Entrepreneural Competence

ENTREPRENEURAL COMPETENCE

1 Entrepreneurship concept

2 Entrepreneurship as a Career

3 Entrepreneurial Personality

4 Characteristics of Successful, Entrepreneur

5 Knowledge and Skills of Entrepreneur

1 Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship can be defined by describing what entrepreneurs do. For example: "Entrepreneurs use personal initiative, and engage in calculated risk-taking, to create new business ventures by raising resources to apply innovative new ideas that solve problems, meet challenges, or satisfy the needs of a clearly defined market."

But as the following definitions state, entrepreneurship is not restricted to business and profit:

"Entrepreneurship involves bringing about change to achieve some benefit. This benefit may be financial but it also involves the satisfaction of knowing you have changed something for the better.

"Entrepreneurship is essentially the act of creation requiring the ability to recognize an opportunity, shape a goal, and take advantage of a situation. Entrepreneurs plan, persuade, raise resources, and give birth to new ventures."

Entrepreneur

The word „Entrepreneur‟ has been taken  from  the French word.  It means Between Takers.

Entrepreneur is another name of Risk Taker.

An entrepreneur is an individual who takes moderate risks and brings innovation.

Entrepreneur is a person who organises/ manages the risks in his/her enterprise.

“Entrepreneur is a individual who takes risks and starts something new”

Definition

According to J.B.say, “Entrepreneur is an Economic agent to unites all the means of production”

An entrepreneur is an individual who takes moderate risks and brings innovation.

An entrepreneur is a person who has possession of a new enterprise, venture or idea and assumes significant accountability for the inherent risks and the outcome.

An entrepreneur is "one who undertakes an enterprise, especially a contractor, acting as intermediately between capital and labour."

Some facts about entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship:

E:xamine needs, wants, and problems to see how they can improve the way needs and wants are met and problems overcome.

N: arrow the possible opportunities to one specific "best" opportunity.

T:hink of innovative ideas and narrow them to the "best" idea.

R:esearch the opportunity and idea thoroughly.

E:nlist the best sources of advice and assistance that they can find.

P:lan their ventures and look for possible problems that might arise.

R:ank the risks and the possible rewards.

E:valuate the risks and possible rewards and make their decision to act or not to act.

N:ever hang on to an idea, no matter how much they may love it, if research shows it won't work.

E:mploy the resources necessary for the venture to succeed.

U:nderstand that they will have to work long and hard to make their venture succeed.

R:ealize a sense of accomplishment from their successful ventures and learn from their failures to help them achieve success in the future.

Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are different from each other, but successful entrepreneurs tend to share certain characteristics. Not all of them have developed each of the following to the same degree, but they tend to have developed most of them to some degree. Here are some common characteristics of successful entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurs tend to:

o  Be passionate about achieving their goals

o   Have a spirit of adventure (in fact, the word "adventure" is derived from the latin word meaning "to venture")

o  Have a strong need to achieve and seek personal accomplishment

o  Be self-confident and self-reliant

o  Be goal-oriented

o  Be innovative, creative, and versatile

o  Be persistent

o  Be hardworking and energetic

o  Have a positive attitude

o  Be willing to take initiative

o  Have a strong sense of commitment

An eye for opportunity: Many entrepreneurs start by finding a need and quickly satisfying it. Independence: Even though most entrepreneurs know how to work within the framework for the sake of profits, they enjoy being their own boss.

An appetite for hard work: Most entrepreneurs start out working long, hard hours with little pay.

Self-confidence: Entrepreneurs must demonstrate extreme self-confidence in order to cope with all the risks of operating their own business.

Discipline: Successful entrepreneurs resist the temptation to do what is unimportant or the easiest but have the ability to think through to what is the most essential.

Judgment: Successful entrepreneurs have the ability to think quickly and make a wise decision. Ability to accept change: Change occurs frequently when you own your own business, the entrepreneur thrives on changes and their businesses grow.

Make stress work for them: On the roller coaster to business success the entrepreneur often copes by focusing on the end result and not the process of getting there.

Need to achieve: Although they keep an "eye" on profits, this is often secondary to the drive toward personal success.

Focus on profits: Successful entrepreneurs always have the profit margin in sight and know that their business success is measured by profits. Is this your profile or would you rather do your job,

pick up your paycheck and leave the headaches to someone else? Most of us, quite easily, choose the later.

2 Entrepreneurship as a Career

The greatest challenge before the youngsters in India today is to build the country into an economic global giant. The obvious questions that come to the minds of most of them are - “Why should we in India think of being an entrepreneur? Why not work as part of a larger organisation where the opportunities and resources to scale ideas are perhaps far greater?

