Entrepreneur. Such a beautiful, energizing word and one we love to throw around, put in titles, covers and on motivational images. In the business world, it’s one of the hottest terms ever invented. But what does it really mean? What’s the definition of entrepreneur and how can we become one?
In general, an entrepreneur is a person who creates and operates a business, while there’s risk and uncertainty involved. It’s often suggested that he uses his own capital (although that changed when startups became the new thing and investors are a common solution now) and takes initiative.
An entrepreneur is a businessman, a tycoon and a magnate, when talking about managing an enterprise. But it’s also every architect, inventor, author and anyone else who creates stuff, because a true entrepreneur is a maker (compared to the average person who’s a consumer).
The Definition of Entrepreneur Goes Together with Some Personal Qualities
The definition of entrepreneur can’t be finished without talking about the kind of person it takes to be to become one. The skills aren’t the main difference between a regular guy and an entrepreneur, there are qualities and traits involved too.
Here are the main ones:
Contribution
A true entrepreneur makes a difference with the product/service he creates and offers.
He finds out who his ideal customer is, a pain he has in his life and thinks of something he can produce that will alleviate it. Once he gets it done, such a client would gladly pay for the right solution for his struggles in life.
That’s when business and integrity go hand in hand.
Read also: How This Dad Earns $100K/Year on Top of His Job
Innovation
Although the French word entrepreneur dates back to 1723, it’s more popular than ever today and when talking about such people, we usually mean the innovators and leaders of today.
They are always looking for the next big business idea out there or combine ordinary things from daily life in an unusual way to create something useful and absolutely fascinating.
Or they just let their creative juices flow and hustle hard enough to make something out of nothing and explain to people why they need to buy it (the so-called unique selling proposition).
Vision
Entrepreneurs are visionaries.
They know what they want and have already achieved their goals in their mind, before they pursue them in real life. They dream big, aim high and get fantastic results if they persevere long enough.
Trial and Error
You can’t get it right from the very beginning. Many people quit after a failure or a few. Others, stay around a bit longer but eventually lose hope, have invested too much in all this but don’t see it going anywhere, or lose confidence in their abilities.
That’s why it’s so lonely at the top. But that’s why greatness, the ideal lifestyle and the big money are there too.
Resourcefulness
Entrepreneurs work with what they have to build stuff, but they also make the most of their connections, creativity, productivity and environment, while forming new relationships, thinking of new ways to do things and finding new solutions to existing problems.
Opportunities
Entrepreneurs are opportunists.
The average person, however, doesn’t keep his eyes open so that when opportunities come he can grab them and make the most of them. Instead, he blames life for not giving him enough chances.
Value
Entrepreneurship is about creating value, offering more than others expect and that’s exactly why the people who do it receive more in return (in terms of financial rewards, praise, satisfaction in life).
Networking
That’s an important skill in the entrepreneurial world these days.
If you’re running digital businesses, or have created a lifestyle business, that shouldn’t stop you from reaching out to influencers, personally contacting your users/clients to ask for feedback, making friends in your field, seeking guidance from those who are 1 step ahead, etc.
But once you become a real entrepreneur, you’ll start traveling for work too. You’ll go to conferences – just to attend, and after some time maybe even speak – and meet with people in person, you’ll get interviewed and go to special events. But it’s about people.
Entrepreneurs are these great communicators, most of whom started from nothing, but were motivated enough to put themselves out there (even if it means knocking on a few doors in your neighborhood asking people whether your potential product is something they’d pay for).
What Does It Take to Be an Entrepreneur?
If you’re still wondering who is an entrepreneur today and how you can become one, make sure you follow that formula for success.
You don’t start with wanting, you start with wondering how you can help people and even identifying a problem they never realized they had.
The entrepreneur isn’t the one whose concern is whether the glass is half full or half empty. Instead, he gets out there and sells the glass.
Also, you don’t just stay at home and complain about not having the things you want, or not seeing enough money coming in, or not living like others you look up to are.
In the mind of an entrepreneur there’s no blame, comparison or wishes. He’s the risk taker who takes action every single day, long before he sees any result.
You define a problem and create a solution. Then, you get it in the hands of the right people, ask them what they like and don’t like about it, and make the necessary changes so that it can better answer their needs. Then, you go out and market it so that you can put it in the hands of more people like these.
The definition of entrepreneur is something you’ll see in the mirror once you’ve done part of the hard work. The hustle is what will turn you into a successful one, who’s ready to do bigger things and enter a world of freedom and opportunities, where anything is possible.
What about you? What’s your definition of entrepreneur? What does it mean to you and what else does one need to become such an innovator and leader?