Entrepreneurship: Do You Have What It Takes?

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by Elena Fawkner

Fully one in ten adults in the United States today is an entrepreneur. This phenomenon is by no means restricted to North America. The leading country for entrepreneurship is Brazil with one in eight adults an entrepreneur. Australia is not far behind the U.S. with one in twelve. These countries - Brazil, the United States and Australia - lead the way. Contrast, for example, Germany (one in 25), the United Kingdom (one in 33), Finland and Sweden (one in 50) and Ireland and Japan (less than one in 100). (Source: Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2000.)

Entrepreneurship Defined

The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 1999 defined entrepreneurship as "any attempt at new business or new venture creation, such as self-employment, a new business organization, or the expansion of an existing business, by an individual, a team of individuals, or an established business."

Entrepreneurial Activity - A Historical Perspective

Entrepreneurship is a major contributing factor to the economic well-being of a country both in terms of economic growth and job creation. Traditionally, entrepreneurial ability tended to focus on the following four attributes:

=> Initiative - the entrepreneur takes the initiative to bring together the economic resources of land, labor and capital to produce a commodity (whether a good or a service) with the hope that such production will create a profitable business venture.

=> Decision-making - the entrepreneur makes the basic business policy decisions for the business, thereby setting the course of the enterprise.

=> Innovation - the entrepreneur is an innovator, attempting to introduce new products and new ways of doing things.

=> Risk-taker - the entrepreneur risks his or her time, effort, business reputation and invested funds in the entrepreneurial venture.

The Modern Entrepreneur

Until recently, the above attributes, especially innovation and risk-taking, were the dominant factors that defined the characteristics of those who chose to become entrepreneurs.

Now, however, with corporate downsizing being a fact of life, many entrepreneurs find themselves thrust into the role by default.

The question for anyone either finding themselves in this position involuntarily or thinking about leaving corporate life for the heady world of entrepreneurship is whether you have what it takes to be successful ... the "right stuff" in other words. Some people do, in spades. Others simply don't. If you're one of the ones who just doesn't, either resign yourself to working for someone else or cultivate in yourself the qualities that successful entrepreneurs share. Believe it or not, entrepreneurs are not just "born". Well, some, of course, seem to be natural-born entrepreneurs, but for the rest of us, the qualities of entrepreneurship can definitely be acquired by hard work and application.