Inside the Entrepreneur - Assignment Example

Inside the Entrepreneur Identify an entrepreneur that you either know personally or have read about outside of our text. The entrepreneur under discussion is Walt Disney of the famous Disneyland, Buena Vista Pictures and distribution and many other Disney properties all targeting people of all age from the toddlers to the aged in the society. This 65 year old man, who died in 1966, has a larger legacy than other entrepreneurs of his time. Unlike other entrepreneurs that are starting to make their legacy now and that are renowned, Walt Disney is not so much known but his entrepreneurial skills and work is still being appreciated to date and will continue to do so for a while longer maybe even forever.

Walt Disney was born in 1901 and was among five children. Other than him being an entrepreneur, he was a producer, screenwriter, director, animator among other art talents he had since his childhood. It is his entrepreneurial energy and spirit that makes him be remembered especially by all generations of people (Krasniewicz, 23). Describe the opportunity that the entrepreneur filled. During his childhood and teenage period, there were few cartoons being aired. Walt Disney loved art and especially drawing cartoons and entertaining people through animated voices and he took that opportunity and started the journey towards ensuring that children enjoyed cartoons and other animated films by becoming a cartoon producer.

After his success in the film industry with production of several films and cartoon programs, he decided to diversify and opened up his own production house known as Buena Vista which opened up the film market even wider than it was. Walt Disney saw another unique opportunity to make children for ever happy and he therefore designed and built the Disneyland which up to date remains the world’s most visited, liked and mentioned places by children. How was the entrepreneur able to come up with his/her idea?

His idea of starting cartoon shows were as a result of his love for art and especially cartoons. This love drove him from his home to start cartoon shows and even do voices of such cartoons for example the infamous Mickey mouse. The other idea of taking the film industry to another level of producing films from storybooks like Cinderella and Snow White came from the observation of the market needs and requirements and his entrepreneurial eye saw an opportunity that he filled. The botched contract with Universal pictures over a raise made him later on decide to open up his own production house to increase competition in that field and hence make the screenwriters and other artists benefit in the long run (Gabler, 98).

What were the keys to success? Walt Disney was determined to make it and take his art passion to the next level by sharing his talent and passion with the whole world. In spite of his meager earnings, he was patient and hardworking and hence with time, his little starting savings soon became more than he could have ever imagined. Disney had a failed military ambition but his perseverance resulted to him being taken by Red Cross. It is this perseverance that later became his stronghold as he was launching his career and more so when he decided to leave Universal Pictures because they could not add him money despite his efforts.

Associating with others of like mind who encouraged him all the way was another thing that led to his success. These people included his brother Roy who became his partner and right hand man even after his death and also his mother who kept encouraging him in his art talent from childhood. This support kept him going and enabled him to build the Disney Empire slowly by slowly. As an aspiring entrepreneur, what can you personally take away from his/her experience? There are many things that can be drawn from the experience and life of Walt Disney and one is the issue that where one comes from cannot hinder or determine one’s future.

The other things include perseverance in one’s passion and dreams and not rush success, association with individuals that encourage and support your entrepreneurial skills is also important for success in future. Finally, determination and work hard is what makes a good entrepreneur (Parks, 75). Works Cited Gabler, Neal. Walt Disney: the biography. Atlanta: Aurum, 2007. Krasniewicz, Louise. Walt Disney: A Biography. New York: ABC-CLIO, 2010. Parks, Steve. How to Be an Entrepreneur: The Six Secrets of Self-Made Success.

New York: Prentice Hall, 2006.