We explain what an entrepreneur is and where this concept comes from. Also, what are the types of entrepreneurs and what is their role.
What is Entrepreneur?
The businessman or entrepreneur (from the Latin prehendecatch) is that person who has strategic control over an economic company making decisions related to setting production objectives, establishing the most appropriate means to achieve those ends and organizing administration.
Not every businessman is an entrepreneur since the first could have inherited or bought a company or be a high-ranking employee in charge of directing the administration. The notion of entrepreneur is more associated with the idea of taking a risk, while the entrepreneur is more linked to making decisions about a process.
The word entrepreneur It comes from medieval French times, where it was designated “entrepreneur” to the individual in charge of using the factors of production (the work of the serfs, the materials and resources of the feudal lord or the king) and assuming the risk for the construction of buildings or weapons.
The forms of entrepreneurship vary throughout history, as the processes of economic transformation take place. During the initial stages of the industrial era, the entrepreneur was the founder and owner of his company, assuming all the risks of production.
Subsequently, economic accumulation allowed several businessmen to jointly control a company or to An owner hires an entrepreneur to manage his business. Furthermore, economic globalization has generated the emergence of international companies managed in many cases by their large shareholders.
It is called that today, more specifically to the person who makes binding decisions about the production of goods or services in a company for sale in the market and the consequent obtaining of benefits. The entrepreneur may also (but not necessarily) be the owner of the company and the owner of the capital, and the one in charge of assuming the risks of innovation and investment.
See also: Entrepreneur
What does an entrepreneur do?
The businessman can consist of both a natural person and a legal entity and can perform its task both individually and collectively. The concept of businessman is directly linked to that of company: a businessman acts as a personification of the company, not only by holding its legal representation but also by being in many cases its owner and because it is common for the company to bear his last name.
The activity of an entrepreneur occurs both inside and outside the company, understood as an economic unit:
- Inside He is in charge of the administrative organizationthe articulation between capital and labor to achieve production objectives and establish what type of administration of resources and personnel are the most convenient.
- Outside It is in charge of establishing relationships with other companies, of linking with other organizations and institutions (such as the State) and of acting as a spokesperson for the company in front of society.
Types of entrepreneurs
Three classes of entrepreneurs can be distinguished, depending on the way they relate to the company's operations.
- The sole proprietor It is the self-employed worker without employees under his/her supervision (or with very few), who concentrates the power of the company, generally small.
- He key partner It is the businessman who assumes the active role when making the company's decisions, when the rest of the partners contribute the capital.
- The member businessman. A group is less autonomous and is more in charge of providing financial and administrative support and consulting (which usually occurs in companies with many shareholders).
