What is Entrepreneurship? Entrepreneurship is the act of creating a business or businesses while building and scaling it to generate a profit. However, as a basic entrepreneurship definition, it’s a bit limiting. The more modern entrepreneurship definition is also about transforming the world by solving big problems. Like initiating social change, creating an innovative product or presenting a new life-changing solution. What the entrepreneurship definition doesn’t tell you is that entrepreneurship is what people do to take their career and dreams into their hands and lead it in the direction of their own choice. It’s about building a life on your own terms. No bosses. No restricting schedules. And no one holding you back. Entrepreneurs are able to take the first step into making the world a better place, for everyone in it. What is an Entrepreneur? Entrepreneur Definition what is entrepreneurship An entrepreneur is a person who sets up a business with the aim to make a profit. This entrepreneur definition can be a bit vague but for good reason. An entrepreneur can be a person who sets up their first online store on the side or a freelancer just starting out. The reason why they’re considered entrepreneurs, though some disagree, is because where you start out isn’t where you’ll end up. An entrepreneur is someone who starts a side hustle that can eventually create a full-time, sustainable business with employees. Same with the freelancer. If you’re focused on creating a profitable business, you fit the entrepreneur definition. However, the entrepreneur meaning involves much more than being a business or job creator. Entrepreneurs are some of the world’s most powerful transformers. From Elon Musk sending people to Mars to Bill Gates and Steve Jobs making computers part of every household, entrepreneurs imagine the world differently. And the entrepreneur definition rarely ever talks about the enormous impact entrepreneurs have on the world. Entrepreneurs see possibilities and solutions where the average person only sees annoyances and problems. Understanding what is an entrepreneur can help more people recognize the value they contribute to the world. What is the meaning of entrepreneurship? The meaning of entrepreneurship involves an entrepreneur who takes action to make a change in the world. Whether startup entrepreneurs solve a problem that many struggle with each day, bring people together in a way no one has before, or build something revolutionary that advances society, they all have one thing in common: action. It’s not some idea that’s stuck in your head. Entrepreneurs take the idea and execute on it. Entrepreneurship is about execution of ideas. Entrepreneur Meaning from Real Entrepreneurs what is entrepreneurship Altimese NicholeWhat’s the entrepreneur meaning? Altimese Nichole, Founder of NicholeNicole shares, “Many are excited to become an entrepreneur but get discouraged when reality hits. Entrepreneurship means staying committed to your goals beyond your feelings of excitement. Stay the course and keep your “why” in mind. ” Christopher Molaro's entrepreneurship definitionWhat’s the meaning of entrepreneurship? Founder and CEO of NeuroFlow shares “Entrepreneurship means being the one that is willing to take a leap, work hard enough to sacrifice everything else around you, all in the name of solving problems because no one else is capable or possesses the desire.“ Jolijt Tamanaha entrepreneur meaningThe entrepreneur meaning is a bit different for Jolijt Tamanaha, Director of Marketing and Finance of Fresh Prints, who shares “Entrepreneurs make their way down a never-ending list of problems with grit, passion, and energy. While intense, being an entrepreneur means you get to live life learning an incredible amount and maximize your impact on the world because you have to tackle the hardest problems.” Nicole FaithWhat’s the entrepreneur meaning for Nicole Faith, Founder of 10 Carat Creations? Here’s how she breaks it down, “Being an entrepreneur means having a plan and vision but still succeeding or trying to succeed when the plan falls apart and you’re left with only your vision. It also means knowing when to give up, especially if your idea isn’t working due to forces outside of yourself.” James SandovalWhat’s the entrepreneur meaning? According to James Sandoval, Founder and CEO of Measure Match, says, “Being an entrepreneur means diving headlong into a [likely very risky] venture of your own making, working hard, long hours, often alone, to carve out a path to success and never, ever giving up.” Mike KimMike Kim, co-founder and COO of KPOP Foods, shares what the entrepreneur meaning is really all about. He shares, “Entrepreneurship is not for the faint hearted. I am a US Army veteran. I have been in combat and I have endured many difficult situations. However, I can honestly say starting a company has been just as challenging, albeit in different ways. While no one’s life may be in imminent danger, the battles you face on your entrepreneurial journey can last years with no repose. Creating a successful business requires massive amounts of action, perseverance, and conviction. If you understand this and choose to proceed, you’ll find the experience rich in rewards. ” Importance of Entrepreneurship what is entrepreneurship What is entrepreneurship really about? And why’s it so important? An entrepreneur is the person who sees a problem in the world and immediately focuses on creating the solution. They’re the leaders that strike out on their own to improve society. Whether they’re creating jobs or a new product, they constantly take action to ensure world progress. In the process of understanding what is entrepreneurship, let’s look at why entrepreneurs are important in society. Entrepreneurs create jobs: Without entrepreneurs, jobs wouldn’t exist. Entrepreneurs take on the risk to employ themselves. Their ambition to continue their business’ growth eventually leads to the creation of new jobs. As their business continues to grow, even more jobs are created. Thus, lowering unemployment rates while helping people feed their families. Entrepreneurs create change: Entrepreneurs dream big so naturally some of their ideas will make worldwide change. They might create a new product that solves a burning problem or take on the challenge to explore something never explored before. Many believe in improving the world with their products, ideas or businesses. Entrepreneurs give to society: While some have this notion of the rich being evil and greedy, they often do more for the greater good than the average person. They make more money and thus pay more in taxes which helps fund social services. Entrepreneurs are some of the biggest donors to charities and nonprofits for various causes. Some seek to invest their money in creating solutions to help poorer communities have access to things we take for granted like clean drinking water and good health care. Why Do People Become Entrepreneurs what is entrepreneurship What is entrepreneurship’s appeal? With over 400 million entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship has an international appeal. Every entrepreneur has their own ‘why’ that