Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Entrepreneurship?
Entrepreneurship is the process of setting up a new business, with an entrepreneur being an individual who creates this enterprise. While an entrepreneur bears most of the risks associated with such a venture, they also enjoy most of the potential rewards if the business is successful.
Why Is Entrepreneurship So Important?
As well as potentially delivering personal success, entrepreneurship can also have important benefits for society and the wider economy. This is because entrepreneurs drive innovation, introducing new services, products and solutions to the marketplace. Entrepreneurship creates jobs, promotes competition in the market and stimulates economic growth, and it can even help to make society a better place through addressing social issues to promote positive change.
Are There are Any Characteristics Shared by Entrepreneurs?
While all entrepreneurs are different, there are several key traits that they often share. These include versatility, flexibility, great money management skills, resilience, focus, business acumen and first-rate communication skills.
What Are the Steps to Becoming an Entrepreneur?
Becoming an entrepreneur usually starts with having a great idea to meet a specific market demand. Following this, a comprehensive business plan should be developed, networking undertaken and adequate funding secured. Before the new business is launched, the idea should be trialled by developing a prototype, asking potential customers to complete a survey or organising a focus group to obtain feedback.
What Is Bootstrapping for Entrepreneurs?
Bootstrapping is when an entrepreneur builds a company solely using their savings, along with the initial sales made by the new business. The advantage of going down this route is that the entrepreneur faces no interference or intervention in the business from investors, although there are also risks: the entrepreneur could lose their life savings if the business fails.
How Can Entrepreneurs Grow Their Businesses?
To grow their business, an entrepreneur could schedule regular reviews to assess their business strategy against market trends and external economic and environmental factors, while also seeking out new opportunities. The latter could entail entering new markets, expanding an existing product line or exploring the latest technological advancements. Asking for (and acting on) feedback is also an important factor of growing a business, as is monitoring its financial health and expanding its network.
What Are Entrepreneurial Resources?
Entrepreneurial resources are company-owned assets that have the ability to create economic value and are broadly divided into two categories: tangible and intangible. Tangible resources include things like land, buildings, furniture, equipment, machinery, stock, inventory and cash, while examples of intangible resources are the company’s brand name, reputation, organisational structure, intellectual property and entrepreneurial networks.