Is everyone who runs a business an entrepreneur? Many would not consider
the newspaper carrier, shoeshine person, and grass cutter entrepreneurs,
though these are often the youthful pursuits of those with an entrepreneurial
bent.
Does it matter whether the business is merely part-time? Whereas some
part-time activities are basically hobbies, or undertaken to supplement
income, some entrepreneurial ventures can be tested in the marketplace
on a part-time basis. The path to an entrepreneurial venture might begin
by earning a salary in the business one expects to enter, while learning
more about it, and waiting for the opportune time to go out on one's own.
This time can be used to develop a support network, professional and personal,
and generating ideas to "bounce off" people whose opinion one respects.
At what scope does self-employment become a venture? The primary objective
of many self-employed people is merely to employ themselves (and others
if necessary) at a moderate to good salary; some are even willing to eke
out a living to do what they enjoy. This approach is often referred to
as a "lifestyle" business, and is generally accompanied by little, if
any, plan for growth.
These questions are intended, not to develop a precise definition of
entrepreneurship, but to help us understand our attitude toward its many
forms of expression. We may each answer these questions differently, yet
all answer appropriately within our own frame of reference.
Entrepreneurship is more an attitude than a skill or a profession. Some
of us may prefer a corporate or public service career path, but many would
choose an entrepreneurial opportunity that "feels right." Would you consider
a person who inherits a business an entrepreneur? From the point of inheritance
on, it is their own money and financial security at risk. They could possibly
sell the business, invest the proceeds in blue-chip stocks, and live off
dividends.
Some might consider managing a personal stock portfolio for a living
as an entrepreneurial venture. Would a person who inherited a small or
marginal business, then took it to new dimensions be considered an entrepreneur?
The inheritor could have tried merely to keep it going, or even to pace
the business' decline to just carry them to retirement.
In a family-held business, long-term success is often a central goal.
Are franchise owners entrepreneurs? Many feel that, for those who have
access to the large up-front investment, franchises are sure things. For
many, operating a franchise is similar to investing in "blue chips," a
relatively sure thing with generally unexciting returns.