drove them to dive into being their own boss. Whether entrepreneurs need more freedom or to make the world a better place, they all take control of their life by living life on their own terms. Here are a few of the reasons why people become entrepreneurs: To change the world: Many entrepreneurs strive to make the world better. Whether entrepreneurs believe in space exploration, eliminating poverty or creating a practical but game-changing product, they ultimately build a brand in service of others. Some entrepreneurs use their business as a way to raise capital quickly to funnel into their noble causes. To social entrepreneurs, building an empire is about creating a better world for everyone. They don’t want a boss: Entrepreneurs often struggle with having a boss. They often feel suffocated, restricted and held back. Some entrepreneurs may feel that they have a more effective way of doing things. Others may dislike the lack of creative freedom. Ultimately, they become attracted to entrepreneurship to succeed on their own terms. Being the boss can be more fulfilling than having one. Check out 10 Obvious Signs You Should Be Working for Yourself. They want flexible hours: Entrepreneurship is often popular around those who need flexible hours. Many people with disabilities often enjoy entrepreneurship as it allows them to work when they’re able to. Parents with young children might also prefer entrepreneurship as it allows them to raise young children at home or pick them up from school without having to feel guilty about it. Students may also like the flexibility of entrepreneurship as their course workload might not allow them to work standard office hours. They’re risk-takers: Calculated risk taking and entrepreneurship go hand in hand. Entrepreneurs don’t apply to jobs, they create them. With that comes risk. Whether it’s the financial risk of starting your first brand or the risk from not knowing what to expect, business is risky. Entrepreneurs are often taking risks by trying things the average person won’t, to do things the average person can’t. They can’t get a job: Many stumble into entrepreneurship when they can’t get a job. Getting fired, a lack of experience or a criminal record can prevent the average person from getting a job when they’re desperate. Instead of being defeated by their situation, they create new opportunities for themselves. A new graduate might start an online store the summer after graduation to build up their resume. A parent who is seasonally laid off each winter might start a business to ensure they can continue feeding their family while keeping a roof over their heads. They don’t fit into the corporate environment: Entrepreneurs don’t often thrive in corporate environments. It’s often very restricting for their growth. They may dislike the lack of control they have in their role or the office politics. In general, you can spot an entrepreneur in a corporate environment as they’re usually trying to gain more control in their role and learning their coworkers responsibilities to better understand how everything fits together. They’re curious: Entrepreneurs love finding out the answer to the question, ‘what will happen if…’ They’re experimental. Entrepreneurs love learning. They regularly read business books to advance their knowledge. So naturally, entrepreneurship appeals to them because doing allows them to learn the most in the shortest amount of time. Their curiosity allows their continued growth. They’re ambitious: Those who love reaching difficult goals and milestones are made to be entrepreneurs. There’s no limit to how much an entrepreneur can make and so they can always work to achieve higher levels of greatness. Since there’s no limit to what they can achieve, entrepreneurs constantly find themselves growing and achieving more than they ever imagined. When obstacles get presented in front of them, they find the workaround to their goal. Entrepreneurs are unstoppable. Examples of Entrepreneurs what is entrepreneurship Walt Disney cofounded the Walt Disney Company one of the leading motion picture studios. He was also the visionary of theme parks like Disneyland and Walt Disney World. His brand started with the creation of the Mickey Mouse character and eventually expanded to include characters like Snow White, Cinderella and more. As an entrepreneur, he had to overcome adversity with challenges such as people stealing his work, commercial failures and more. However, he kept pushing through staying committed to his vision. Mark Zuckerberg created several products before building Facebook. He created an instant messaging tool that his father used in his dentistry practice to communicate with his receptionist. Zuckerberg also created music software that Microsoft and AOL were interested in buying even though he was only a teenager. Within the year he first founded Facebook, he had already had 1 million users. Today, Mark Zuckerberg has a networth of $68.3 billion. Sara Blakely first started her Spanx brand in 1998. She was one of the first creators of women’s leggings. Her brand specializes in shapewear and also includes bras, panties, hosiery and more. She’s also the inventor of arm tights which allows women to wear their summer clothing year round. At one point, Blakely was the youngest self made female billionaire. Startup Entrepreneurs Share Entrepreneurship Tips what is entrepreneurship Dez StephensStartup entrepreneur Dez Stephens of Radiant Health Institute shares, “The ONE piece of advice I’d give someone who wants to be an entrepreneur is to start your business with no debt and no overhead. That’s how I started my company six years ago and it greatly increased my inevitable success.” Swati DavidsonOne of the best entrepreneur quotes comes from serial entrepreneur Swati Davidson who shares, “Trust your intuition. The reason is simple: In order to beat your competitors and grow rapidly, you’ve got to be able to spot those key opportunities and then take action, even when risky. This requires “instinct” and the confidence to act up on it. Some call it luck, but it’s not. It’s having the courage to trust your gut.” Keval BaxiStartup entrepreneur Keval Baxi of Codal Inc. shares “One piece of advice that I’d give to someone who wants to be an entrepreneur is to be reliable. If you say you’re going to do something, do it. Leaders and managers that don’t follow through fail to gain the respect of their team, and don’t encourage accountability. Make sure that your team knows that you’ll be there when you’re needed.” Chrys TanStartup entrepreneur Chrys Tan of Chrys Media says, “The one piece of advice that I would give to an entrepreneur would be to embrace failure. Failure is guaranteed when you are an entrepreneurs, whether it is the failure of meeting a number of targeted sales or even the failure of a business. But if you know that experiencing failure is guaranteed when running a business, you wouldn’t fear failure but embrace failure instead. When you embrace failure, you take on more risks and you move past failures faster as well.” Source: https://www.oberlo.com/blog/what-is-entrepreneurship?fbclid=IwAR3aeiWZ5wQfW7CVeQzIKRj_cc455tIzPWE7VNydHuOh7cGKsk8MINDcG2g

