to create a product or service that people
will buy, as well as an organization to support that effort. An entrepreneur takes on most of the risk and
initiative for their new business, and is often seen as a visionary or innovator.

Entrepreneurs come in all shapes and sizes, including small business owners, content creators, startup
founders, and anyone who has the ambition to build a business and work for themselves.

Or

The entrepreneur is defined as someone who has the ability and desire to establish, administer and
succeed in a startup venture along with risk entitled to it, to make profits. The best example of
entrepreneurship is the starting of a new business venture. The entrepreneurs are often known as a
source of new ideas or innovators, and bring new ideas in the market by replacing old with a new
invention.

It can be classified into small or home business to multinational companies. In economics, the profits
that an entrepreneur makes is with a combination of land, natural resources, labour and capital.

In a nutshell, anyone who has the will and determination to start a new company and deals with all the
risks that go with it can become an Entrepreneur.

Characteristics/Traits/qualities of Entrepreneurship:

Entrepreneurs may lead different types of business ventures, but the basic characteristics of an
entrepreneur are quite the same. The following traits, if nurtured, can help you become a successful
entrepreneur:

1. Passion

More often than not, entrepreneurs are extremely passionate about their work. It is this passion that
maintains momentum during times of uncertainty. To become a more passionate business leader, you
are required to focus more on the meaning of your work. Have a system to consistently remind yourself
and your team that you are trying to solve a problem rather than just making more money.

Knowing that your commitment makes an impact may give you the drive you require to continue when
doubt settles in or when the business gets difficult. Passion is what keeps you focused on your objective.

2. Motivation

Entrepreneurs need motivation to constantly push their skills to stay relevant in a dynamic market. To
build motivation, you can start by looking at things at the micro-level. Set and achieve small goals to
build a ladder towards larger ones. Maintain morale and confidence throughout your journey. Celebrate
your small wins and keep a positive mindset.
Optimism facilitates creativity. When coupled with motivation, it enables you to develop new concepts
and ideas. Use every opportunity or failure to analyse your shortcomings and take conscious measures
to avoid them in the future. Entrepreneurs are dreamers with a plan of action. Keep your end goals in
mind to stay motivated.

3. Product or service knowledge

Entrepreneurs are required to know what products or services they want to offer and who their target
audience is. Clearly identify the category of your products or services and be very clear about how they
are beneficial to your customers. Study customer needs thoroughly before building solutions.

You are required to constantly study your market to understand what customers need and promote the
exact features that set you apart from your competitors. Talk to your clients and use their feedback to
make changes and adjust your position as and when required.

4. Risk management

Entrepreneurs inevitably require to take risks. When faced with a difficult situation, you are required to
make informed decisions after planning for all eventualities. As an entrepreneur, risk-taking is a major
requirement if you wish to emerge above your competition. With time, you improve at managing risks
and recovering from failures. This further increases your level of comfort with challenges and helps you
take your business to greater heights.

Always treat your journey as a learning process, and give equal importance to both your successes and
your failures along the way. Keep your goal in mind and commit to consistent engagement.

Starting any new venture involves a considerable amount of failure risk. Therefore, an entrepreneur
needs to be courageous and able to evaluate and take risks, which is an essential part of being an
entrepreneur.

5. Self-confidence

Entrepreneurs invest their time and resources in a particular initiative because they are confident about
creating something better than what the market has to offer. The road to their goals may have poorly
defined grey areas, but ultimately, those who persevere are the ones who succeed.

To bolster self-confidence, it helps to meditate upon your intent and speculate the future of your
business venture. You can also practice affirmation by reminiscing your accomplishments and the
hurdles you jumped en-route.

6. Money management

Entrepreneurs require to keep track of the financial situation of their business, its past record and future
targets. Even if you hire an accountant, you are the final decision maker. You are required to be well
aware of the financial situation of your business to be able to make sound decisions.

Practise basic money management skills by preparing a budget and committing to it. Invest available
funds into the development of your business, but take only calculated financial risks during investments.
Consult experts to understand the impact of your financial decisions in detail. The internet is also a
treasure trove for free financial advice and guidelines. You are required to select your sources carefully
and spend time learning the basics of financial management.

7. Vision

Entrepreneurship involves knowing what you want to achieve, setting a goal and working towards it
through tangible milestones. Vision is what defines the identity of an organisation. Not only does it keep
you driven, but it also fuels general motivation across the workplace and encourages everyone involved
to work towards the success of a venture.

You may start by identifying what your professional goals are and how they align with your vision.
Following this, you may set milestones and plan an achievable timeline to guide your actions. This allows
you to witness your progression and helps keep you committed to your goals. Prioritising your tasks
keeps you from feeling overwhelmed and lets you stay true to your vision in the long run.

