Table of Contents:

1. Introduction………………………………………………………....…...2

2. “Who is an Entrepreneur?”…………………………………..

………….3

3. “What Makes Someone an Entrepreneur?”………………………….….5

4. Views on making of an Entrepreneur…………….……………………..7

a. Economists’ view………………………………………………...8

b. Sociologists’ view………………………………………………..9

c. Psychologists’ view………………………………………….

….10

d. Managers’ view………………………………………………....11

5. Conclusion……………………………………………………………..12

6. References…………………………………………….……………….13

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Introduction:

Do you know that there are millions of unemployed youth in the country and by the time we
graduate, this number would have increased substantially? Do you want to be a part of that
group which keeps knocking from pillar to post, checking with employment exchanges,
relatives, friends, and neighbors and still not able to get a job to their liking and then settle for a
second or third rate job?

You can also choose to be like Mr. Patel of Nirma who was a chemist’s assistance and has a Rs.
2500 crore company today. Did you know that the original Mr. Bata was a cobbler? And now
has stores in more than 30 countries all over the world. Or you could be like Dhiru Bhai Ambani
who started life as a clerk in a French company in Aden. He was not born into a business family
nor did he possess an MBA degree and yet, he is a household name in India and figures in the
Forbes list of the richest Asians. Lakshmi Mittal, the steel giant, Satbir Bhatia of Hotmail fame
and Narayan Murthy of Infosys are some other names in the endless list you could choose from.

If your answer is yes then you can definitely opt for a career in entrepreneurship, and let me
remind you that this career opportunity is not only for boys but also for girls - all those girls who
think smart, are ready to act and script the story of their own life - like Shehnaz Hussain or Ritu
Kumar or Kiran Majumdar Shaw.

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“Who is an Entrepreneur?”

An entrepreneur is a person who starts an enterprise. He searches for change and responds to it.

To put it very simply an entrepreneur is someone who perceives opportunity, organizes

resources needed for exploiting that opportunity and exploits it. Computers, mobile phones,
washing machines, ATMs, Credit Cards, Courier Service, and Ready to eat Foods are all
examples of entrepreneurial ideas that got converted into products or services.

The word entrepreneur has been derived from 17th French entrepreneur, refers to individuals
who were “undertakers” particularly the leader of military operations. Later it was used to refer
other types of adventures in civil engineering like construction of roads, bridges, harbors’, etc. It
was since the 18th century that the term entrepreneur came to be used, specifically after the
industrial revolution.

A number of definitions have been given of an entrepreneur-

Joseph. A .Scum peter defines an entrepreneur as a person who innovates, raises money,
assembles inputs, chooses managers and sets the organization going with his ability to identify
opportunities which others are not able to identify and is able to make use of them.

Peter Drucker defines an entrepreneur as one who always searches for a change responds to it
and exploits it as an opportunity. An entrepreneur innovates. Innovation is a specific instrument
of success available to entrepreneur.

J.B.Says: “Entrepreneur is influenced by the society [he recognizes needs and fulfils them
through organizing and managing resources] and he also influences society by creating new
enterprises.”

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Richard Cantillion: “Entrepreneur is the agent who buys means of production at a certain price
in order to combine them into a product that is going to sell at prices that are uncertain at the
moment at which he commits himself to the costs”

Hence an entrepreneur can be defined as a person who identifies the opportunities in his
environment and responds to opportunities in an innovative way so as to make economic surplus
by engaging himself efficiently, exploiting the environment and the opportunities it offers.

So we can say that an ENTREPRENEUR:

• Is a person who develops and owns his own enterprise

• Is a moderate risk taker and works under uncertainty for achieving the goal.

• Is innovative

• Reflects strong urge to be independent.

• Persistently tries to do something better.

• Dissatisfied with routine activities.

• Prepared to withstand the hard life.

• Determined but patient

• Exhibits sense of leadership

• Also exhibits sense of competitiveness

• Takes personals responsibility

• Is Oriented towards the future.

• Tends to persist in the face to adversity

• Converts a situation into opportunity.

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“What Makes Someone an Entrepreneur?”

Who can become an entrepreneur? There is no one definitive profile. Successful entrepreneurs
come in various ages, income levels, gender, and race. They differ in education and experience.
But research indicates that most successful entrepreneurs share certain personal attributes,
including: creativity, dedication, determination, flexibility, leadership, passion, self-confidence,
and “smarts.”

