Entrepreneurship

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Defining Entrepreneur

The term entrepreneur defines a person who is capable and innovative enough to create an idea and develop it to turn it into a reality by using the resources available in the right manner while identifying and grabbing the opportunities to fulfill unsatisfied demands in the market (Bosma and Levie, 2010). The main feature which enables them to continuously believe and work for their idea is self-motivation (Schaper and et.al, 2014). Thus, reluctance by people and leaders in the industry does not diminish their spirit and passion to follow their decisions (Morris, Kuratko, and Covin, 2010). They recognize a hidden need or create it among customers which will be satisfied through their product or service (Storey and Greene, 2010). The experts have observed characteristics and traits in several famous and successful entrepreneurs as well as stated that only a few features are commonly found in them which has resulted in their success (Bridge and O'Neill, 2012). Regardless of their background, community, religion, race, and gender, they have some common features such as:

Tenacity- The term gives the essence of the features required by an entrepreneur. The tenacity or determination to achieve their goal drives them (Burns, 2010). An entrepreneur needs to have the mindset of commitment to working towards the successful actualization of their vision (Monitor, 2010). An entrepreneur having tenacity is also bound to fail at some point but the determination towards his work makes him act again on it with better techniques (Kuratko, 2016).

Passion- For a successful entrepreneur, the second most important feature to have is passion (Baum, Frese, and Baron, 2014). The zeal and dedication towards achieving the vision and goal is what drives them. The focus of a business venture instead of making huge profits is their passion for their idea (Storey ed., 2016). Like every other start-up, entrepreneurs face problems and hardships and have the passion to achieve their set targets.

Resilience- A start-up business always carries the risk of failure and obstructions with it till the time it is completely accepted by industry and society (Wiklund and et.al, 2011). Even after that, a minimum risk is always present for a company. Patience and tolerance are required to go through all these phases (Welter, 2011). If an entrepreneur has passion and determination but lacks in tolerance to overcome hardships, it would lead to the business's and its owner's downfall (Dacin, Dacin, and Matear, 2010).

Self-belief- The key trait of a successful business owner is to have belief in self and product. The utter belief in an idea and its need in the market can only make an entrepreneur work harder and ignore all cynical opinions to restrict them from going further (Defourny and Nyssens, 2010).

Flexibility- Business operates in a dynamic and uncertain environment which makes it a necessity for the business owner to have flexibility in his ideas and plans (Bruton, Ahlstrom, and Li, 2010). This feature allows us to respond to any uncertain changes in the market or other factors that have a direct or indirect impact on business operations. As a business takes time to get established, during the processing time, an entrepreneur needs to change and adapt his product and idea to the changing market conditions (Oosterbeek, Van Praag, and Ijsselstein, 2010).

Unconventional- To perform in the market of orthodox and established players, a start-up entrepreneur needs to have an unconventional approach to divert the attention of the customers from these companies toward his product (George and Bock, 2011). It does not necessarily mean that this approach will be immediately accepted, whereas usually, it gets criticism in the initial phase but is gradually accepted when its importance is realized (Karlan and Valdivia, 2011). These characteristics and traits are what makes an entrepreneur and his business venture successful. To further analyze these, an example is provided (Santos, 2012).

A famous and successful entrepreneur as well as the owner of a Bharti Enterprise, a conglomerate is taken as an example (Nicholls, 2010). He is considered one of the most innovative and visionary entrepreneurs base in India (Delgado, Porter, and Stern, 2010). As stated by people with passion have the power to change the world, Bharti Enterprise is one largest companies in various industries and sectors (Neck and Greene, 2011). It deals in Telecommunications, agribusiness, manufacturing, and financial services. It started as a manufacturing company for bicycles and gradually diversified into other sectors (Djankov and et.al, 2010). The characteristics required for an entrepreneur to become successful can be observed in the mentioned business owner.

The tenacity to keep working on the project idea and to make it a reality can be seen in Sunil Mittal. Even working in an entirely unrelated sector he started a telecom company when the government started providing licenses for telecommunication as he saw an opportunity for an emerging market (Dacin, Dacin, and Tracey, 2011). He had an undying passion for technology and he worked in the same field to create better services and software. The opinions and criticism of many people around him and in the industry could not make him believe in himself and his ideas any less (Short and et.al, 2010). He changed his approaches and working methods to adapt to the changing environment and used unconventional ways to create new technology. If you want to get an authentic paper as per the prescribed deadline, then consider seeking dissertation help from our assignment writers.

Functions of an entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is the main controller and manager of the business organization no matter its size it (Jones, Coviello, and Tang, 2011). To design and plan the implementation of his ideas, proper strategies and approaches need to be selected (Onetti and et.al, 2012). The owner plays the most important role in shaping up the company for leading it to success (Shane, 2012). The roles and functions can be observed as:

Planning- The first and foremost function of the role of an entrepreneur is to prepare a plan for the operating activities of the company. It includes functions of every department and sets targets to be achieved in a limited period (Hall, Daneke, and Lenox, 2010). Planning each process is a lengthy and challenging task and hence is done by the owners and CEOs of the business (Samila and Sorenson, 2011).

Location- To apply the working operations so formed, a location site is required to be selected to set up the business (Schaltegger and Wagner, 2011). Entrepreneurs search and identify a suitable business location for the firm considering all aspects such as market, product needs and demand, availability of raw materials, etc. This step forms a base for further functions (Campbell and et.al, 2012).