What is an Entrepreneur An entrepreneur is an individual who, rather than working as an employee, founds and runs a small business, assuming all the risks and rewards of the venture. The entrepreneur is commonly seen as an innovator, a source of new ideas, goods, services and business/or procedures. Entrepreneurs play a key role in any economy. These are the people who have the skills and initiative necessary to anticipate current and future needs and bring good new ideas to market. Entrepreneurs who prove to be successful in taking on the risks of a startup are rewarded with profits, fame and continued growth opportunities. Those who fail suffer losses and become less prevalent in the markets. 1:37 Entrepreneur BREAKING DOWN Entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is one of the resources economists categorize as integral to production, the other three being land/natural resources, labor and capital. An entrepreneur combines the first three of these to manufacture goods or provide services. He or she typically creates a business plan, hires labor, acquires resources and financing, and provides leadership and management for the business. Entrepreneurs commonly face many obstacles when building their companies. Three that many of them cite as the most challenging are: overcoming bureaucracy, hiring talent and obtaining financing. Financing New Ventures Given the riskiness of a new venture, the acquisition of captial funding is particularly challenging, and many entrepreneurs deal with it via bootstrapping: financing a business using methods such as using their own money, providing sweat equity to reduce labor costs, minimizing inventory and factoring receivables. While some entrepreneurs are lone players struggling to get small businesses off the ground on a shoestring, others take on partners armed with greater access to capital and other resources. In these situations, new firms may acquire financing from venture capitalists, angel investors, hedge funds, crowdsourcing or through more traditional sources such as bank loans. Definitions of Entrepreneurship Economists have never had a consistent definition of "entrepreneur" or "entrepreneurship" (the word "entrepreneur" comes from the French verb entreprendre, meaning "to undertake"). Though the concept of an entrepreneur existed and was known for centuries, the classical and neoclassical economists left entrepreneurs out of their formal models: They assumed that perfect information would be known to fully rational actors, leaving no room for risk-taking or discovery. It wasn't until the middle of the 20th century that economists seriously attempted to incorporate entrepreneurship into their models. Three thinkers were central to the inclusion of entrepreneurs: Joseph Schumpeter, Frank Knight and Israel Kirzner. Schumpeter suggested that entrepreneurs – not just companies – were responsible for the creation of new things in the search of profit. Knight focused on entrepreneurs as the bearers of uncertainty and believed they were responsible for risk premiums in financial markets. Kirzner thought of entrepreneurship as a process that led to discovery. Why are Entrepreneurs Important for the Economy? In economist-speak, an entrepreneur acts as a coordinating agent in a capitalist economy. This coordination takes the form of resources being diverted towards new potential profit opportunities. The entrepreneur moves various resources, both tangible and intangible, promoting capital formation. In a market full of uncertainty, it is the entrepreneur who can actually help clear up uncertainty, as he makes judgments or assumes risk. To the extent that capitalism is a dynamic profit-and-loss system, entrepreneurs drive efficient discovery and consistently reveal knowledge. Established firms face increased competition and challenges from entrepreneurs, which often spurs them towards research and development efforts as well. In technical economic terms, the entrepreneur disrupts course towards steady-state equilibrium. How Entrepreneurs Help Economies and Countries Nurturing entrepreneurship can have a positive impact on an economy and a society in several ways. For starters, entrepreneurs create new business. They invent goods and services, resulting in employment, and often create a ripple effect, resulting in more and more development. For example, after a few information technology companies began in India in the 1990s, businesses in associated industries, like call center operations and hardware providers, began to develop too, offering support services and products. Entrepreneurs add to the gross national income. Existing businesses may remain confined to their markets and eventually hit an income ceiling. But new products or technologies create new markets, and new wealth. And increased employment and higher earnings contribute to a nation’s tax base, enabling greater government spending on public projects. Entrepreneurs create social change. They break tradition with unique inventions that reduce dependence on existing methods and systems, sometimes rendering them obsolete. Smartphones and their apps, for example, have revolutionized work and play across the globe. Entrepreneurs invest in community projects and help charities and other non-profit organizations, supporting causes beyond their own. Bill Gates, for example, has used his considerable wealth for education and public health initiatives. Entrepreneurial Ecosystems There is research that shows high levels of self-employment can stall economic development: Entrepreneurship, if not properly regulated, can lead to unfair market practices and corruption, and too many entrepreneurs can create income inequalities in society. Overall, though, entrepreneurship is a critical driver of innovation and economic growth. Therefore, fostering entrepreneurship is an important part of the economic growth strategies of many local and national governments around the world. To this end, governments commonly assist in the development of entrepreneurial ecosystems, which may include entrepreneurs themselves, government-sponsored assistance programs and venture capitalists; they may also include non-government organizations, such as entrepreneurs' associations, business incubators and education programs. For example, California's Silicon Valley is often cited as an example of a well-functioning entrepreneurial ecosystem. The region has a well-developed venture capital base, a large pool of well-educated talent, especially in technical fields, and a wide range of government and non-government programs fostering new ventures and providing information and support to entrepreneurs. Becoming an Entrepreneur After retiring her professional dancing shoes, Judi Sheppard Missett taught dance class to civilians in order to earn some extra cash. But she soon learned that women who came to her studio were less interested in learning precise steps than they were in losing weight and toning up. Sheppard Missett then trained instructors to teach her routines to the masses, and Jazzercise was born. A franchise deal followed. Today, the company has more than 7,500 locations worldwide. Following an ice cream-making correspondence course, Jerry Greenfield and Ben Cohen paired $8,000 in savings with a $4,000 loan, leased a Burlington, Vt., gas station and purchased equipment to create uniquely flavored ice cream for the local market. Twenty years later, Ben & Jerry’s hauls in millions in annual revenue. Although the "self-made man" (or woman) has always been a popular figure in American society, entrepreneurship has gotten greatly romanticized in the last few decades. In the 21st century, the example of internet companies like Alphabet, fka Google (GOOG) and Facebook (FB) – both of which have made their founders wildly wealthy – people are enamored with the idea of becoming entrepreneurs. Unlike traditional professions, where there is often a defined path to follow, the road to entrepreneurship is mystifying to most. What works for one entrepreneur might not work for the next and vice versa. That said, there are five general steps that most, if not all, successful entrepreneurs have followed: 1. Ensure Financial Stability This first step is not a strict requirement, but is definitely recommended. While entrepreneurs have built successful businesses while being less than financially flush (think of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg as a college student), starting out with an adequate cash supply and ensuring ongoing funding and can only help an aspiring entrepreneur, increasing his or her personal runway and give him more time to work on building a successful business, rather than worrying about making quick money. 