Enterprise involves people using their initiative to identify a need and then take steps to satisfy that need, it involves taking risks both financial and personal. Entrepreneurs are willing to take risks, because they expect to make the business a success and they expect to make a profit.
Without entrepreneurs there would be no enterprise. They are the leaders in industry and commerce. Enterprise creates jobs and businesses for local people. Entrepreneurs have tireless energy which they harness in their drive to achieve the goal of creating a successful business.
Enterprise is not only noticing a potential business opportunity, it is also related to assessing different situations and deciding what to do.
Enterprise is relevant in many areas for example:
- At home - parents who grow their own vegetables are enterprising.
- In the community - someone who sets up a youth club to provide facilities for young people in the area is showing enterprise.
- At school - students organising a fundraising venture to finance a school tour is a sign of enterprise.
- In public life - civil servants who come up with ideas to help industry and job creation are displaying enterprising skills.
- In an existing business - a forward thinking MD who decides to expand a company into a new foreign market is enterprising.
Many people argue about what personal traits an entrepreneur has. Here is an interesting exercise from the LCVP programme that can be completed as part of an individual and group exercise that will help you brainstorm what type of traits your class believes an entrepreneuer has. There are 3 steps, read the instructions and then follow them in sequence.
Below is an image that I believe sums up the characteristics of an entrepreneur or enterprising person.
www.entrepreneur.com is an online and print small business publication that gives valuable assistance and information to help start, grow or manage a small business. They have a panel of experts available to subscribers who advise business owners on the challenges effecting their businesses and also have an online forum where entrepreneurs can talk and exchange experiences and learnings from their business lives.
