What is Entrepreneurship?: An
entrepreneur is an individual who owns a firm, business, or venture, and is
responsible for its development. Entrepreneurship is the practice of starting a
new business or reviving an existing business, in order to capitalize on new
found opportunities.
Generally, entrepreneurship is a tough proposition
as a good number of the new businesses fail to take off. Entrepreneurial
activities differ based on the type of business they are involved in. It is
also true that entrepreneurial ventures create a number of new job
opportunities. A large number of entrepreneurial projects look for venture
capital or angel funding for their startup firms in order to finance their
capital requirements. Besides, government agencies and some NGOs also finance
entrepreneurial ventures.
Entrepreneurship is often associated with uncertainty, particularly when it involves creating something new for which there
is no existing market. Even if there is a market, it may not translate into a
huge business opportunity for the entrepreneur. A major aspect in
entrepreneurship is that entrepreneurs embrace opportunities irrespective of
the resources they have access to.
Entrepreneurship involves being resourceful and
finding ways to obtain the resources required to
achieve the set objectives. Capital is one such resource. Entrepreneurs need to
think out-of-the-box to improve their chances of obtaining what they need to
succeed. According to management experts, vast majority of entrepreneurs desire
to be in control of their own life and they can’t find this beyond
entrepreneurship. Studies have demonstrated that people derive great
satisfaction from their entrepreneurial work.
A number of entrepreneurs are of the opinion that managing
their own business offers far greater security than being an employee
elsewhere. They feel entrepreneurship enables them to acquire wealth quickly
and cushion themselves against financial insecurity. Additionally, an
entrepreneur’s future is not at peril owing to the faulty decisions of a
finicky employer. So, while some people feel that being employed is less risky,
entrepreneurs feel that they are better off starting a business of their own.
Today, there is the increasing awareness about
entrepreneurship. People aren’t confining themselves to one business. They are
following one business with another. Such entrepreneurs are referred to as
“serial entrepreneurs.” Sometimes these entrepreneurs become angel investors
and invest their money in startup companies. As a person gains greater insight
into business and entrepreneurship, his chances of succeeding in business
improve.