2. Build a Diverse Skill Set Once a person has strong finances, it is important to build a diverse set of skills and then apply those skills in the real world. The beauty of step two is it can be done concurrently with step one. Building a skill set can be achieved through learning and trying new tasks in real-world settings. For example, if an aspiring entrepreneur has a background in finance, he can move into a sales role at his existing company to learn the soft skills necessary to be successful. Once a diverse skill set is built, it gives an entrepreneur a toolkit that he can rely on when he is faced with the inevitability of tough situations. 3. Consume Content Across Multiple Channels As important as building a diverse skill set is, the need to consume a diverse array of content is equally so. This content can be in the form of podcasts, books, articles or lectures. The important thing is that the content, no matter the channel, should be varied in what it covers. An aspiring entrepreneur should always familiarize himself with the world around him so he can look at industries with a fresh perspective, giving him the ability to build a business around a specific sector. 4. Identify a Problem to Solve Through the consumption of content across multiple channels, an aspiring entrepreneur is able to identify various problems to solve. One business adage dictates that a company's product or service needs to solve a specific pain point – either for another business or for a consumer group. Through the identification of a problem, an aspiring entrepreneur is able to build a business around solving that problem. It is important to combine steps three and four so it is possible to identify a problem to solve by looking at various industries as an outsider. This often provides an aspiring entrepreneur with the ability to see a problem others might not. 5. Solve That Problem Successful startups solve a specific pain point for other companies or for the public. This is known as "adding value within the problem." Only through adding value to a specific problem or pain point does an entrepreneur become successful. Say, for example, you identify the process for making a dentist appointment is complicated for patients, and dentists are losing customers as a result. The value could be to build an online appointment system that makes it easier for to book appointments. Take Your Passion and Make It Happen What else do entrepreneurial success stories have in common? They invariably involve industrious people diving into things they’re naturally passionate about. Giving credence to the adage, “find a way to get paid for the job you’d do for free,” passion is arguably the most important component startup business owners must have, and every edge helps. While the prospect of becoming your own boss and raking in a fortune is alluring to entrepreneurial dreamers, the possible downside to hanging one’s own shingle is vast. Income isn’t guaranteed, employer-sponsored benefits go by the wayside, and when your business loses money, your personal assets can take a hit — not just a corporation’s bottom line. But adhering to a few tried and true principals can go a long way in diffusing risk. Getting Your Hands Dirty When staring out, it’s essential to personally handle sales and other customer interactions whenever possible. Direct client contact is the clearest path to obtaining honest feedback about what the target market likes and what you could be doing better. If it’s not always practical to be the sole customer interface, entrepreneurs should train employees to invite customer comments as a matter of course. Not only does this make customers feel empowered, but happier clients are more likely to recommend businesses to others. Personally answering phones is one of the most significant competitive edges home-based entrepreneurs hold over their larger competitors. In a time of high-tech backlash, where customers are frustrated with automated responses and touch-tone menus, hearing a human voice and is one sure-fire way to entice new customers and make existing ones feel appreciated — an important fact, given that some 80% of all business is generated from repeat customers. Paradoxically, while customers value high-touch telephone access, they also expect a highly polished website. Even if your business isn’t in a high-tech industry, entrepreneurs still must exploit internet technology to get their message across. A startup garage-based business can have a superior website than an established $100 million company. Just make sure a live human being is on the other end of the phone number listed. Knowing When to Change Course Few successful businesses owners find perfect formulas straight out of the gate. On the contrary: ideas must morph over time. Whether tweaking product design or altering food items on a menu, finding the perfect sweet spot takes trial and error. Starbucks Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz initially thought playing Italian opera music over store speakers would accentuate the Italian coffee-house experience he was attempting to replicate. But customers saw things differently, and didn’t seem to like arias with their espressos. As a result, Schultz jettisoned the opera, and introduced comfortable chairs instead. Shrewd Money Management Through the heart of any successful news business venture beats the lifeblood of steady of cash flow — essential for purchasing inventory, paying rent, maintaining equipment and promoting the business. The key to staying in the black is rigorous bookkeeping of income versus expenses. And since most new businesses don’t make a profit within the first year, by setting money aside for this contingency, entrepreneurs can help mitigate the risk of falling short of funds. Related to this, it’s essential to keep personal and business costs separate, and never dip into business funds to cover the costs of daily living. Of course, it’s important to pay yourself a realistic salary that allows you to cover essentials, but not much more — especially where investors are involved. Of course, such sacrifices can strain relationships with loved ones who may need to adjust to lower standards of living and endure worry over risking family assets. For this reason, entrepreneurs should communicate these issues well ahead of time, and make sure significant loved ones are spiritually on board. Questions Entrepreneurs Should Ask Embarking on the entrepreneurial career path to “being your own boss” is exciting. But along with all your research, make sure to do your homework about yourself and your situation. Here are a few questions to ask yourself: Do I have the personality, temperament and mindset of taking on the world on my own terms? Do I have the required ambience and resources to devote all my time to my venture? Do I have an exit plan ready with a clearly defined timeline in case my venture does not work? Do I have a concrete plan for next ‘x’ months or will I face challenges midway due to family, financial or other commitments? Do I have a mitigation plan for those challenges? Do I have the required network to seek help and advice as needed? Have I identified and built bridges with experienced mentors to learn from their expertise? Have I prepared the rough draft of a complete risk assessment, including dependencies on external factors? Have I realistically assessed the potential of my offering and how it will figure in the existing market? If my offering is going to replace an existing product in the market, do I know how my competitors will react? To keep my offering secure, will it make sense to get a patent? Do I have the capacity to wait that long? Have I identified my target customer base for the initial phase? Do I have scalability plans ready for larger markets? Have I identified sales and distribution channels? Here are questions that delve into external factors: Does my entrepreneurial venture meet local regulations and laws? If not feasible locally, can I and should I relocate to another region? How long does it take to get the necessary license or permissions from concerned authorities? Can I survive that long? Do I have a plan about getting necessary resources and skilled employees, and have I made cost considerations for the same? What are the tentative timelines for bringing the first prototype to market or for services to be operational? Who are my primary customers? Who are the funding sources I may need to approach to make this big? Is my venture good enough to convince potential stakeholders? What technical infrastructure do I need? Once the business is established, will I have sufficient funds to get resources and take it to next level? Will other big firms copy my model and kill my operation? Source: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/entrepreneur.asp