8. Decision-making ability

Entrepreneurs often require to make quick decisions and take actions. To improve decision-making
skills, always avoid reacting spontaneously to situations and circumstances. Understand all facets of a
problem, inform yourself of its nuances and then proceed to action. Assess the impact of a decision you
intend to take and avoid rushing into it at all costs. You can also narrow your options through a simple
pros and cons list.

9. Adaptability

In the infant stages of a business, entrepreneurs often require to manage multiple aspects of the
business like finance, marketing and sales simultaneously. Flexibility in your schedule, and even in your
thinking, is crucial to continue growing in challenging situations. To increase your adaptability, approach
all activities, be it personal or professional, with an open mind and be open to changing your ways if
required. Experiment with new methods and embrace new trends to enhance your ability to adapt.

10. Ability to network

The ability to make connections and seize opportunities as and when they appear is crucial to successful
entrepreneurship. Interacting with new people facilitates access to resources or knowledge that may
otherwise be out of your reach. It allows you to learn from the success and failure of others, promote
what you bring to the table and expand your business.

Although business relationships often have many superficial aspects to them, strive to build genuine
relationships with clients and other professionals in your field. Try to make friends and acquaintances as
part of running your business. If you come across someone who may benefit another person in your
network, connect them. They would probably remember you and return the favour somewhere down
the line.

Innovation- It should be highly innovative to generate new ideas, start a company and earn profits out of
it. Change can be the launching of a new product that is new to the market or a process that does the
same thing but in a more efficient and economical way.
Visionary and Leadership quality- To be successful, the entrepreneur should have a clear vision of his
new venture. However, to turn the idea into reality, a lot of resources and employees are required.
Here, leadership quality is paramount because leaders impart and guide their employees towards the
right path of success.

Open-Minded- In a business, every circumstance can be an opportunity and used for the benefit of a
company. For example, Paytm recognised the gravity of demonetization and acknowledged the need for
online transactions would be more, so it utilised the situation and expanded massively during this time.

Flexible- An entrepreneur should be flexible and open to change according to the situation. To be on the
top, a businessperson should be equipped to embrace change in a product and service, as and when
needed.

Know your Product-A company owner should know the product offerings and also be aware of the latest
trend in the market. It is essential to know if the available product or service meets the demands of the
current market, or whether it is time to tweak it a little. Being able to be accountable and then alter as
needed is a vital part of entrepreneurship.

Economic Expansion: As entrepreneurs successfully create and market products and services aligned
with market demands, they generate more revenue for their companies. This increases the overall
national income and contributes to economic growth. Thereafter, the advantages of economic
expansion cascade to other businesses and marketplaces as well.

Wealth Generation: Entrepreneurs frequently target new markets and reach out to audiences outside
the radar of their existing business. This creates new streams of revenue and profits.

Social Change: The innovative products and services provided by entrepreneurs reduce the dependence
on outdated processes and technologies. One instance includes the way smartphones have affected how
businesses communicate with clients, employees, and partners.

Community Development: Entrepreneurs promote a sense of community among people with common
goals and passion, whether in a local neighborhood or across continents. Their products and services
contribute to the social and economic development of the community.

Entrepreneurship Management

Entrepreneurial management is the practice of giving the innovation inherent in entrepreneurship a

more solid management structure. Many new entrepreneurs have ideas for businesses they want to
start, or products they want to create, but don’t know how to manage a small business effectively.

Importance of entrepreneurship management

1.Growth of Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship the advent of new venture particularly small ventures to materialize the
innovative ideas of the entrepreneurs. Thus, the growth or establishment of small enterprises ii
the specific contribution of entrepreneurship in every economy of the world. The statistics
 reveal that in USA economy nearly half a million small enterprise is established every year. Our
country is not an exception in this regard.
2 Creation of job opportunities Entrepreneurship firms contributed a large share of new jobs. It
provides entry-level jobs so necessary fur training or gaining experience for unskilled workers.
The small enterprises are the only sector that generates a large portion of total employment
every year. Moreover, entrepreneurial ventures prepare and supply experienced labor to large
industries

3.Establish clear goals: Within an entrepreneur management plan, you establish the goals you want
to achieve with your startup. This includes short-term goals, such as launching your first product,
and long-term goals, like generating a certain number of sales. Having clear goals can help everyone
involved with the startup stay motivated, as they’ll know what they’re working to achieve. In
addition, it helps you determine what actions you need to take to reach those goals.

4.Coordinate actions: It’s easier to achieve goals when everyone coordinates their actions. With an
entrepreneur management plan, you determine what actions your startup needs to take and who
performs them. Mapping these actions can also help you identify any missing actions before beginning
and ensure that you assign each action to at least one person.

5.Improve resource management: Limited resources such as funds, staff and time may be typical for new
business ventures since owners are working to grow a customer base is ins. Therefore, it’s important for
entrepreneurial managers to ensure that they are using their resources effectively. Through an
entrepreneur management plan, you can determine where to spend your resources before you commit
them. This ensures you are using all of your available resources and using them in the best possible way.

