In this lecture topic , the course outcome number 1 will be achieved.
An entrepreneur is one of the important segments of economic growth. Basically he/she is a person responsible for setting up a business or an enterprise. In fact he/she is one who has the initiative, skill for innovation and who looks for high achievements. He/she is a catalytic agent of change and works for the good of people. He/she puts up new green field projects that create wealth, open up many employment opportunities and leads to the growth of other sectors.
The word “entrepreneur” is derived from the French verb “entreprendre”. It means “to undertake”. In the early 16th century, the Frenchmen who organized and led military expeditions were referred to as “entrepreneurs”, around 1700 A.D., the term was used for architects and contractors of public works.
The term “entrepreneur” was applied to business initially by the French economist, Caltillon, in the 18th century; designate a dealer who purchases the means of production for combining them into marketable products. Another Frenchman J.B. Say, expanded Cantillon‟s ideas and conceptualized the entrepreneur as an organizer of a business firm, central to its distributive and production functions. Beyond stressing the entrepreneur’s importance to the business, Say did little with his entrepreneurial analysis.
New Concept of Entrepreneur
The term “entrepreneur” has been defined as one who detects and evaluates a new situation in his environment and directs the making of such adjustments in the economic system as he/she deems necessary. He/she conceives of an industrial enterprise for the purpose, displays considerable initiative, grit and determination in bringing his project to fruition and in this process, performs one or more of him/her following.
• Perceives opportunities for profitable investment
• Explores the prospects of starting such a manufacturing enterprise
• Obtains necessary industrial licenses
• Arranges initial capital
• Provides personal guarantees to the financial institutions
CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ENTREPRENEUR:
A successful entrepreneur must be a person with technical competence, initiative, good judgement, intelligence, leadership qualities, self confidence, energy, attitude, creativeness, fairness, honesty, tactfulness and emotional stability.
- Mental ability: Mental ability consists of intelligence and creative thinking. An entrepreneur must be reasonably intelligent and should have creative thinking and must be able to engage in the analysis of various problems and situations in order to deal with them. The entrepreneur should anticipate changes and must be able to study the various situation under which decision have to be made.
- Clear objectives: An entrepreneur should have a clear objectives as to the exact nature of the goods to be produced and subsidiary activities to be undertaken. A successful entrepreneur may also have the objective to establish the products, to make profit or to render social service.
- Business secrecy: An entrepreneur must be able to guard business secrets. Leakage of business secrets to trade competitors is a serious matter which should be carefully guarded against by an entrepreneur. An entrepreneur should be able to make a proper selection of his assistants.
- Human relations ability: The most important personality traits contributing to the success of an entrepreneur are emotional stability, personal relations, consideration and tactfulness. An entrepreneur must maintain good relations with his customers if he is to establish relations that will encourage them to continue to patronize his business. He must also maintain good relations with his employees if he is to motivate them to perform their jobs at a high level of efficiency. An entrepreneur who maintains good human relations with customers, employees, suppliers, creditors and the community is much more likely to succeed in his business than the individual who does not practice good human relations. Human relations ability can also be referred to as tactfulness.
- Communication ability: Communication ability is the ability to communicate effectively. Good communication also means that both the sender and the receiver understand each other and are being understood. An entrepreneur who can effectively communicate with customers, employees, suppliers and creditors will be more likely to succeed than the entrepreneur who does not.
- Technical knowledge: An entrepreneur must have a reasonable level of technical knowledge. Technical knowledge is the one ability that most people are able to acquire if they try hard enough. An entrepreneur who has a high level of administrative ability, mental ability, human relation ability, communication ability and technical knowledge stands a much better chance of success than his counterpart who possesses low levels of these basic qualities.
CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR
Motivator: An entrepreneur must build a team, keep it motivated and provide an environment for individual growth and career development.
Self confidence: Entrepreneurs must have belief in themselves and the ability to achieve their goals.
Long term involvement: An entrepreneur must be committed to the project with a time horizon of five to seven years. No ninety- day wonders are allowed.
High energy level: Success of an entrepreneur demands the ability to work long hours for sustained periods of time.
Persistent problem solver: An entrepreneur must have an intense desire to complete a task or solve a problem. Creativity is an essential ingredient.
Initiative: An entrepreneur must have initiative accepting personal responsibility for actions and above all make good use of resource.
Goal setter: An entrepreneur must be able to set challenging but realistic goals.
Moderate risk taker: An entrepreneur must be a moderate risk taker and learn from any failures. These personal traits go a long way in making an entrepreneur a successful man or woman
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