At this very moment, a significant number of people are dreaming about leaving their jobs and going into business for themselves. These fantasies are fed by all the times we've been told to believe in ourselves, to embrace the American dream of going our own way and doing it for ourselves. There's no doubt that leaving behind a routine job and becoming your own boss is exciting, and many of those who set off on that path find personal and professional fulfillment there. But in any endeavor, reality is better preparation than fantasy. And when it comes to entrepreneurship, the reality is complicated. Here are some of the things you don't hear about it--but should: There's a dark side. The sad truth is up to 90 percent of new businesses--including entrepreneurial startups--fail within a few years. It's inspiring to hear about an Amazon or a Zappos, but the risk of not making it is real. Passion alone won't cut it. We've heard it a thousand times: Passion will prevail. And that's true, but only up to a point. In the long haul, success has a lot more to do with less exciting character traits: patience and endurance. It takes years of hard work to build a business. Many believe that entrepreneurship means shorter hours and more free time. In reality, entrepreneurship means building your business carefully and faithfully day by day over a period of years. If there's a true secret to success, it's hard work, period. Or, more accurately, very hard work. Being in business for yourself is definitely rewarding, but you have to be ready to work harder than you've ever worked for anyone else. Isolation is a fact of entrepreneurial life. The thought of flying solo is exciting--but it can also be stressful and even lonely. When you work for an established business, you have a trusted network of colleagues to tap into for feedback, a safety net of shared responsibility, and the chance to connect with familiar people during the workday. Isolation is a significant factor in the lives of most entrepreneurs. To lead others, you must manage yourself. In the popular imagination, entrepreneurship is just about having an idea. But successful businesses--even those with just a single employee--have great leadership. And the best leaders know, above all, how to manage themselves. You probably won't get rich. Another misconception is that entrepreneurship is a good path for becoming filthy rich. The rewards are many--but if what you're ultimately looking for is wealth, creating a business is probably not the best way to go about it. A crisis of confidence is probably in your future. Entrepreneurs are generally confident people who hold deep convictions. But for most of them, at some point, the responsibility and high stakes combine to create a devastating loss of certainty in themselves and their work. When you feel hopeless--and you will--you have to be able to work hard to overcome any self-doubt, any feeling of doom, or any situation that feels overwhelming. Don't fake it, ever. I leave this to the last because I feel it's the most important. "Fake it till you make it" is a popular mantra, but I believe in the integrity of being what you are in the moment. The secret of success is to be yourself--flaws and all. Entrepreneurship isn't for everyone, and that's OK. But those with the heart of an entrepreneur will always go through life making more opportunities than they find. They will overcome more challenges than they ever thought they'd be capable of and--above all--they never confuse a defeat with a final defeat. Source : https://www.inc.com/lolly-daskal/what-no-one-is-telling-you-about-being-an-entrepreneur.html?fbclid=IwAR2usAuViI0RXVCr_1aYvttebXNA-fh_5MPm5LlN1RVNg1U5fXm1zU67Lcs