6.Balance risk: An entrepreneur management plan establishes how the entrepreneur will
balance their personal risk with their role within the company. Learning how to balance personal
risks can help entrepreneurs better prepare for unexpected issues. For example, it may outline
how much of their own money the entrepreneur can safely invest.

Social Entrepreneurship

Characteristics of Social Entrepreneurs

Social entrepreneurship is the process of developing innovative, new organizations to address social,
cultural, and environmental problems.

Curiosity

Social entrepreneurs must nurture a sense of curiosity about people and the problems they face. The
best social entrepreneurs seek to truly understand the needs and desires of the people they serve. Great
social ventures often start through immersive market research, an empathy-centric process through
which social entrepreneurs gain knowledge in the field.

Example: The founders of Shakti Apparel launched their venture after working with villagers in rural
India and learning about their lifestyles.
Inspiration

In order to design effective solutions, social entrepreneurs must be inspired by the people and problems
they encounter. Inspiration motivates action and helps social entrepreneurs tackle challenges that
others shy away from addressing.

Example: When he learned that his blind friend had no way to tell time, the founder of Eone set out on a
mission to design an effective solution to his friend’s problem.

Resourcefulness

In the world of social entrepreneurship, key resources, such as human and financial capital, can often be
scarce. Successful social entrepreneurs know how to leverage the resources at their disposal and
develop innovative methods to overcome obstacles.

. Pragmatism

Changing the world takes time, effort, and experimentation. While visions for massive social change may
provide their inspiration, experienced social entrepreneurs know that they need to take small steps in
pursuit of their goals. Great social ventures are not born overnight!

Example: The founder of Be As You Wear is working to reform systems that put youth at risk by taking
small steps, such as performing small-group education interventions and selling hoodies to fund her
work.

Adaptability

Social entrepreneurs must remain open to solutions. This includes knowing when to pivot and change
their strategies if their initial methods do not succeed. Adaptability and flexibility are integral in the
development of early-stage social enterprises.

Example: Salty Girl initially was going to create a platform linking fisheries to chefs, but they pivoted to
selling sustainable, traceable fish directly to consumers.

Openness to Collaboration

While embarking on a quest to change the world may feel lonely, it is important to remember that social
entrepreneurship is a team sport, and other people are willing to help. Social entrepreneurs need to stay
open and attentive to potential partnership and collaboration opportunities. In many cases,
collaborative initiatives and joint-ventures can achieve social/business goals much more effectively than
solo endeavors.

Example: Refugee Investment Network partnered with Village Capital to offer an investment-readiness
tool designed for refugee entrepreneurs.

7. Persistance

Social entrepreneurs take on some of the most daunting challenges our society has to offer. This often
creates a recipe for early-stage failures. However, the successful social entrepreneurs are the ones who
persist past initial setbacks and persevere to deliver effective solutions. Experienced social
entrepreneurs know how to learn from failures, adjust their methods, and make continual strategic
improvements. Don’t give up if at first you don’t succeed!

5 stages of opportunity recognition

It Is useful to break the entrepreneurial process into five phases: idea generation, opportunity
evaluation, planning, company formation/launch and growth. These phases are summarized in this
table, and the Opportunity Evaluation and Planning steps are expanded in greater detail below.

1. Idea Generation: every new venture begins with an idea. In our context, we take an idea to be a
description of a need or problem of some constituency coupled with a concept of a possible solution. (A
characterization of this phase is still work in process on this site.)

2. Opportunity Evaluation: this is the step where you ask the question of whether there is an
opportunity worth investing in. Investment is principally capital, whether from individuals in the
company or from outside investors, and the time and energy of a set of people. But you should also
consider other assets such as intellectual property, personal relationships, physical property, etc.

3. Planning: Once you have decided that an opportunity, you need a plan for how to capitalize on that
opportunity. A plan begins as a fairly simple set of ideas, and then becomes more complex as the
business takes shape. In the planning phase you will need to create two things: strategy and operating
plan.

4. Company formation/launch: Once there is a sufficiently compelling opportunity and a plan, the
entrepreneurial team will go through the process of choosing the right form of corporate entity and
actually creating the venture as a legal entity.

5. Growth: After launch, the company works toward creating its product or service, generating revenue
and moving toward sustainable performance. The emphasis shifts from planning to execution. At this
point, you continue to ask questions but spend more of your time carrying out your plans.

Although it is natural to think of the early steps as occurring sequentially, they are actually proceeding in
parallel. Even as you begin your evaluation, you are forming at least a hypothesis of a business strategy.
As you test the hypothesis, you are beginning to execute the first steps of your marketing plan (and
possibly also your sales plan). We separate these ideas for convenience in description but it is worth
keeping in mind that these are ongoing aspects of your management of the business. In the growth
phases, you continue to refine you basic idea, re-evaluate the opportunity and revise your plan.