Business Idea – Just a bit of information, did you know that the word entrepreneur derives from the French word “entreprendre” which means “to undertake”? If you want to become more analytical and speak French, you might think it’s because of combining two verbs “entre” and “prendre.” “To enter” means “to enter” and “to take” means “to take” in a combined way that they would mean “to enter to take.” That also works because someone who follows a business start-up idea and enters markets to take advantage of earning opportunities while taking risks is, by definition, an entrepreneur is.
People who become entrepreneurs seek or fall for the entrepreneurial life. Not everyone who becomes an entrepreneur grew up thinking it was their dream to become an entrepreneur.
Entrepreneurs belong to different entrepreneurial personalities – the professional, the expert or pragmatist, and the inventor. Perhaps as a small business owner, you haven’t given much thought to the type of entrepreneur you are. You were too busy focusing on making your business operational and profitable rather than what kind of entrepreneur you are.
Entrepreneurs who are qualified as professional entrepreneurs create one business, another, and another. They are very good at starting a business and making it very successful in a relatively short period. Sometimes, if lucky, the first company does well, and they sell it. Soon they start another company because entrepreneurship is in their blood, and they cannot work for someone else, so they are beginning another business.
Sometimes an entrepreneur is looking for an expert in a particular area necessary for their business, such as accounting, finance, marketing, or sales. They may also need an expert in a specific field such as software, pharmaceuticals, or cosmetics. So they search for someone who has that knowledge and asks them to participate in their venture by making them a partner. Voila! They are now entrepreneurs.
Experienced entrepreneurs are often well trained and gain experience in their trade by working in a business environment for several years. There they sharpen their skills and create the expertise that makes them so valuable as entrepreneurs.
The third type is the inventor. Bill Gates is an inventor-type entrepreneur who has made this type very well known. This type of entrepreneur can have a distinct inventor personality. You know the “distracted professor” who is so engrossed in his technology and invention that it doesn’t work well in a fully functioning corporate environment. As a result, they cannot serve as a business owner because they have too narrow a focus.
To succeed as an entrepreneur, they compensate for their shortcomings by surrounding themselves with experts who can deliver the business skills they lack. They can hire the “professional” entrepreneur as a partner to focus on the growth aspects of the business, so they can continue as an inventor, which they do best.
There are blends of these three entrepreneurial types. It is possible to find a professional-inventor variety that is fortunate enough to have both skills at their disposal. They can become super-creative geniuses who can invent and start businesses that do extremely well and become very profitable, taking full advantage of their creative and business potential. They can become billionaires!
The pragmatist-professional entrepreneur mix needs a combination expert who also understands the operation of a business. They use their experience to develop a business idea that will lead to a highly profitable business idea and set about hiring all the talent they need in each area to make it extraordinarily successful. For example, someone familiar with the pharmaceutical industry has an idea of marketing and managing pharmaceuticals in a new and more efficient way. His experience as a professional entrepreneur allowed him to dig in and help start the business while overseeing the pharmaceutical side’s development.
Another interesting fact is that certain types of entrepreneurial personalities go better with specific types of businesses. Increase your chances of success if you choose a company that suits your entrepreneurial style. When you are considering starting a business, you do not believe what kind of entrepreneur you are. Success often depends on your knowledge of your strengths and weaknesses and your ability to find people who compliment you.
Opinions expressed by California Gazette contributors are their own.