An entrepreneur is someone who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise. An entrepreneur is an agent of change. Entrepreneurship is the process of discovering new ways of combining resources. When the market value generated by this new combination of resources is greater than the market value these resources can generate elsewhere individually or in some other combination, the entrepreneur makes a profit. An entrepreneur who takes the resources necessary to produce a pair of jeans that can be sold for thirty dollars and instead turns them into a denim backpack that sells for fifty dollars will earn a profit by increasing the value those resources create. This comparison is possible because in competitive resource markets, an entrepreneur’s costs of production are determined by the prices required to bid the necessary resources away from alternative uses. Those prices will be equal to the value that the resources could create in their next-best alternate uses. Because the price of purchasing resources measures this opportunity cost— the value of the forgone alternatives—the profit entrepreneurs make reflects the amount by which they have increased the value generated by the resources under their control. Entrepreneurs who make a loss, however, have reduced the value created by the resources under their control; that is, those resources could have produced more value elsewhere. Losses mean that an entrepreneur has essentially turned a fifty-dollar denim backpack into a thirty-dollar pair of jeans. This error in judgment is part of the entrepreneurial learning, or discovery, process vital to the efficient operation of markets. The profit-and-loss system of capitalism helps to quickly sort through the many new resource combinations entrepreneurs discover. A vibrant, growing economy depends on the efficiency of the process by which new ideas are quickly discovered, acted on, and labeled as successes or failures. Just as important as identifying successes is making sure that failures are quickly extinguished, freeing poorly used resources to go elsewhere. This is the positive side of business failure. Successful entrepreneurs expand the size of the economic pie for everyone. Bill Gates, who as an undergraduate at Harvard developed BASIC for the first microcomputer, went on to help found Microsoft in 1975. During the 1980s, IBM contracted with Gates to provide the operating system for its computers, a system now known as MS-DOS. Gates procured the software from another firm, essentially turning the thirty-dollar pair of jeans into a multibillion-dollar product. Microsoft’s Office and Windows operating software now run on about 90 percent of the world’s computers. By making software that increases human productivity, Gates expanded our ability to generate output (and income), resulting in a higher standard of living for all. Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart, was another entrepreneur who touched millions of lives in a positive way. His innovations in distribution warehouse centers and inventory control allowed Wal-Mart to grow, in less than thirty years, from a single store in Arkansas to the nation’s largest retail chain. Shoppers benefit from the low prices and convenient locations that Walton’s Wal-Marts provide. Along with other entrepreneurs such as Ted Turner (CNN), Henry Ford (Ford automobiles), Ray Kroc (McDonald’s franchising), and Fred Smith (FedEx), Walton significantly improved the everyday life of billions of people all over the world. The word “entrepreneur” originates from a thirteenth-century French verb, entreprendre, meaning “to do something” or “to undertake.” By the sixteenth century, the noun form, entrepreneur, was being used to refer to someone who undertakes a business venture. The first academic use of the word by an economist was likely in 1730 by Richard Cantillon, who identified the willingness to bear the personal financial risk of a business venture as the defining characteristic of an entrepreneur. In the early 1800s, economists Jean-Baptiste Say and John Stuart Mill further popularized the academic usage of the word “entrepreneur.” Say stressed the role of the entrepreneur in creating value by moving resources out of less productive areas and into more productive ones. Mill used the term “entrepreneur” in his popular 1848 book, Principles of Political Economy, to refer to a person who assumes both the risk and the management of a business. In this manner, Mill provided a clearer distinction than Cantillon between an entrepreneur and other business owners (such as shareholders of a corporation) who assume financial risk but do not actively participate in the day-to-day operations or management of the firm. Two notable twentieth-century economists, Joseph Schumpeter and Israel Kirzner, further refined the academic understanding of entrepreneurship. Schumpeter stressed the role of the entrepreneur as an innovator who implements change in an economy by introducing new goods or new methods of production. In the Schumpeterian view, the entrepreneur is a disruptive force in an economy. Schumpeter emphasized the beneficial process of creative destruction, in which the introduction of new products results in the obsolescence or failure of others. The introduction of the compact disc and the corresponding disappearance of the vinyl record is just one of many examples of creative destruction: cars, electricity, aircraft, and personal computers are others. In contrast to Schumpeter’s view, Kirzner focused on entrepreneurship as a process of discovery. Kirzner’s entrepreneur is a person who discovers previously unnoticed profit opportunities. The entrepreneur’s discovery initiates a process in which these newly discovered profit opportunities are then acted on in the marketplace until market competition eliminates the profit opportunity. Unlike Schumpeter’s disruptive force, Kirzner’s entrepreneur is an equilibrating force. An example of such an entrepreneur would be someone in a college town who discovers that a recent increase in college enrollment has created a profit opportunity in renovating houses and turning them into rental apartments. Economists in the modern austrian school of economics have further refined and developed the ideas of Schumpeter and Kirzner. During the 1980s and 1990s, state and local governments across the United States abandoned their previous focus on attracting large manufacturing firms as the centerpiece of economic development policy and instead shifted their focus to promoting entrepreneurship. This same period witnessed a dramatic increase in empirical research on entrepreneurship. Some of these studies explore the effect of demographic and socioeconomic factors on the likelihood of a person choosing to become an entrepreneur. Others explore the impact of taxes on entrepreneurial activity. This literature is still hampered by the lack of a clear measure of entrepreneurial activity at the U.S. state level. Scholars generally measure entrepreneurship by using numbers of self-employed people; the deficiency in such a measure is that some people become self-employed partly to avoid, or even evade, income and payroll taxes. Some studies find, for example, that higher income tax rates are associated with higher rates of self-employment. This counterintuitive result is likely explained by the higher tax rates encouraging more tax evasion through individuals filing taxes as self-employed. Economists have also found that higher taxes on inheritance are associated with a lower likelihood of individuals becoming entrepreneurs. Some empirical studies have attempted to determine the contribution of entrepreneurial activity to overall economic growth. The majority of the widely cited studies use international data, taking advantage of the index of entrepreneurial activity for each country published annually in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. These studies conclude that between one-third and one-half of the differences in economic growth rates across countries can be explained by differing rates of entrepreneurial activity. Similar strong results have been found at the state and local levels. Infusions of venture capital funding, economists find, do not necessarily foster entrepreneurship. Capital is more mobile than labor, and funding naturally flows to those areas where creative and potentially profitable ideas are being generated. This means that promoting individual entrepreneurs is more important for economic development policy than is attracting venture capital at the initial stages. While funding can increase the odds of new business survival, it does not create new ideas. Funding follows ideas, not vice versa. One of the largest remaining disagreements in the applied academic literature concerns what constitutes entrepreneurship. Should a small-town housewife who opens her own day-care business be counted the same as someone like Bill Gates or Sam Walton? If not, how are these different activities classified, and where do we draw the line? This uncertainty has led to the terms “lifestyle” entrepreneur and “gazelle” (or “high growth”) entrepreneur. Lifestyle entrepreneurs open their own businesses primarily for the nonmonetary benefits associated with being their own bosses and setting their own schedules. Gazelle entrepreneurs often move from one start-up business to another, with a well-defined growth plan and exit strategy. While this distinction seems conceptually obvious, empirically separating these two groups is difficult when we cannot observe individual motives. This becomes an even greater problem as researchers try to answer questions such as whether the policies that promote urban entrepreneurship can also work in rural areas. Researchers on rural entrepreneurship have recently shown that the Internet can make it easier for rural entrepreneurs to reach a larger market. Because, as Adam Smith pointed out, specialization is limited by the extent of the market, rural entrepreneurs can specialize more successfully when they can sell to a large number of online customers. What is government’s role in promoting or stifling entrepreneurship? Because the early research on entrepreneurship was done mainly by noneconomists (mostly actual entrepreneurs and management faculty at business schools), the prevailing belief was that new government programs were the best way to promote entrepreneurship. Among the most popular proposals were government-managed loan funds, government subsidies, government-funded business development centers, and entrepreneurial curriculum in public schools. These programs, however, have generally failed. Government-funded and -managed loan funds, such as are found in Maine, Minnesota, and Iowa, have suffered from the same poor incentives and political pressures that plague so many other government agencies. My own recent research, along with that of other economists, has found that the public policy that best fosters entrepreneurship is economic freedom. Our research focuses on the public choice reasons why these government programs are likely to fail, and on how improved “rules of the game” (lower and less complex taxes and regulations, more secure property rights, an unbiased judicial system, etc.) promote entrepreneurial activity. Steven Kreft and Russell Sobel (2003) showed entrepreneurial activity to be highly correlated with the “Economic Freedom Index,” a measure of the existence of such promarket institutions. This relationship between freedom and entrepreneurship also holds using more widely accepted indexes of entrepreneurial activity (from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor) and economic freedom (from Gwartney and Lawson’s Economic Freedom of the World) that are available selectively at the international level. This relationship holds whether the countries studied are economies moving out of socialism or economies of OECD countries. Figure 1 shows the strength of this relationship among OECD countries. The dashed line in the figure shows the positive relationship between economic freedom and entrepreneurial activity. When other demographic and socioeconomic factors are controlled for, the relationship is even stronger. This finding is consistent with the strong positive correlation between economic freedom and the growth of per capita income that other researchers have found. One reason economic freedom produces economic growth is that economic freedom fosters entrepreneurial activity. Figure 1 Economic Freedom and Entrepreneurship in OECD Countries, 2002 ZOOM Economists William Baumol and Peter Boettke popularized the idea that capitalism is significantly more productive than alternative forms of economic organization because, under capitalism, entrepreneurial effort is channeled into activities that produce wealth rather than into activities that forcibly take other people’s wealth. Entrepreneurs, note Baumol and Boettke, are present in all societies. In government-controlled societies, entrepreneurial people go into government or lobby government, and much of the government action that results—tariffs, subsidies, and regulations, for example—destroys wealth. In economies with limited governments and rule of law, entrepreneurs produce wealth. Baumol’s and Boettke’s idea is consistent with the data and research linking economic freedom, which is a measure of the presence of good institutions, to both entrepreneurship and economic growth. The recent academic research on entrepreneurship shows that, to promote entrepreneurship, government policy should focus on reforming basic institutions to create an environment in which creative individuals can flourish. That environment is one of well-defined and enforced property rights, low taxes and regulations, sound legal and monetary systems, proper contract enforcement, and limited government intervention. About the Author Russell S. Sobel is a professor of economics and James Clark Coffman Distinguished Chair in Entrepreneurial Studies at West Virginia University, and he was founding director of the Entrepreneurship Center there. Further Reading Introductory Gwartney, James D., and Robert A. Lawson. Economic Freedom of the World: 2002 Annual Report. Vancouver: Fraser Institute, 2002. Information about this book can be found online at: http://www.freetheworld.com/. Hughes, Jonathan R. T. The Vital Few: American Economic Progress and Its Protagonists. Exp. ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986. Kirzner, Israel M. Competition and Entrepreneurship. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1973. Information about Kirzner and his works can be found online at: http://www.worldhistory.com/wiki/I/Israel-Kirzner.htm. Kirzner, Israel M. “Entrepreneurial Discovery and the Competitive Market Process: An Austrian Approach.” Journal of Economic Literature 35, no. 1 (1997): 60–85. Lee, Dwight R. “The Seeds of Entrepreneurship.” Journal of Private Enterprise 7, no. 1 (1991): 20–35. Reynolds, Paul D., Michael Hay, and S. Michael Camp. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. Kansas City, Mo.: Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, 1999. Information about this book can be found online at: http://www.gemconsortium.org/. Rosenberg, Nathan, and L. E. Birdzell Jr. How the West Grew Rich. New York: Basic Books, 1986. Schumpeter, Joseph A. Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy. New York: Harper, 1942. Schumpeter, Joseph A. The Theory of Economic Development. 1911. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1934. Information about Schumpeter and his works can be found online at: http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/profiles/schump.htm. Zacharakis, Andrew L., William D. Bygrave, and Dean A. Shepherd. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor: National Entrepreneurship Assessment: United States of America. Kansas City, Mo.: Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, 2000. Information about this book can be found online at: http://www.gemconsortium.org/. Advanced Bates, Timothy. “Entrepreneur Human Capital Inputs and Small Business Longevity.” Review of Economics and Statistics 72, no. 4 (1990): 551–559. Baumol, William J. “Entrepreneurship: Productive, Unproductive and Destructive.” Journal of Political Economy 98, no. 5 (1990): 893–921. Baumol, William J. The Free-Market Innovation Machine: Analyzing the Growth Miracle of Capitalism. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2002. Blanchflower, David G., and Andrew J. Oswald. “What Makes an Entrepreneur?” Journal of Labor Economics 16, no. 1 (1998): 26–60. Blau, David M. “A Time-Series Analysis of Self-Employment in the United States.” Journal of Political Economy 95, no. 3 (1987): 445–467. Blomstrom, Magnus, Robert E. Lipsey, and Mario Zejan. “Is Fixed Investment the Key to Economic Growth?” Quarterly Journal of Economics 111, no. 1 (1996): 269–276. Boettke, Peter J. Calculation and Coordination: Essays on Socialism and Transitional Political Economy. New York: Routledge, 2001. Boettke, Peter J., and Christopher J. Coyne. “Entrepreneurship and Development: Cause or Consequence?” Advances in Austrian Economics 6 (2003): 67–87. Bruce, Donald. “Taxes and Entrepreneurial Endurance: Evidence from the Self-Employed.” National Tax Journal 55, no. 1 (2002): 5–24. Evans, David S., and Linda S. Leighton. “Some Empirical Aspects of Entrepreneurship.” American Economic Review 79, no. 3 (1989): 519–535. Hamilton, Barton H. “Does Entrepreneurship Pay? An Empirical Analysis of the Returns to Self Employment.” Journal of Political Economy 108, no. 3 (2000): 604–631. Holtz-Eakin, Douglas, David Joulfaian, and Harvey S. Rosen. “Sticking It Out: Entrepreneurial Survival and Liquidity Constraints.” Journal of Political Economy 102, no. 1 (1994): 53–75. Kreft, Steven F., and Russell S. Sobel. “Public Policy, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Growth.” West Virginia University Entrepreneurship Center Working Paper, 2003. This article and some related research can be found online at: http://www.be.wvu.edu/ec/research.htm. Source: https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Entrepreneurship.html?fbclid=IwAR1a-1KFEDRov0Srw_xmSDNyCZQJgH13c3RZBCS4jmmt3vyIzvUPsmlWcsw

