Introduction to Entrepreneurship - Term Paper Example

? Introduction to Entrepreneurship Insert Insert Grade Insert Definition of Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship is the capacity and willingness to create or expand an economic activity by pinpointing and making gains out of new business ventures along with its risks. Entrepreneurship is not equated to any business activity; it is associated with inventing and developing a new business venture (Ahmad and Seymour, n.d, p. 9; Business Dictionary, 2012 par. 1). An entrepreneur must possess the capacity and be willing to invent a new business venture or expand an existing business venture by bringing in new ideas. He or she does so with the drive to get profits, but they must also be bold enough to bear the risks that go with doing business. An entrepreneur may have employees or may work independently. What inspires me to Learn from Successful Entrepreneurs? What inspires me to learn from successful entrepreneurs is the qualities they posses that makes them successful. Their characteristics include “creativity, dedication, determination, flexibility, leadership, passion, self-confidence, and “smarts” (U.S. Department of State/Bureau of International Information Programs, 2012, p. 2). Creativity: this is the driving force behind invention of new products or creating new ways to do business. Successful entrepreneurs possess this quality and by looking at what they did you can come up with your own invention or improve on what they did. Sisamos, the owner of Engino.net Ltd, says that the beauty of being an entrepreneur is that you create your own destiny (European Commission, 2009, p. 55). Dedication: It is what makes the entrepreneurs to work hard. Looking at successful entrepreneurs, they are always working. They created a new idea and they have to make it work. Looking at their lives, you can gauge yourself if you are ready for the undertaking. Determination: this is the inbuilt desire of an entrepreneur to succeed. He or she is not discouraged by failure and persistently keeps trying until he or she succeeds. Learning from them is of great value because it encourages one not to give up in the business undertaking. Flexibility: this is the ability to respond to the changing market trends. Learning from the lives of successful entrepreneurs, you will find that some of them at one time had to change products/ services or introduce new products /services. Their success story prepares you for any eventuality when starting a business and to be prepared for change. Passion: successful entrepreneurs have the ability to convince others about their vision. They are focused, and it is important to look at their plans in order to become a successful entrepreneur. Self-confidence: successful entrepreneurs believe in themselves. They plan thoroughly to reduce uncertainty and risk. They listen but they are not easily swayed. This is a character that is admirable among the entrepreneurs. “Smarts”: this is a combination of common sense, knowledge, and experience in a similar or related business undertaking. The main contributors of smarts are employment, skills, and education. We can learn a lot from the “smarts” of various successful entrepreneurs. To me, entrepreneurship is a mix of many elements; however, one has to be inventive in order to venture into this field; he or she has to do a thorough market study to see what lacks in the society and come up with an economic activity that will help close that gap. An entrepreneur is majorly a creator and also a destroyer: by creating a new way to do things one may render old methods obsolete. He or she would have helped one group while rendered another group jobless. Biography of Anita Roddick In this biography, I am going to look into the life of Anita Roddick and single out the entrepreneurship characteristics in her. These characteristics include creativity, dedication, determination, flexibility, leadership, passion, self confidence, and “smarts”. Anita Roddick was born in Littlehampton in 1942 (Bio, 2012). Her self-confidence made her being looked at as a natural rebel. She took a teaching course before deciding to travel around the world. This shows the flexibility character in her because after training as a teacher, she changes her career path and decides to travel around the world. In 1970, she married Gordon Roddick; they started a hotel and restaurant in their home town. They were blessed with two children. She got employment in the United Nations, which gave her an opportunity to travel widely and intermingle with people of different cultures. Anita opened her famous business known as “The Body Shop” in 1976. Initially, her creative Body Shop sold only fifteen lines. Her travels became an asset because she possessed great experience and had exposure to female body rituals from different cultures. Her smartness and creativity revealed themselves when she introduced the concept of refillable containers in her business. She became the first person to introduce environmentally and communally friendly enterprise in the high street. She also commenced the idea of fair trade before it become popular. The Body Shop has grown today with 1,980 stores and a customer base of over seventy-seven million in fifty places over the world