What is Entrepreneurship and Business Development

An entrepreneur is a person who creates small businesses. Entrepreneurs are calculated risk-takers---they strive to maximize potential of their venture while simultaneously minimizing risk. They are able to recognize opportunities as they arise and create goods or services in order to take advantage of the opportunity before competitors catch on to it. Entrepreneurs may create new products or services, improve on current products or services, or simply find a new way to market existing products or services (Michael Paul, University of Wisconsin)

Entrepreneurship is the process of creating or seizing an opportunity, and pursuing it regardless of the resources currently controlled. The American Heritage Dictionary defines an entrepreneur to be "a person who organizes, operates, and assumes the risk for business ventures.

Related Major Skills

Because they often run new ventures themselves, entrepreneurs must know how to operate every aspect of their business. Typically, this includes the areas of:

• Managing the business on a day-to-day basis
• Advertising, selling, and distributing the product or service (marketing)
• Accounting or keeping financial records for the business
• Hiring personnel to assist with the business
• Production of finished goods or services
• Be non-conformist
• Motivated by achievement
• Have a preference for innovation
• Possess high uncertainty tolerance