Entrepreneur

Entrepreneur

Definition

Entrepreneur is an individual who bears the risk of operating a business in the face of uncertainty about the future conditions.- Encyclopedia Britannica.

An entrepreneur in an advanced economy is an individual who introduces something new in the economy, a method of production not yet tested by experience in the branch of manufacture concerned, a product with which consumers are not yet familiar, a new source of raw material or of new market and the like-Joseph Schumepeter.

Qualities of an Entrepreneur

The qualities essential to become a successful entrepreneur are;

·               Risk bearer - bears problems or hard times in the business

·               Opportunity explorer - identifies means and ways to achieve the goals

·               Achiever - self determined to achieve the goals in business

·               Individualist - job giver and not job seeker

·               Flexible person - ready to take decisions based on the prevailing situations and expect changes as and when needed

·               Motivator - influences people and make others to think and act accordingly

·               Stress taker - discusses physical and emotional stress and helps others to solve them

·               Planner - frames step by step activities and follows them to achieve the goal of the company or unit

·               Problem Solver - thinks logically and tries to solve problems systematically

·               Creative thinker - Analyses the current trade situations and comes up with creative ideas ‘Out of Book Thinking’

Types of Entrepreneur

The types   of entrepreneurs are innovative entrepreneur, adoptive or initiative entrepreneur, fabian entrepreneur and drone entrepreneur.

Innovative Entrepreneur

These entrepreneurs are generally aggressive in experimentation. They are found in developed countries. They are highly creative. They do attractive things in their business. They keep introducing new techniques or products into the market. They play a key role in rise of modern capitalism. They face the risk of uncertainty.

Adoptive / Imitative Entrepreneur

These entrepreneurs are adoptive as they are ready to adopt successful innovations created by innovative entrepreneurs. They do not innovate changes but imitate the technology, knowledge and skills found by others. They are found in under developed countries as they contribute to the development of economics. They face lesser risks and uncertainty than innovative entrepreneurs.

Fabian Entrepreneur

These entrepreneurs are very cautious and are very lazy. They are not ready to introduce new changes and do not adopt new methods innovated by the most enterprising entrepreneurs. They are not interested to take risks and they follow the footsteps of their predecessors.

Drone Entrepreneur

These entrepreneurs are conventional. They refuse to adopt and use opportunities to make changes in production. They do not make changes in their methods even if there is a loss in business. They are laggards because they try to continue their job in their traditional way. When their products become uneconomical, they will be pushed out of the market.

Functions of an Entrepreneur

The functions of entrepreneurs are:

·               Perceiving market opportunities

·               Marketing of the products to overcome competition

·               Purchasing inputs and industrial engineering

·               Upgrading process and product quality

·               Managing money, man, material and machines

·               Understanding licence and taxation procedures.