that speak twenty-five different languages (Bio, 2012). Her Body Shop mission is a dedication towards pursuing of a societal and ecological change. The outlets and products aid to convey information about human rights and environmental preservation issues. Throughout her career life, Roddick was dedicated to campaigning against environmental pollution and wrongs around the continents. She had passion for her career and did not merely work for profits. Roddick’s efforts were recognized by the queen in 2003, when she knighted her and officially gave her the title Dame Anita Roddick. In 2006, the Body Shop was sold to L’Oreal for 652.3 million sterling pounds. This emanated controversy because L’Oreal was claimed to be implicated in (animal) testing and was believed to be part of the conglomerate Nestle. While Roddick had come out as a strong campaigner of ethical issues, Nestle had for a long time been boycotted for marketing its (baby) milk powder in developing nations (Bio, 2012). Anita was diagnosed with hepatitis C in 2007, and she was also suffering from cirrhosis of the liver. Anita dedicated the rest of her life towards campaigning for hepatitis C as a challenge to public health. In September, 2007 Anita passed away at the St Richard's hospital. Though gone, Mrs. Roddick remains an inspiration for the would-be business people because of her dedication, determination, and passion to work. She also stood out as a creative and smart entrepreneur who started the idea of environmentally sustainable products from scratch and finally developed into a big enterprise (Bio, 2012). Famous Enterprising and Motivating Quotes Entrepreneurship, especially in early days, can be challenging. The words of wisdom from people who have succeeded can act as an inspiration and motivate one to keep going (Soorjoo, 2011, p. 2). The following are the quotations that I find motivating and encouraging. “Those who are willing to take action and take risks succeed. The others fade quickly” (Soorjoo, 2011, p. 6). This quote by Bradley Smith gives the message that in order to succeed, one must be able to take an action and also risk. This is the thinking behind entrepreneurship that insists on invention and taking the risks. The second quote is by George Lorimer that says, “You've got to get up every morning with determination if you're going to go to bed with satisfaction” (Soorjoo, 2011, p. 7). This quote insists on determination which is an essential characteristic of an entrepreneur. Determination is a strong desire to succeed and is an important quality for an entrepreneur. One should never get discouraged if one wants to be successful. The next quote is by Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle; he says, "When you innovate, you’ve got to be prepared for people telling you that you are nuts” (Soorjoo, 2011, p. 10). Entrepreneurship means creating or inventing a new economic activity. It is something that has not been there, and it would be important that the inventor be prepared for criticism. What Larry is insisting here on is that one should possess self-confidence and not be cowed by criticism. The fourth quote that I find incentive says that “[y]ou have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else” (Soorjoo, 2011, p. 21). This quote put forward by Albert Einstein encourages one to study the market and know the forces of demand and supply, note where there is deficiency, and invent a better way to solve this deficiency. This is the spirit of entrepreneurship (doing better or different from anyone else). The next quote is by Mark Twain, and he says, "Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great" (Soorjoo, 2011, p. 24). To be able to enter into the field of entrepreneurship, one has to have an ambition. Some people might be pessimistic about your ambition and may discourage you. Twain advises to be in a good company that can encourage you; he encourages associating with successful people in order for you to be like them. The last quote, and my most favorite one, was put forward by Nolan Bushnell, the founder of Atari Inc. and Chuck E. Cheese’s, it says that “the critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It's as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today. The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer” (Soorjoo, 2011, p. 26). His argument is that it is important to put our dreams into actions in order to be enterprising. He discourages against procrastination as he encourages taking an action at this particular moment. Bibliography Ahmad, N and Seymour, RG, n.d, Defining Entrepreneurial Activity: Definitions Supporting Frameworks for Data Collection, viewed 30 November 2012 Bio 2012, Anita Roddick Biography, viewed 30 November 2012 Business Dictionary, 2012, Entrepreneurship, viewed 30 November 2012 Soorjooo, M, 2011, Quotations for Entrepreneurs: Inspiration and Wisdom for 2011, viewed 30 November 2012 < http://investorpitchclinic.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Quotations-for-Entrepreneurs-2.pdf> U.S. Department of State/Bureau of International Information Programs, 2012, Principles of Entrepreneurship, viewed 30 November 2012 European Commission, G, 2009, The Secrets of Success: Tips from European Entrepreneurs, viewed 30 November 2012 Read More