We explain what an entrepreneur is and the types of entrepreneur that exist. Plus, the features you need to succeed.
What is aentrepreneur?
The wordentrepreneur comes from French and is synonymous entrepreneur, a term used in the business world to refer to who organizes and operates various organizational initiatives, running a certain margin of risk financial on it. Not to be confused with the term businessman, which simply refers to who works or runs a business.
This term, so in vogue in recent times, originated in the 18th century, at the beginning of the capitalism industrialist, when the Anglo-French economist Richard Cantillon used it to define who "pays a certain price to resell a product at an uncertain price, making decisions about obtaining and using resources, and admitting the risk inherent to the venture ”.
Currently the term entrepreneur denotes business leaders who, driven by their passions (and not only by the idea of accumulating capitals) decide to risk inaugurating a viable project, assuming the risks that this entails.
Famous figures from the business and industrial world such as Bill Gates or Steve Jobs are an example of this, and they are distinguished from businessmen or entrepreneurs in that the latter would lack that innovative, risky spirit, preferring to opt for safe paths that lead to gain economical.
Typesentrepreneur
Several types of entrepreneurs are commonly spoken of:
- Corporate or business entrepreneurs. Those who risk starting a young and innovative company (known asStartup) from their passions or knowledge.
- Digital entrepreneurs. Those who employ the Internet and the new technologies from communication and information for their ventures, emphasizing the possibilities of these new media.
- Social entrepreneurs. Those who advocate the creation of other types of associations and organizations not necessarily commercial, such asNGOs other political or community-based organizations.
Characteristics of a entrepreneur
Although the adventure of entrepreneurship is very unique and personal depending on the case, most of the time it is said that an entrepreneur must have the following characteristics to succeed:
- Passion. Entrepreneurs are not simply businessmen. They are people moved by an intimate, personal goal, who want to return a sustainable reality.
- View. Future projection and perception windows of opportunity are key in the development of a entrepreneurship.
- Trust. Given that the margins of uncertainty in an enterprise are usually very high, an entrepreneur must have confidence in himself and the ability to tolerance and improvisation that dealing with it requires.
- Leadership. Aentrepreneur he is an inspirer, not just a boss. It should be an example for your work team and lead them on the path to realization.
- Honesty. Entrepreneurs bet too much on their dreams to ruin them through dishonest practices that give them a bad name or close doors.
- Innovation. Entrepreneurship is the order of the day, so they must be fast, be up to date and know very well what changes are taking place in the culture business, social or political that interests them.