• Creativity is the spark that drives the development of new products or services or
ways to do business. It is the push for innovation and improvement. It is continuous
learning, questioning, and thinking outside of prescribed formulas.

• Dedication is what motivates the entrepreneur to work hard, 12 hours a day or more,
even seven days a week, especially in the beginning, to get the endeavor off the ground.
Planning and ideas must be joined by hard work to succeed. Dedication makes it happen.

• Determination is the extremely strong desire to achieve success. It includes

persistence and the ability to bounce back after rough times. It persuades the
entrepreneur to make the 10th phone call, after nine have yielded nothing. For the true
entrepreneur, money is not the motivation. Success is the motivator; money is the
reward.

• Flexibility is the ability to move quickly in response to changing market needs. It is

being true to a dream while also being mindful of market realities. A story is told about
an entrepreneur who started a fancy shop selling only French pastries. But customers

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 wanted to buy muffins as well. Rather than risking the loss of these customers, the
entrepreneur modified her vision to accommodate these needs.

• Leadership is the ability to create rules and to set goals. It is the capacity to follow
through to see that rules are followed and goals are accomplished.

• Passion is what gets entrepreneurs started and keeps them there. It gives entrepreneurs
the ability to convince others to believe in their vision. It can’t substitute for planning,
but it will help them to stay focused and to get others to look at their plans.

• Self-confidence comes from thorough planning, which reduces uncertainty and the
level of risk. It also comes from expertise. Self-confidence gives the entrepreneur the
ability to listen without being easily swayed or intimidated.

• “Smarts” consists of common sense joined with knowledge or experience in a related

business or endeavor. The former gives person good instincts, the latter, expertise. Many
people have smarts they don’t recognize. A person who successfully keeps a household
on a budget has organizational and financial skills. Employment, education, and life
experiences all contribute to smarts.

Every entrepreneur has these qualities in different degrees. But what if a person lacks one or
more? Many skills can be learned. Or, someone can be hired who has strengths that the
entrepreneur lacks. The most important strategy is to be aware of strengths and to build on them.

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Views on making of an Entrepreneur
Many scholars of different fields have expressed their views on the factors which make a person
an entrepreneur. Economists, sociologists, Psychologists and managers have all attempted to
give a clear picture of the entrepreneur.

Economists lighted situational characteristics such as occupational backgrounds access to capital

business, technological experience and managerial skills with economic gains considered as
characteristic of entrepreneur.

Sociologists analyze the characteristic of entrepreneurs in terms of caste, family, social value
and migration.

Psychologists on the other hand attempt to isolate entrepreneurs from general population on
various personality trials such as need for achievement, creativity, propensity to take risk,
independence leadership etc.

Managers think perception of market opportunities as well as operational skills to run an

enterprise makes a person an entrepreneur.

Thus all the views can be explained under the following heads:

a. Economists’ view

b. Sociologists’ view

c. Psychologists’ view

d. Managers’ view

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Economists’ view

• The economists view him as a fourth factor of production along with land labor and
capital.

1. Land.
2. Labor.
3. Capital.
4. Entrepreneurship.

• Economic incentives are the main motivators for entrepreneurial activities.

• Economic incentives include taxation policy, industrial policy, sources of finance and
raw material, infrastructure availability, investment and marketing opportunities.
• Entrepreneurship and economic growth take place when the economic conditions are
favorable.
• Mainstream economists view the supply of entrepreneurship as highly elastic.
• J.B. Say has stated that it is function of the entrepreneur to rationally combined the
forces of production into a new producing organization
• Kirzener viewed the entrepreneur as a disequilibrating force. It is the alertness to
unnoticed opportunities which creates a tendency of the ever-circular flow of
equilibrium.

• SCHUMPETER’S entrepreneur possess three qualities:

1. An intuitional capacity to see things in a way which afterwards proves to be true;
2. A kind of effort of will and mind to overcome fixed habits of thinking; and
3. The capacity to overcome social opposition against doing something new.