Entrepreneurship is important for two reasons. One, it furthers innovation to find new solutions to existing and emerging demands. Two, it offers far greater opportunities for wealth creation for self and the society than anything else. Entrepreneurship has its challenges. It is about 20 per cent luck and 80 per cent effort, clarity, courage, confidence, passion and above all smartness.

What leads a person to take up entrepreneurship as a career option? There can be a number of reasons including displacement from a job, frustration in the present job, not getting a job of his/her choice, etc. Sometimes a person realises much in advance that his/her job is in jeopardy, as the organisation is moving towards closure. At times a deserving employee getting superseded in promotion is compelled to quit the job and look for doing something on his own. Some people object to a system wherein reward is often based on seniority rather than merit.

Above facts are corroborated by the research findings of Gilad and Levine (1986). They

proposed two closely-related explanations of entrepreneurial motivation, the “push” and the “pull” theory. The “push” theory argues that individuals are pushed into entrepreneurship by negative external forces, such as job dissatisfaction, difficulty in finding employment, insufficient salary, or inflexible work schedule. The “pull” theory contends that individuals are attracted into entrepreneurial activities seeking independence, self-fulfillment, wealth, and other desirable outcomes. Research (Keeble et at., 1992; Orhan and Scott, 2001) indicates that individuals become entrepreneurs primarily due to “pull” factors rather than “push” factors.

Some of the prominent pull factors that attract individuals towards entrepreneurship as a career option are: High Need for Independence: There are personalities who would like to have freedom about: with whom to work, when to work, with whom to do business at what terms etc. It is this instinct in them that pushes such personalities to start something of their own.

To satisfy the dream of having high Financial Rewards: To satisfy the need to derive high financial rewards as an outcome of efforts leads some to start a business of their own. The fundamental difference between job and own venture lies in the degree of financial rewards for the efforts put in to achieve organisational goals.

Opportunity to deal with all aspects of a business: No job can provide an opportunity to learn and deal effectively with a wide spectrum of business activities starting from idea generation, conceptualisation, design, creation, marketing to customer response and customer satisfaction.

Vision to leave a long lasting mark: Entrepreneurship creates an opportunity to make definite contribution to the society by lifting the people in and around the venture. A continuous zeal to innovate helps in touching the heads and hearts of people at large.

A strong urge from within to start a business, combined with workable innovative ideas, careful planning, and hard work can lead to a very engaging, self-satisfying, enjoyable and profitable endeavour. The greatest contributory factor to entrepreneurship is an intention i.e. a strong purpose in life coupled with determination to produce desired results.

Positive aspects of entrepreneurship.

There is no age bar to entrepreneurship. But youth is certainly more suited to take up an entrepreneurial venture because they are technologically precocious, do not fear from change and challenge, and have greater ability to see things differently.

Thus, leaving aside the pull and push factors leading to entrepreneurship, the fundamental decision to take up entrepreneurship as a career option gets guided by a three part process in which an individual weighs the desirability of self-employment with the desirability of working for others, possession of competencies and capabilities to undertake entrepreneurial venture. The fact remains that present environment provides great entrepreneurial opportunities and more and more youngsters are consciously opting for it a as career option.

Being the boss if his own business, he enjoys unlimited powers. He can do things in his own way and he need not take orders from someone else. He can make his own decisions and act on them.

There are numerous opportunities for his self- development.

Working on one‟s own and thus getting rewards yields immense satisfaction and pleasure for more than what he can get in a job.

Monetary rewards can be more than commensurate with his capacity and capabilities.

He can command deference and respect of his immediate family and friends. It is a kind of intangible reward.

Instead of depending on others, he generates employment for others.

He can make significant contribution to the development of the country and be proud of taking part in nation building activities.

He can be a great achiever realising his goals and proving his achievements to the world. He can be recognised for his outstanding efforts.

Negative aspects

          Though an entrepreneur is his own boss, in some respects he is not. It is so because he is constrained by various people like his financiers, labourers, suppliers, customers and so on.

He may have to face frustration since the scope of his operations is limited by his limited resources.

He has to work long and hard hours from morning to dusk and his venture tends to absorb all his energy and time. This may affect his social and family life.

At times he may have to face disappointments and frustrations since everything in his venture may not always work the way he would like it to.

He has to always work with tension since there is always the risk of failure.

3 Entrepreneurial Personality

Starting and growing your own business requires many skills to be successful. Take a look at the business personality types and find out what you need to succeed.

Your business personality type are the traits and characteristics of your personality that blend with the needs of the business. If you better understand your business personality, then you can give your company the best part of you. Find others to help your business in areas you aren't prepared to fulfill.

There are 9 key types of personality and understanding each will help you enjoy your business more and provide your company with what it needs to grow. This entrepreneur personality profile is based on the 9-point circle of the Enneagram.

