What does entrepreneurship look like today?
Companies that can adapt swiftly to changes in the business environment are rewarded in today’s global market. Entrepreneurs, persons with vision, ambition, and creativity, who are prepared to assume the risk of beginning and managing a business, are the ones that create these businesses.
An entrepreneur’s goal is to develop and run a lucrative business that can expand into a major corporation.
Entrepreneurs come from a wide range of industries, and their motivations for beginning a firm are diverse. The urge to be your own boss cuts across all demographics, including race, ethnicity, and age.
Types of entrepreneurs?
Entrepreneurs fall into several categories: classic entrepreneurs, multipreneurs, and intrapreneurs.
Classic entrepreneurs are risk-takers who start their own companies based on innovative ideas. Some classic entrepreneurs are micropreneurs who start small and plan to stay small. They often start businesses just for personal satisfaction and the lifestyle.
While some are growth-oriented entrepreneurs who want their business to grow into a major corporation. Most high-tech companies are formed by growth-oriented entrepreneurs.
Multipreneurs, are entrepreneurs who start a series of companies. They thrive on the challenge of building a business and watching it grow. For example, Thabo Serame has started a series of businesses one being in the property industry owning student accommodation, Airbnb, a digitally-led bed manufacturing business and consultation business. He has dreams to see his business grow, and his current bed manufacturing business has grown and is attracting a lot more people who want to buy in and open stores outside of operating digitally.
Some entrepreneurs don’t own their own companies but apply their creativity, vision, and risk-taking within a large corporation. Called intrapreneurs, these employees enjoy the freedom to nurture their ideas and develop new products, while their employers provide regular salaries and financial backing. Intrapreneurs have a high degree of autonomy to run their own mini-companies within the larger enterprise. They share many of the same personality traits as classic entrepreneurs but take fewer personal risks.
When you want to establish a business, what questions should you ask yourself?
- What is unique about your concept? Are you addressing a problem or a gap in the market?
- Do you know of any similar products or services? If that’s the case, what makes yours superior?
- Who is your intended audience? How many people are likely to buy your goods or use your service?
- Have you solicited feedback from prospective customers? Would they be willing to purchase your goods or service?
- What about the costs of production? What do you believe the market will be willing to pay?
- Is the concept defensible? Is good intellectual property available?
- Is this invention critical to my company’s success?
- Is it simple to communicate the innovation?
- How do you think this product will change over time? Would it be possible to expand it into a product line? Can it be updated/enhanced in future versions?
- Where would this product/service be purchased?
- What marketing strategy will be used to promote the product or service? How much will it cost to sell and market it?
- What are the difficulties in creating this product/service?
