A Closer Look: Definition of Entrepreneur
According to YourDictionary, an entrepreneur is “a person who organizes and manages a business undertaking, assuming the risk for the sake of the profit.” However, there is much more to entrepreneurship than this simple definition. Author and successful entrepreneur Michael Gerber once wrote,
“The entrepreneur is our visionary, the creator in each of us. We're born with that quality and it defines our lives as we respond to what we see, hear, feel, and experience. It is developed, nurtured, and given space to flourish or is squelched, thwarted, without air or stimulation, and dies.”
Entrepreneurs are a diverse group. The media gives a great deal of attention to those who start businesses from their college dorm rooms, but people of any age can be successful entrepreneurs.
- A stay at home mom may come up with a great idea for a new children’s toy.
- An experienced business manager may decide to take the skills he or she has learned working for others and start their own consulting firm.
An entrepreneur’s age, educational background, and previous business-related experience isn’t nearly as important as his or her desire to learn and willingness to bounce back from the obstacles associated with creating a new business endeavor.
Defining Entrepreneurs
An entrepreneur is a person who takes an idea, product or service and does whatever is necessary to introduce it to the marketplace where it can produce revenue.
- The idea could be a new procedure or a new way to provide a service. The idea could then be made available to other companies who can use the idea within their own operations or the entrepreneur might decide to introduce the procedure or new service on their own.
- The product could be something simple such as a new type of hair comb or it could be a multi-part product such as a new electronic item.
The many responsibilities of the entrepreneur include:
- Idea, product or service design
- Financing
- Research
- Staffing (if they hire employees)
- Marketing and Promotion
- Sales
Entrepreneurs Create Jobs
Entrepreneurs are passionate about the products and services their businesses sell, and their buying and selling efforts benefit the economy in other ways as well.
While it’s true that large corporations such as Wal-Mart employ millions of people in the United States, there are still many more Americans who work for the various small businesses run by entrepreneurs. From 2002 to 2007, Entrepreneur Magazine reported that the entrepreneurs created 4.5 million new jobs—over twice the number of positions added by larger corporations during this time.
Resources on Becoming an Entrepreneur
To learn more about becoming an entrepreneur, YourDictionary recommends visiting the following helpful Internet websites: