What I know about Entrepreneurs is this; they are anyone willing to take a risk with the opportunity of financial gain.
I want to note that this does not mean it has to be only self financial gain!
And now I'm sure you're wondering how that works out. My answer isn't a short one.
Who is an entrepreneur?
Did you know that there are 582 million entrepreneurs in the world today? That means 1 in every 13 people owns a business.
Talks around entrepreneurship are everywhere nowadays. But what exactly does entrepreneurship mean?
Some say it's the process of launching, developing and running a business venture along with its financial risks. In simple terms, it is the willingness to launch a new business. It's essential for the economic development of the expanding global marketplace.
Generally, starting your own business is a tough proposition, as 90% of startups fail each year. However, it comes as no surprise that more and more people choose to be independent in their professional careers.
Another statistic I found was that 2 out of 3 people worldwide think entrepreneurship is the right choice. Haven't we all wondered at least once in our lives, why is entrepreneurship so appealing to the masses?
So now we need to know what makes entrepreneurship so important?
Entrepreneurs create jobs. In addition to employing themselves, they can often create several job opportunities with their business ventures. And as their businesses grow, more job opportunities can be created, thereby reducing unemployment.
Entrepreneurs create change. When an entrepreneur builds a business in the hopes of solving a problem or when they explore a new idea, it can bring transition into the world. Entrepreneurs like to start with a well-defined future and then come back to the present to change it to match the vision. The goal is to adopt a broader, more expansive scale standard for the business, a form, a way of being that can be translated into things to do today.
Entrepreneurs give to society. Some entrepreneurs we know, like Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, are the biggest donors to charities and nonprofits. That's because the entrepreneurial perspective is an integrated vision of the world.
What makes being an Entrepreneur so risky? As alluring as the idea of entrepreneurship may seem, there may be factors to keep in mind before choosing where to start your business, these are:
Legal Factors. The strength and fairness of the judicial system in a country has a significant role to play in the quality of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs might require the courts to enforce the contracts agreed on between the two parties.
Capital Availability. Capital is a requirement for ventures an entrepreneur may take on, and they might also require instant money to scale up the business once an idea becomes successful.
Labour and raw materials. The availability of skilled labour and required raw materials at reasonable prices are essential for launching a business in a region. Countries like India, Bangladesh and China have witnessed a considerable rise in entrepreneurial activities because the labour markets were favourable for them.
Taxes. Governments sometimes resort to excessive taxation as they adopt the policy of taking from the rich and giving it to the poor. Entrepreneurs want to set up businesses in places where there is very little interference from the government on taxation.
And last but not least, Political Factors. Ideally, a country should be capitalistic for entrepreneurship to flourish in the region.
So why do many people (13 to 1 to be precise) express worry or discontent with the idea of being an entrepreneur?
It's wrong to conclude that pursuing Entrepreneurship is better or worse than going for the role of a senior corporate executive, but being an entrepreneur isn't for everyone. However, not every successful entrepreneur has the skill set to thrive in a corporate environment.
Life as an entrepreneur, especially during the early stages of a business, is very challenging. There's an element of uncertainty and risk that a person won't face when they sign up for a stable job with a substantial corporation. Climbing the corporate ladder is not an easy task. However, on the corporate side, 70 percent of U.S. workers don't feel inspired by their jobs. They think that they aren't reaching their full potential (CBS News, 2013). This statistic indicates that 7 out of 10 employees are not "satisfied" with their current careers in the corporate arena.
Entrepreneurship is certainly not the most straightforward task either. On the entrepreneurial side, an entrepreneur's life is peppered with ambiguity, long hours, sacrifice, and setbacks (Forbes, 2013).
There are various reasons why people choose to pursue the path of entrepreneurship.
As we all know, some of us excel in corporate environments; while others excel in the entrepreneurial arena.
While there's no "perfect" environment, corporate or entrepreneurial, we must be honest with ourselves when selecting the path that works for us.
To survive, in either arena, you must possess, or at a minimum, develop the relevant survival skills on a corporate or entrepreneurial level.
There are factors to consider and different types of entrepreneurship. But would it shock you to learn there are tons of ways that people see entrepreneurship? These are just a few I've found in Google.
Small business entrepreneurship
Scalable Startup Entrepreneurship
Large Company Entrepreneurship
Social Entrepreneurship
Here are some types of entrepreneurs listed by behavioural scientists:
Solo Operators
Active Partners
Inventors
Challengers
Buyers
Life-Timers: These entrepreneurs take business as an integral part of their life. Usually, the family enterprise and businesses which mainly depend on the exercise of personal skills fall in this type/category of entrepreneurs.
We can also classify entrepreneurs with these words: Private, Government or Public, Joint, Cooperative, Traditional or Evolutionary, Modern or Revolutionary, Routine New Type, Innovative, Imitative, Urban and Rural, and Systematic Entrepreneurship.
I mean really, the list can go on and on and on, for real, Google it.
I've come to learn there are so many types of entrepreneurs out there. That's because there are so many people out there and we all have our own ideas. As I said earlier, the vital thing about entrepreneurs is that they help build and progress economies.
The entrepreneur is the visionary in us. The dreamer. The energy behind every human activity. The imagination that sparks the fire of the future. The catalyst for change. The wild-spirit within us.
The Urban Dictionary says that a human who has a wild-spirit is courageous, fun, exhilarating. They are someone you want to spend time with, for they take you on a wild adventure you'll find difficult to forget. A person can't seem to get enough, because it brings them closer to infinity and endless possibilities.
In Entrepreneurship, there's a model of a business that fulfills the perceived needs of a specific segment of customers, intuitively.
I often wonder if perhaps the biggest reason that there are so many floundering entrepreneurs in the world today is because of the spirit that is often squelched by so many unknowing adults, our parents and teachers, even laws themselves.
But they are not trying to suffocate our wild-spirit. They are trying to teach us how to balance the wild out, because too much of one way or the other will either kill it or kill you.
Human beings perform extraordinary acts, regularly. They’re capable of going to the moon and creating the computer. Capable of building a bomb that can destroy us all.
There seems to be a myth that says that small businesses are started by entrepreneurs risking capital to make a profit.
I just don’t think I can agree.
The real reasons people start businesses have almost nothing to do with entrepreneurship.
In fact, this belief in the Entrepreneurial Myth is the most critical factor in the devastating rate of small business failure today.
Understanding the myth, and applying that understanding to the creation and development of a small business, might be a secret to any business's success.
I will go over my love for entrepreneurs and progression as we get to know each other more, with some time of my blog passing.
I learned I need a place I can write about all my struggles and tribulations. And maybe, if I could help at least one person out there, it would make all the hours spent on my VR mentors’ words of encouragement worthwhile.
But first, let's start here. Ultimately you want to have a plan. Flight attendants instruct us to put on our oxygen mask before helping someone else – this means before anyone, even your children.
Put your mask on first.
This practice is designed to help keep you and everyone else safe. Imagine if half the plane passed out from lack of oxygen because everyone neglected themselves while trying to help other people.
Increase your income. Have you ever felt like there wasn't enough mayonnaise for your sandwich? You're always trying to scrape that last little bit from the jar.
Increasing your income would help stock your pantry (figuratively, and literally) with an extra jug or two. Options for a 2nd career are everywhere, and many entrepreneurial opportunities let you set your hours and pace. Are you working part-time as your boss while helping to get out of the proverbial panini press?
Go for it!
Start dreaming again. You may have been in survival mode for so long that you've forgotten you once had dreams.
What would you love to do for yourself or your family when you have the time and money? Take that vacation to Europe?
Build that add on to the house?
Own that luxury car you've always wanted?
Maybe you'd like to have enough leftover to help others pursue their goals.
It's never too late to get the ball rolling on any of these steps. When you're ready, feel free to give me a call. We can work together to quickly prioritize how you can start feeling less like bologna and more like a Monte Cristo.
Nat Scheller