The 9 Personality Types of Entrepreneurs

1. The Improver: If you operate your business predominately in the improver mode, you are focused on using your company as a means to improve the world. Your overarching motto is: morally correct companies will be rewarded working on a noble cause. Improvers have an unwavering ability to run their business with high integrity and ethics.

Personality Alert: Be aware of your tendency to be a perfectionist and over-critical of employees and customers.

Entrepreneur example: Anita Roddick, Founder of The Body Shop.

2. The Advisor: This business personality type will provide an extremely high level of assistance and advice to customers. The advisor's motto is: the customer is right and we must do everything to please them. Companies built by advisors become customer focused.

Personality Alert: Advisors can become totally focused on the needs of their business and customers that they may ignore their own needs and ultimately burn out.

Entrepreneur example: John W. Nordstrom, Founder Nordstrom.

3. The Superstar: Here the business is centered around the charisma and high energy of the Superstar CEO. This personality often will cause you to build your business around your own personal brand. Personality Alert: Can be too competitive and workaholics.

Entrepreneur example: Donald Trump, CEO of Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts.

4.The Artist: This business personality is the reserved but highly creative type. Often found in businesses demanding creativity such as web design and ad agencies. As an artist type you‟ll tend to build your business around the unique talents and creativities you have.

Personality Alert: You may be overly sensitive to your customer‟s responses even if the feedback is constructive. Let go the negative self-image.

5.  The Visionary: A business built by a Visionary will often be based on the future vision and thoughts of the founder. You will have a high degree of curiosity to understand the world around you and will set-up plans to avoid the landmines.

Personality Alert: Visionaries can be too focused on the dream with little focus on reality. Action must proceed vision. Entrepreneurial example: Bill Gates, Founder of MicroSoft Inc.

6. The Analyst: If you run a business as an Analyst, your company is focus on fixing problems in a systematic way. Often the basis for science, engineering or computer firms, Analyst companies excel at problem solving.

Personality Alert: Be aware of analysis paralysis. Work on trusting others. Entrepreneurial example: Intel Founder, Gordon Moore.

7.  The Fireball: A business owned and operated by a Fireball is full of life, energy and optimism. Your company is life-energizing and makes customers feel the company has a get it done attitude in a fun playful manner.

Personality Alert: You may over commit your teams and act to impulsively. Balance your impulsiveness with business planning.

Entrepreneurial example: Malcolm Forbes, Publisher, Forbes Magazine.

8. The Hero: You have an incredible will and ability to lead the world and your business through any challenge. You are the essence of entrepreneurship and can assemble great companies.

Personality Alert: Over promising and using force full tactics to get your way will not work long term. To be successful, trust your leadership skills to help others find their way.

Entrepreneurial example: Jack Welch, CEO GE.

9. The Healer: If you are a Healer, you provide nurturing and harmony to your business. You have an uncanny ability to survive and persist with an inner calm.

Personality Alert: Because of your caring, healing attitude toward your business, you may avoid

outside realities and use wishful thinking. Use scenario planning to prepare for turmoil.

4 Characteristics of successful Entrepreneur

·        Capacity to take risk

·        Capacity to work hand

·        Above average intelligence and wide knowledge

·        Self Motivation

·        Vision and foresight

·        Willingness to defer consumption

·        Imagination initiative and emulation

·        Incentive ability and sound judgment

·        Flexibility and sociability

·        Desire to take personal responsibility.

·        Desire to seek and use feedback

·        Persistence in the face of adversity

·        Innovativeness and future orientation

·        Mobility and drive

·        Creative Thinking.

·        Strong need for achievement

·        Ability to Marshall resources

·        High degree of ambition

·        Will to conquer & impulse to fight.

·        Will to prove superior to others.

5 Knowledge and Skills of Entrepreneur

2. Idea generation & scanning of the best suitable idea

3. Determination of the business objective

4. Product analysis and market research

5. Determination of form of ownership

6. Completion of promotional formalities

7. Raising necessary funds

8. Procuring machine & material

9. Recruitment of men

10.    Undertaking the business operations

Entrepreneur & Manager

Types of Entrepreneur

^ü   Innovative Entrepreneur

^ü   Imitative Entrepreneur

7 key Qualities of Entrepreneur

Being an entrepreneur is about more than just starting a business or two, it is about having attitude and the drive to succeed in business. All successful Entrepreneurs have a similar way of thinking and posses several key personal qualities that make them so successful in business. Successful entrepreneurs like the ambitious Richard Branson have an inner drive to succeed and grow their business, rather than having a Harvard Business degree or technical knowledge in a particular field.

