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Entrepreneurs and the Entrepreneurial Spirit

Guest post by: Enrico Varella

Article Overview: There are distinct differences in being self-employed, running a small business, starting a new business, and being an entrepreneur. Entrepreneur simply means ‘first to enter’, or the person who takes a plunge into a business venture, which can be in retail, services, or manufacturing. In other words, an entrepreneur is a leader, not a follower or imitator. Can entrepreneurial spirit be taught? Can we educate a population of entrepreneurs that reflect the likes of a Sim Wong Hoo (Creative Technologies) or a Sir Richard Branson (Virgin Group)?

Entrepreneurs and the Entrepreneurial Spirit

Earlier this year, I watched a talk-show focused on entrepreneurs and the entrepreneurial spirit. I found the debate interesting as the host and audience asked questions that, evidently, professed their relative lack of experience running their own business. However, it was the purity of questions that elicited honest responses from the two guests.

There are distinct differences in being self-employed, running a small business, starting a new business, and being an entrepreneur. Entrepreneur simply means ‘first to enter’, or the person who takes a plunge into a business venture, which can be in retail, services, or manufacturing. In other words, an entrepreneur is a leader, not a follower or imitator. Can entrepreneurial spirit be taught? Can we educate a population of entrepreneurs that reflect the likes of a Sim Wong Hoo (Creative Technologies) or a Sir Richard Branson (Virgin Group)?

In my experience as a small business that I started a decade ago, I believe that entrepreneurial qualities can be taught, heightened and developed. However, it is more than starting a new business, or acquiring a franchise, or being self-employed as a freelance professional. Attending an institution that professes to teach entrepreneurs may be a relevant start, but it takes more than that. It requires a compelling vision, a comprehensive business plan, market analysis, sheer hard work, skills enhancement, and a stubbornness to see a plan through to fruition, and more. It demands drastic changes in lifestyle, buckets of self-belief, a strong support group, and the intelligence to adapt, adopt and be adept.

When I left my last career, I had only $3,000 in my bank account, a plan that took seven years to thoroughly prepare for, and my intuition that nudged me at the right timing. Based on tacit wisdom I gleaned from my mentors and my own tacit experience, I took my leap of faith. Starting a business is simple, but sustaining it is not easy. Staying busy and profitable is an on-going challenge, however you learn heaps when you surround yourself with experts. You then pass your goodwill forward by helping other neophytes in the business. You hope that your business vision and culture is realized in some form that evolves into something larger (like a cause). But, more on that later!

If you are curious about your developing your business acumen, begin now by meeting entrepreneurs, business-people and freelance professional. Find out how they moved from survive to strive to thrive. Step forward!

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Article Tags: business acumen, business plan, entrepreneurial spirit, entrepreneurs, experience, wisdom



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