Are Entrepreneurs Born or Made?
Introduction
Some very strong arguments have been made from both the camps of this decades old debate. The ones who believe that entrepreneurs are born cite examples of several high profile entrepreneurs like Richard Branson, Steve Jobs all of whom were school dropouts and went on to build large corporations. Apart from the fact that many of them became successful without receiving any formal training, a lot of them also displayed entrepreneurial traits from childhood and had started their first venture at a very early age.
That question has taken on urgency recently. In the past five years, multiple studies have indicated that there may be an “entrepreneur gene”–or at least that people with certain genetic characteristics and personality traits are more likely to be successful entrepreneurs than others. In his 2010 book Born Entrepreneurs, Born Leaders, Scott Shane, professor of entrepreneurial studies at Cleveland’s Case Western Reserve University, suggests that genes don’t just influence whether a person will start a business; they may even determine how much money a person will earn.
Who is an Entrepreneur?
An entrepreneur is an individual who creates a new business, bearing most of the risks and enjoying most of the rewards. The entrepreneur is commonly seen as an innovator, a source of new ideas, goods, services, and business/or procedures. Or Someone who exercises initiative by organizing a venture to take benefit of an opportunity and, as the decision maker, decides what, how, and how much of a good or service will be produced. According to economist Joseph Alois Schumpeter (1883-1950), entrepreneurs are not necessarily motivated by profit but regard it as a standard for measuring achievement or success.
Characteristics of an Entrepreneur
- Disciplined: These individuals are focused on making their businesses work, and eliminate any hindrances or distractions to their goals. They have overarching strategies and outline the tactics to accomplish them. Successful entrepreneurs are disciplined enough to take steps every day toward the achievement of their objectives.
- Confidence: The entrepreneur does not ask questions about whether they can succeed or whether they are worthy of success. They are confident with the knowledge that they will make their businesses succeed. They exude that confidence in everything they do.
- Self Starter: Entrepreneurs know that if something needs to be done, they should start it themselves. They set the parameters and make sure that projects follow that path. They are proactive, not waiting for someone to give them permission.
- Competitive: Many companies are formed because an entrepreneur knows that they can do a job better than another. They need to win at the sports they play and need to win at the businesses that they create. An entrepreneur will highlight their own company’s track record of success.
- Creativity: One facet of creativity is being able to make connections between seemingly unrelated events or situations. Entrepreneurs often come up with solutions which are the synthesis of other items.
- Determination: Entrepreneurs are not thwarted by their defeats. They look at defeat as an opportunity for success. They are determined to make all of their endeavors succeed, so will try and try again until it does.
- Self-Motivation: One of the most important traits of entrepreneurs is self-motivation. When you want to succeed, you need to be able to push yourself. You aren’t answerable to anyone else as an entrepreneur, and that sometimes means that it’s hard to get moving without anyone to make you. You need to be dedicated to your plan and keep moving forward — even if you aren’t receiving an immediate paycheck.
- Take Risks: Successful entrepreneurs know that sometimes it’s important to take risks. Playing it safe almost never leads to success as a business owner. It’s not about taking just any risk, though. Understanding calculated risks that are more likely to pay off is an important part of being an entrepreneur. You’ll need to be willing to take a few risks to succeed.
- Networking: Not everyone is going to be jumping at the chance to use a new product and service, and some still won’t adopt even after a lot of compelling information. So entrepreneurs network; not only to find clients, but also to meet others who share their passion and desire and who can help them go even further. Being able to connect with others and recognize partnership opportunities can take you a long way as a business owner.
Are Entrepreneurs Born?
Some entrepreneurs who displayed the characteristics of an entrepreneur at tender age made so many to conclude that entrepreneurs are born. Some of these incidents;
- While still in high school, Steve Jobs started selling ‘blue boxes’ that would allow you to place free calls (let’s not get into the legalities of that), to fellow students.
- Mark Cuban was selling garbage bags when was still a kid.
- Warren Buffett was knocking on doors and selling packs of gum.
- Richard Branson started a youth-culture magazine at the age of 16.
Most of those with an innate desire to create their ventures are very headstrong, driven, filled with energy, flooded with ideas, extremely passionate, are risk takers, gregarious and persuasive. Given these arguments one can easily say that entrepreneurs are born and not made.
However, for every Richard Branson, Steve Jobs or Dhirubhai Ambani there are several others who transformed from being employees.
Entrepreneurs are Made
The main quality of entrepreneurship is innovation, which is not obtained naturally. Innovation is a new product, a new technology, a new source, and a new market (Mariotti and Glakin, 2010). There are many examples of entrepreneurs bankrupted due to lack of innovation. Also one of the qualities of entrepreneurship is experience, which is exactly extracted from posteriority. About 60 percent of the entrepreneurial leaders are “transitioned”, and the number one ranking factor of success is the experience as the employee (Pinelli, 2001).
The third quality of entrepreneurship is knowledge, which is not inborn but acquired from education. Communication one of the qualities of an entrepreneur is a good sense of dealing with people, People are not born with good communication since we all start from learning languages, but they can start learning communication skills at an early age.
Apart from innovation, experience, knowledge, and communication, qualities such as teamwork & leadership, integrity, and passion are also important (Pinelli, 2001). Teamwork and leadership is an essential ability that was gained from life, not born. It required the entrepreneur “address complex problems by utilizing strengths of different group members” and “create a synergy that increases innovation and successful outcomes” (Reimers and Williams, 2009).
Conclusion
In conclusion, there is many people become entrepreneurs. Famous entrepreneurs like Jobs Steve, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffet made their business enormous. These famous successful entrepreneurs are not athletes who were born with inherent body and muscles, but they are nurturally made and trained through the practice of their business. Entrepreneurs shared the same posterior qualities. A good sense of innovation will survive a business from a crisis and make it the leader of its field, and the entrepreneurs find opportunities from problems and make the innovations. Rich experience, ranking number one of the factor of entrepreneurship, will make the entrepreneurs easily overcome some business crisis and forecast its development. Well-rounded knowledge in the field, like the application of financial statements, knowing the government regulations is essential for the entrepreneurs to operate their business. Good communication skills, gained from experience of dealing with people, will get the business leader potential customers and gained a huge profit from it. In addition to all the above, teamwork and leadership, integrity, and passion are also keys to entrepreneurship which are acquired through training and practice. Moreover, these qualities are acquired, not born. One can achieve a good sense of entrepreneurship by tempered himself through practice and could gain the qualities in the tempering. Only by one’s effort to acquire and temper the qualities, will he or she become an entrepreneur.
Reference
Essays, UK. (November 2018). Entrepreneurs Are Born Or Made Business Essay. Retrieved from https://www.ukessays.com/essays/business/entrepreneurs-are-born-or-made-business-essay.php?vref=1
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