Behavioral Characteristics Of An Entrepreneur

Definitions of entrepreneurship almost always involve the risk taking within the business world. Businessdictionary.com states “The capacity and willingness to develop, organize and manage a business venture along with any of its risks in order to make a profit.” Why we want individuals to create new companies or even to grow products and ideas within an existing company is beyond the scope of this paper be we are going to assume that over all the outcome of this behavior is good for the organization, community, or country. There is little dispute that the United States was known for this behavior over the last two hundred years and it may be something that we are starting to lose. At least it is a behavior that we want to continue to foster.

A person who starts a business is someone who assumes the financial risk of the initiation, the operation, and management of the business. ,“An entrepreneur is someone who organizes a business venture and assumes the risk for it”. (Define an Entrepreneur, Source: H) A person who has possession of a new enterprise, or “idea and assumes significant accountability for the inherent risks and the outcome” (Source: H) can be known as an entrepreneur. “The term is originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish economist Richard Cantillon.” (Define an Entrepreneur, Source: H) “Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to the type of personality who is willing to take upon her

With the world we live in rapidly changing, the world we once knew so well is now a thing of the past. With the constant changes and advancements occurring in the business world, its essential for employers to invest in employees who are willing to take intelligent risks in order for their business to flourish. However, within the constantly changing world we live in today, finding prospective employees with this risk-taking characteristic are hard to find. Many people in our society today are in constant fear of failure which is why none of them are taking risks. But what many of these people aren’t considering is that although there is a possibility of failure, there is also a huge possibility for success which is why they should be

Entrepreneurs are the people who are not afraid of taking chances though knowing that the chances might be bad, but nonetheless they are always positive and hope for the best. The risks they take are well calculated so that when it succeed, it brings good results.

Entrepreneurship is the willingness to take risks to create and operate a business. An entrepreneur is someone who sees a potentially

An entrepreneur who is willing to take risks in the process of being aggressive would be willing to even risk personal wealth and property, which would lead to greater success than entrepreneurs who were not as willing to take such risks.

An entrepreneur is someone who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise (Merriam-Webster, n.d). Some characteristics of an entrepreneur are, the willingness to work hard, the desire for responsibility and the confidence in their ability to succeed. The person that I chose to interview for this paper is, Adama Kuyateh.

Entrepreneurs are risk takers in the market. They are willing to gamble their hard work for a business that may fail or succeed. Many fail to keep their business alive, however; others are lucky to compete and survive in the market. Entrepreneurs like Maribel Galsim, owner of Maribel’s Daycare, were successful in their business. Maribel’s Daycare was successful because of hard work, patience, and being adaptable.

"Entrepreneurship requires departure from the comforts and security of "normal life" (Toren, "Entrepreneurship as the Hero's Journey"). Being an entrepreneur is a lifestyle, a way of life that's different from an ordinary "9-5" job norm that most workers are used too. Risks that must be taken in consideration with becoming an entrepreneur involve abandoning the steady paycheck, and donating personal time and health. (Demer, “Risks Entrepreneurs Must Take”) Entrepreneurs must be prepared knowing there isn’t a guarantee for personal income. Entrepreneurship takes a toll on the average person. You’ll spend countless hours doing work to make your company successful. (Demer, “Risks Entrepreneurs Must Take”) Bill Carmody, founder of the digital company

In the case study, Fastsave is a retail chain store company that was doing quite well, and had more than enough financial resources to make investments. In other words, they are able and they have the capacity to take risks with no significant danger of losses. The real risk here was whether it would be worth it for them in terms of time and effort. The attitude to risk is also based on individuals who personalities vary. In the case study, individuals who are more reserve tend to be more cautious as they are realistic while the others who are more risky or outgoing tend to be more straightforward as they maintained an optimist

Based on Knight’s economics view (1921), risk-taking is crucial to entrepreneurism. This view is supported by many classical theorists like Cantillon and Richard (1755) who explore that entrepreneurs bear risks or uncertainty to keep supply-demand balance. Phan (2008) also support this positive relationship and assert that entrepreneurs are risk-takers, not gamblers. However, Bula (2012) argues that

Causal managers are believed to be risk-loving and eager to participate in doubtful projects. On the other hand, effectual logic suggests that entrepreneurs are risk-averse and cautious, which corresponds to affordable loss principle and “bird at hand” logic: only limited losses are allowed. Entrepreneurs as passionate personalities tend to engage in the project they nurtured regardless of its economic perspectives.

There has been extensive research conducted on the characteristics that successful entrepreneurs possess. These attributes vary widely across literature, however there are common key traits that are required to achieve any form of success. Frederick et al (2013) suggest entrepreneurs are risk takers, optimistic, have sound judgement and an ability to manage. While a review of literature relating to the psychology of an entrepreneur reveals a large variety of characteristics in a successful entrepreneur, these can be consolidated to a a few into only a few traits that are essential for a successful entrepreneur. Whilst taking into

“…small business owners were concerned primarily with securing an income to meet their immediate needs and that they did not usually engage in innovation, whereas entrepreneurs had higher achievement motivation and risk taking, and were inclined to innovation and change” Zhao (2005, P.27).

In the business world of entrepreneurs in South Africa there are some that are well established and known and some who are still emerging. In my research essay I will be discussing a well-known entrepreneur, an emerging entrepreneur and an entrepreneur from an Asian tiger country. This discussion will include the characteristics of a successful entrepreneur, the risks they face or have faced and the market and macro environment factors that impact on the running of their selected enterprises for each of them; the well-known entrepreneur I have chosen is Anton Rupert, the emerging entrepreneur is Siyabulela Xusa and the Asian tiger entrepreneur is Ricky Wong.