Financial needs- The term better known as start-up cost for a project includes the capital and funds required to install a business setup and implement the operations (Hockerts and Wüstenhagen, 2010). A company has various sources available in the market to choose the appropriate method as per the company type and future needs (Koellinger and Roy Thurik, 2012). The owner needs to find an investor for the company who believes in his ability to deliver his ideas and convert them into profitable ventures (Agarwal, Audretsch, and Sarkar, 2010).

Acquiring tools- For a business venture to start operations, proper machines, and raw material is required Entrepreneurship: Characteristics, Importance, Types, and Functions of Entrepreneurship, 2016). These can vary according to the industry type and product or service. Along with acquiring proper machines and materials, getting them at appropriate cost is also important as it will affect further business functions (Von Graevenitz, Harhoff, and Weber, 2010).

Staffing- The major asset for a business is its employees (The Role Of Entrepreneurship In National Development: The Story Of The Dangote Group, 2015). The function of staffing involves attracting and selecting proper candidates from a pool of job applicants to fulfill the required needs (Tracey, Phillips, and Jarvis, 2011). An entrepreneur needs a strong human resource team to manage and guide the staff to increase the efficiency and productivity of the firm (Functions of Management, 2017).

Decision-making- The process of decision-making is one of the crucial traits of a successful entrepreneur (Klapper, Amit, and Guillén, 2010). The ability to make quick and prompt decisions when the situation requires is important as it shapes the further functions of a company (The Role of Technology to an Entrepreneur, 2017).

Identifying opportunities- The analysis of the market trends and conditions is a must to identify the opportunities prevailing in the market and the proper methods to capture them (Sarasvathy and Venkataraman, 2011). Along with opportunities, the entrepreneur is required to assess the threats and weaknesses that can hinder the working process in the firm.

Innovation- The main feature of a business venture is the ability to be as innovative as possible according to the changing market requirements and trends (Nga and Shamuganathan, 2010). He is responsible to create innovative ideas and implement them through proper approaches. This qualifies him as a leader as well as a manager. The dual roles played by an entrepreneur make him capable of leading the organization (Slotte Kock and Coviello, 2010).

Risk-taking- The last but one of the major factors related to the business venture is the risk (Braunerhjelm and et.al, 2010). An entrepreneur plays the role of a risk taker in the market for the company as he is the bearer of all the losses and rewarded with profits as well. This final responsibility of an entrepreneur makes him a leader who guides and leads along with bearing all the hardships and failures (Puffer, McCarthy, and Boisot, 2010).

As mentioned above, the functions performed by an entrepreneur to develop a successful business venture can be related to the example of Sunil Mittal (Grimaldi and et.al, 2011). As said and observed by many he was considered as one of the most successful entrepreneurs (The Qualities of Successful Entrepreneurs, 2017). The expansion of Bharti Enterprise and the ups and downs survived by the company made him more of a successful leader (Hitt and et.al, 2011). His leadership style is considered complex, unlike other entrepreneurs which can be related to an already given theory of leadership (Martin, McNally, and Kay, 2013). As an entrepreneur and leader, he had an immense focus on the development of his ideas, was confident enough to take huge risks, and was charismatic to acquire the combination of the best employees in his team as well as customers to pursue his goals rigorously (Navis and Glynn, 2010). he expanded and penetrated diverse market sectors which made him a better leader and entrepreneur. (Naudé, 2010). Sunil Mittal started the company and performed all the responsibilities of an entrepreneur which led to his and the company's success (Samwel Mwasalwiba, 2010). he also explored the sectors of finance after capturing the telecommunication market (Shepherd and Patzelt, 2011).

Thus, the overall combination of entrepreneurial traits can only lead to the success of a business venture (Corner and Ho, 2010). These characteristics and skills are the basic tools for a business owner to create a successful business venture (Gompers and et.al, 2010). Even the most innovative and skilled minds cannot achieve the desired results and success without having the main traits along with the roles to be played by an entrepreneur in an organization one should also look for some case studies like Tesla's case study to learn from them, (Venkataraman and et.al, 2012).

Conclusion

In the above report, the meaning of an entrepreneur along with its main characteristics and traits are explained. The features leading to a successful business venture and how they are used in the company. These characteristics observed in the entrepreneur are described with an example of a successful business venturer. Various functions and roles of a business owner in a company and their effect with examples are described. Their background and starting stages of their business are explained. The support required and received by them during their struggle and development phase is given. Along with these the enterprising theory and affection theory are also given in brief.

References

• Drucker, P., 2014. Innovation and entrepreneurship. Routledge.
• Kirzner, I.M., 2015. Competition and entrepreneurship. University of Chicago Press.
• Herrington, M. et al, 2010. Tracking entrepreneurship in South Africa: a GEM perspective. Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town.
• Barringer, B., 2012. Entrepreneurship: Successfully Launching New Ventures, (2012).
• Bosma, N. and Levie, J., 2010. Global entrepreneurship monitor: 2009 global report.
• Bosma, N.S. and Levie, J., 2010. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2009 Executive Report.
• Schaper, M.T and et.al, 2014. Entrepreneurship and small business.
• Morris, M.H., Kuratko, D.F. and Covin, J.G., 2010. Corporate entrepreneurship & innovation. Cengage Learning.
• Storey, D.J. and Greene, F.J., 2010. Small business and entrepreneurship. Financial Times/Prentice Hall.

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