Intrepreneurship is a term that comes from the words internal and entrepreneurship. It is a word used to describe an employee in a company who acts as an entrepreneur. They possess the characteristics related to entrepreneurs such as risk-taking, self-motivation, determination and taking initiative. Intrepreneurs lend their skills and attributes to the companies they work for, and will find much easier to obtain resources they need through the company. In addition, to that they also have the benefit that bad decisions made by them will not cause them to go bankrupt, unlike for the entrepreneurs. However, there are some disadvantages to being an intrepreneur as well. They do not have as much freedom as Entrepreneurs as whatever they decide will most of the times need to be approved by a manager or director ranked above them.
Explore what entrepreneurial behaviours, attributes, skills mean to you.
After carrying out an extensive research on entrepreneurial behaviours I came across a study that was carried out in 2003. This study identified various behavioural characteristics of entrepreneurs, these are risk-taking, problem solving, and achievement motivation. And all of these characteristics are affected by external factors such as culture, role models, work experience, education and environment.
I agree to a great extent with this study, as it goes against the idea most people have that entrepreneurial attributes are qualities that only certain individuals are born with, and that some of them maybe impossible for others to obtain. This study states that external factors such as someone’s own experience, education and environment in general can influence significantly the entrepreneurial behaviour that they will have.
I believe that all entrepreneurial skills can be learnt through education and practical experience. In my opinion there are also other various important characteristics that were not identified in that study, which are personal initiative, determination and self-reliance. I believe that these three along with self-motivation and problem solving are the most important attributes an entrepreneur needs. Taking initiative is crucial when starting a new business as important decisions need to be made and actions need to be taken by the entrepreneur. I believe self-reliance is as vital as taking initiative because most entrepreneurs start on their own before they expand, so being able to most of the things by themselves would be crucial. In my opinion, determination and motivation are linked and are also a key ingredient for starting a business venture, as the entrepreneur will experience some kind of failure when trying to set up a business it is important they can keep motivated and determined to achieve their goals. That brings me to the last but not least attribute which is, problem solving. Once a person has experienced some type of failure it is fundamental to identify what the problems were, work out a way to correct and how to avoid it in the future.
Define the importance of enterprise, entrepreneurship and small business in the context of the wider economy as well as the individual or team.
The act of setting up a new business not only brings benefits to the owner of the business but also to the society, for many different reasons which will be listed and described. People make the decision to start businesses for several reasons. They may choose to start a business so they can be their own boss and have the freedom that entrepreneurship may bring them. People also go on to start a business because they believe to have a business idea which could be successful. They can also have a financial motive to become an entrepreneur, such earning money in case they have been out of work or maybe just to top up their salary.
If their business idea proves successful, it will not only have a positive impact on their lives but it will also have an effect in the society. The benefit of creating a new service or product to the society, such as a new technology is that it can make people’s lives better off. Creating new companies also offer a huge benefit to the society as entrepreneurs create businesses which hire people. During recessions, entrepreneurship is highly encouraged by governments so that it helps towards reducing unemployment. Another advantage is the tax revenue that enterprises provide to the government. This money can then be used to invest in transports, health, education, etc.
Highlight the stages necessary to evaluate a new business idea.
When deciding to start a business venture, it is crucial to evaluate the idea by carrying analysis such as the Porter’s Five Forces, PEST, and SWOT analysis.
Porter’s Five Forces is a crucial method used to identify the competition within an industry. PEST analysis can be used to identify the political, economic, social and technological factors which may have an impact upon the business. Finally, another analysis used very often is the SWOT. In these analysis the entrepreneur should reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of the business as well as its opportunities and threats.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this report first looked at the meanings of enterprise, entrepreneurship and “intrepreneurship”. Then I gave my point of view on entrepreneurial behaviour, attributes and skills, in which I listed the 5 attributes I regard as the most important ones; personal initiative, determination, self-reliance, self-motivation and problem solving. In addition, the report gave an overview of benefits a new business, service or product may have not only on the entrepreneur, but also on the society. Finally, all important analysis required to determine whether a business is viable or not were also described. These analsysis include, Porter’s Five Forces, PEST and SWOT analysis.
References
GDRC (2010) Defining Entrepreneurship. < > (Accessed: 15/04/2012)
MOWGLI (2010) What is entrepreneurship and why is it important to our economies? < > (Accessed: 15/04/2012)
MVP (2009) What is entrepreneurship. (Accessed: 14/04/2012)
Thinking Made Easy (2009) A Study on the Attributes of Entrepreneurial Behaviour. < > (Accessed: 14/04/2012)
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