All successful entrepreneurs have the following qualities:

Inner Drive to Succeed

Entrepreneurs are driven to succeed and expand their business. They see the bigger picture and are often very ambitious. Entrepreneurs set massive goals for themselves and stay committed to achieving them regardless of the obstacles that get in the way.

Strong Belief in themselves

Successful entrepreneurs have a healthy opinion of themselves and often have a strong and assertive personality. They are focused and determined to achieve their goals and believe completely in their ability to achieve them. Their self optimism can often been seen by others as flamboyance or arrogance but entrepreneurs are just too focused to spend too much time thinking about un-constructive criticism.

Search for New Ideas and Innovation

All entrepreneurs have a passionate desire to do things better and to improve their products or service. They are constantly looking for ways to improve. They're creative, innovative and resourceful.

Openness to Change

If something is not working for them they simply change. Entrepreneurs know the importance of keeping on top of their industry and the only way to being number one is to evolve and change with the times. They're up to date with the latest technology or service techniques and are always ready to change if they see a new opportunity arise.

Competitive by Nature

Successful entrepreneurs thrive on competition. The only way to reach their goals and live up to their self imposed high standards is to compete with other successful businesses.

Highly Motivated and Energetic

Entrepreneurs are always on the move, full of energy and highly motivated. They are driven to succeed and have an abundance of self motivation. The high standards and ambition of many entrepreneurs demand that they have to be motivated!

Accepting of Constructive Criticism and Rejection

Innovative entrepreneurs are often at the forefront of their industry so they hear the words "it can't be done" quite a bit. They readjust their path if the criticism is constructive and useful to their overall plan, otherwise they will simply disregard the comments as pessimism. Also, the best entrepreneurs know that rejection and obstacles are a part of any leading business and they deal with them appropriately.

True entrepreneurs are resourceful, passionate and driven to succeed and improve. They're pioneers and are comfortable fighting on the frontline The great ones are ready to be laughed at and criticized in the beginning because they can see their path ahead and are too busy working towards their dream.

WOMEN ENTREPRENEUR IN INDIA: The Indian sociological set up has been traditionally a male dominate done. Women are considered as weaker sex and always to depend on men folk in their family and outside, throughout their life. They are left with lesser commitments and kept as a dormant force for a quite long time. The Indian culture made them only subordinates and executors of the decisions made by other male members, in the basic family structure.

The traditional set up is changing in the modern era. The transformation of social fabric of the Indian society, in terms of increased educational status of women and varied aspirations for better living, necessitated a change in the life style of Indian women.

Indian families do have the privilege of being envied by the westerners, since women here are taking more responsibilities in bringing up children and maintaining a better home with love and affection. At the family level, the task of coordinating various activities in a much effective manner, without feeling the pinch of inconveniences, is being carried out by the women folk.

Thus, the Indian women have basic characters in themselves in the present sociological and cultural setup as follows.

Indian women are considered as Sakthi, which means source of power. Effectively coordinating the available factors and resources.

Efficient execution of decisions imposed on them

Clear vision and ambition on the improvement of family and children. Patience and bearing the sufferings on behalf of others and

Ability to work physically more at any age.

NEED OF THE HOUR: Women sector occupies nearly 45% of the Indian population. The literary and educational status of women improved considerably during the past few decades. More and more higher educational and research institutions are imparting knowledge and specialisation. At this juncture, effective steps are needed to provide entrepreneurial awareness, orientation and skill development programmes to women. The institutions available at present are very limited. Moreover, their functions and opportunities available with them are not popularised much.

QUALITIES REQUIRED FOR AN ENTREPRENEUR: An effective entrepreneur requires certain basic qualities, which can be listed as follows.

Innovative thinking and farsightedness.

Quick and effective decision making skill. Ability to mobilise and marshal resources. Strong determination and self confidence. Preparedness to take risks.

Accepting changes in right time.

Access and alertness to latest scientific and technological information.

Matching the basic qualities required for entrepreneurs and the basic characters of Indian women reveal that, much potential is available among the Indian women on their entrepreneurial ability. This potential is to be recognized, brought out and exposed for utilisation in productive and service sectors for the development of the nation.

Factors affecting Entrepreneurship growth:

1.     Economic factors

2.     Social factors

3.     Cultural factors

4.     Personality factors

5.     Psychological and sociological factors.

Economic Factors:

1.     Lack of adequate basic facilities

2.     Non- availability of capital

3.     Non- availability of raw materials and finished goods.

4.     Greater risk involved in business

5.     Non- availability of skilled labour

Social factors

4.     Customs and traditions

5.     Rationality of the society

6.     Social system

7.     Social set-up

Personality Factors

1.     Suspect personality

2.     Emergence of planning