We explain what an entrepreneur is and the types of entrepreneurs that exist. Also, what is your profile and its main characteristics.
What is an entrepreneur?
It is known as an entrepreneur or entrepreneur to who organizes and leads some type of organizational initiatives for profit, running a certain margin of financial risk in it. It is not synonymous with businessman.
This term comes from the 18th century, at the dawn of industrial capitalism. The Anglo-French economist Richard Cantillon was the first to use it, to name someone who “pays a certain price to resell a product at an uncertain price, making decisions about the obtaining and use of resources, and admitting the risk inherent in the undertaking. ”. At that time there was no major difference between being an entrepreneur or being a businessman or merchant.
This distinction is much more recent. Today, business leaders who try to translate their personal passions (and not the mere desire for profit) into sustainable and lucrative business initiatives are called entrepreneurs. An entrepreneur is who decides to take the risk of launching viable projects assuming the risks that this entails and motivated by a specific vision.
There is no shortage of examples of entrepreneurship: well-known names in the world of business and industry are or were entrepreneurs: Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, for example, or Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. His example of commitment to his personal cause, tenacity and business vision is, for many, an example to follow on the path of developing possible business projects.
Types of entrepreneurs
There are several types of entrepreneurs:
- Corporate or business entrepreneurs. This is the name given to those who risk building a young and innovative company (known as Startupyes) using their passions and knowledge to do so.
- Digital entrepreneurs. They are characteristic of the digital era, as they use the Internet and new information and telecommunications technologies to offer services of various kinds, emphasizing the novel possibilities of this technology.
- Social entrepreneurs This is known as those who are dedicated to the creation of associations and organizations that do not necessarily have a commercial nature, such as NGOs and other political or community organizations.
Profile of an entrepreneur
Broadly speaking, the profile of an entrepreneur is simple: it is about a person moved by an inner vision that is, someone passionate and creative enough to convince third parties of what is needed.
This means that an entrepreneur is not someone who dreams of becoming rich or powerful, but rather someone who thinks that business tools are a means to turn a world vision into reality. Is what Elon Musk is doing with his company SpaceX something else, taking giant steps towards the colonization of the planet Mars?
Characteristics of an entrepreneur
An entrepreneur generally has the following general characteristics:
- Passion. Not simply being businessmen, entrepreneurs must connect with their deep, personal motivations. Those are the ones they want to make a reality.
- Vision. An entrepreneur must have the ability to project into the future to be able to perceive and take advantage of windows of opportunity. This is key in the development of a StartupFor example.
- Trust Uncertainty in a venture is usually very present. Therefore, an entrepreneur must have confidence in himself and his vision, since often things will not go as he had planned.
- Leadership. If an entrepreneur simply behaves like a boss, he will not be able to inspire his team and infect them with his passion. He must be an example to follow and a driver towards the path of fulfillment.
- Honesty. Entrepreneurs must believe enough in their dreams to ruin them by engaging in dishonest practices, which then give the project a bad name or close important doors.
- Innovation. In such a changing and fast world, entrepreneurs must keep an eye open for what is new: the changes that occur in the business, social or political culture that interests them, new influences, trends, etc.
Difference between entrepreneur and businessman
Entrepreneurs differ from businessmen or simple merchants in that the latter lack an innovative spirit, passion and creativity, preferring to follow safer paths that lead to economic profit.
An entrepreneur or a merchant are, respectively, producers or resellers whose cause is just to perpetuate the business over time.
An entrepreneur, on the other hand, obeys a feasible project that generally goes beyond mere economic profit and aspires to modify people's way of life: that is, instead of doing business for profit, business is done for the business itself, for what it ultimately means.