Entrepreneurs are people who start their own business. They’re known for embracing risk, having big ideas, and making major innovations that change how others do business. While anyone who starts a business has a bit of the entrepreneurial spirit, true entrepreneurs are distinguished by a certain visionary quality — think of Steve Jobs, for instance, who reimagined how people would interact with phones and computers, or Mark Zuckerberg, who transformed how we stay connected with friends and family and absorb the news.

If you’re applying for a job that calls for an entrepreneurial spirit, or if you’re interested in starting a company, you’ll want to review this list of the top four most important skills for entrepreneurs, as well as an extended list of all skills that entrepreneurs tend to possess.

How to Use Skills Lists
You can use these skills lists throughout your job search process. You can use these skill words in your resume. In the description of your work history, you might want to use some of these keywords.

Secondly, you can use these in your cover letter. In the body of your letter, you can mention one or two of these skills, and give a specific example of a time when you demonstrated those skills at work.

Finally, you can use these skill words in your interview. Make sure you have at least one example for a time you demonstrated each of the top four skills listed here.

Of course, each job will require different skills and experiences, so make sure you read the job description carefully and focus on the skills listed by the employer.

Also, review our lists of skills listed by job and type of skill.​

Top 4 Skills Every Entrepreneur Needs
Creative Thinking
Entrepreneurs are known for thinking outside of the box. Anyone can start an online business or a storefront; it takes Jeff Bezos to conceive of Amazon.com and expand an online book-selling business to using drones, streaming media, and supplying nearly any item under the sun. Creative thinking can take a smart, capable business owner to another level of success. In cover letters and interviews, emphasize this skill to show potential employers that you see connections and possibilities where others do not.

Leadership
Entrepreneurs often have an evangelistic quality. They have great ideas and are skilled at getting buy-in from investors and employees. If you’re applying for a role that requires an entrepreneurial spirit, provide examples of times you got staff on board with a plan that was a tough sell.

Risk Taking
Entrepreneurs often seem more comfortable with risk than other business leaders. It can lead to tremendous failures, but also stunning successes. Entrepreneurs are willing to live without a steady paycheck and make short-term sacrifices for a long-term payoff. That said, the risks that entrepreneurs take are calculated, and aren’t simply done for the thrill.

Strong Work Ethic
Being an entrepreneur may seem flashy and exciting. But a lot of hard work and long hours are required to launch something new. To be successful, entrepreneurs must execute. You’ll often hear stories of entrepreneurs who begin their workday well before sunrise or send middle-of-the-night emails. Entrepreneurs are relentless when it comes to completing projects and following through on the work required to turn ideas and plans into sellable products.

List of Entrepreneurial Skills
A – G

Analytical
Belief
Bravery
Business Storytelling
Collaboration
Confidence
Communication
Competitive
Compulsion to Succeed
Computer
Creative Thinking
Critical Thinking
Decision Making
Drive
Enthusiasm
Flexibility
Focus
H – M

Goal Oriented
Goal Setting
Initiative
Innovation
Interpersonal
Leadership
Logical Thinking
Management
Motivation
N – S

Negotiation
Nonverbal Communication
Optimism
Organization
Passion
Perseverance
Persuasion
Planning
Positive Attitude
Positive Image
Positivity
Presentation
Prioritization
Problem Solving
Relationship Building
Results Oriented
Risk Taking
Sales
Social Media
Stamina
Strategic Planning
Strategic Vision
Strategy
Strong Work Ethic
Success Driven
T – Z

Team Building
Technology
Think Outside the Box
Time Management
Transformation
Trend Setting
Vision
Vision into Action
Work Independently
Source: https://www.thebalancecareers.com/list-of-skills-entrepreneurs-need-2062391