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Sociologists’ view

• The sociologists feel that certain communities and cultures promote entrepreneurship
like for example in India we say that Gujaratis and Sindhis are very enterprising.
• Sociologists focused on theories that considered the role of social norms and legitimacy
as well as social mobility in understanding the supply of entrepreneurship in a society.
• According to Peter Marris, to assemble or reassemble from what is available, very
concrete kind of imagination, to see what others have missed , sensitivity to business and
social environment, zest in industrial development and entrepreneurial courage are the
factors that make an entrepreneur.
• According to the sociologists the presence or absence of certain social baits motivate or
de-motivate individuals from taking up entrepreneurial ventures. some of the important
ones are:
a. Family background: This factor means the size of the family, type of the family
along with economic situation. To some extent joint family provides better financial
security in the form of joint property holdings, which allows an individual to
undertake risks of business. Joint family system also helps in expansion of business,
at the same time; major drawback of joint family business is lack of independence
with regard to decision-making.

b. Religious background: In certain societies where religions has a strong

influence on a person’s day to day life, it acts as a factor influencing
entrepreneurship, for ex: the religious philosophies mould a person’s thinking
towards money, wealth, interest on capital, profiteering, ethics, adaptation or
rejection of certain products or business ideas etc.

c. The age of entry to entrepreneurship: The time and age of starting

entrepreneurial venture, this in turn may be dependent upon social factors such as
exposure to family business, age of marriage and responsibility of supporting a
family.

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d. Occupational background: It has been significantly found that, people coming
from a business background in the family have a better aptitude towards
entrepreneurship.

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 •
Psychologists’ view
The entrepreneur…

• …wants to prove himself/herself more than others

• …has the pressure to reach something
• …wants to be in control
• …is convinced he/she can do it better
• …is not afraid of taking risks
• Psychologists focused on such factors as the achievement-orientation and status-
orientation of individuals within a population to consider their likelihood of engaging in
entrepreneurial behavior.
• Psychologists emphasize that entrepreneurship is not likely to emerge or develop when a
society has a sufficient supply of individuals possessing certain psychological
characteristics such as adventures nature, ability to take calculated risk, communication
skills, leadership qualities, hardworking by nature, etc.
• The supply of entrepreneurs depends on individuals’ psychic needs for achievement
rather than on the desire for money (but monetary rewards may still constitute a symbol
of achievement for entrepreneurs).
• Entrepreneurship gets a boost when society has sufficient supply of individuals with
necessary psychological characteristics
• The psychological characteristics include need for high achievement, a vision or
foresight, ability to face opposition
• These characteristics are formed during the individual’s upbringing which stress on
standards of excellence, self reliance and low father dominance
• According to McClelland it is high need for achievement which drives people
towards entrepreneurial activities.
• Among psychologists, Frank Young describes an entrepreneur as a change-agent.

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• K. L. Sharma maintains that entrepreneurs are men with qualities of leadership in solving
persistent professional problems; but those persons likewise demonstrate eagerness to
seize unusual opportunities.

Managers’ view
• Managers feel entrepreneurs are innovators who come up with new ideas for products,
markets or techniques.
• According to Peter Kilby
An Entrepreneur is one who performs the following functions:
1. Perception of market opportunities
2. Gaining command over scarce resources
3. Purchasing inputs
4. Marketing of product & responding to competition
5. Dealing with public bureaucracy (concessions, licenses, taxes)
6. Management of human relations within the firm
7. Management of customer & supplier relations
8. Financial management
9. Production management
10. Upgrading processes and product quality
11. Introduction of new products

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Conclusion

After studying the views of the experts of different fields we can conclude as:

Economists present an entrepreneur as a perceiver of otherwise unnoticed opportunity,

organization builder, adapter of new profitable activity and beneficiary thereof

Sociologists present him as personality moulded by various practices of social enforcement

and values imbibed in him.

Psychologists present entrepreneurship as a vigorous application of the person’s energies

towards the long cherished goals.

Managers present him as an innovator who comes up with new ideas for products, markets
or techniques.

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References
• Dynamics of Entrepreneurial development and Management Millennium ed.
By Vasant Desai
• Entrepreneurial Development By S.S. Khanka
• http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insightview/ContentItem.do;jsessionid=775
F860CD1D99B928129B43356108E5/AcontentType=Article&contentId=84
5991
• http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insightview/ContentItem.do;jsessionid=775
F860CD1D99B928129B43356108E5/AcontentType=Article&contentId=84
5991
• http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insightview/ContentItem.do;jsessionid=775
F860CD1D99B928129B43356108E5/AcontentType=Article&contentId=14
64956

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