Entrepreneurship Defined: What It Means to Be an Entrepreneur
What does it mean to be an entrepreneur? It’s more than being a business owner; it’s a perspective and a lifestyle.
- Being an entrepreneur is more than being a business owner; it’s a perspective and a lifestyle.
- Make sure you have a solid idea that you’re passionate about pursuing.
- Look to examples of successful entrepreneurs and testimonials for inspiration.
- This article is for aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners.
The road to entrepreneurship is often a treacherous one filled with unexpected detours, roadblocks, and dead ends. There are lots of sleepless nights, plans that don’t work out, funding that doesn’t come through, and customers that never materialize. It can be so challenging to launch a business that it may make you wonder why anyone willingly sets out on such a path.
Despite those hardships, every year thousands of people embark on an entrepreneurial journey, determined to bring their vision to fruition and fill a need they see in society. They open brick-and-mortar businesses, launch tech startups, or turn an idea into a new product or service. With the right motivation, inspiration, and game plan, you can be a successful entrepreneur, too.
What entrepreneurs do
An entrepreneur identifies a need that no existing business addresses and determines a solution for that need. Entrepreneurial activity includes developing and starting a new business and implementing a business marketing plan, often with the end goal of selling the company to turn a profit.
An entrepreneur who regularly launches new businesses sells them and then starts new companies is a serial entrepreneur. Whether a business owner should be considered an entrepreneur often depends on whether they created the business and other legalities. That said, any founder of a successful household-name business began as an entrepreneur.
If you want to become an entrepreneur yourself but you worry you don’t have the money for it, finances don’t have to stop you from achieving your career goals. Many entrepreneurs seek financing options that bypass traditional banks, like funding from angel investors that provide entrepreneurs with capital to cover startup costs (or, later, expansion costs). If you can demonstrate a high growth potential for your business, you can also turn to a venture capitalist, who offers capital in exchange for receiving equity in your company.
