Clay
The term entrepreneur comes from the French word, entrependre, which means “to undertake,” and this is precisely the basic principle of entrepreneurship. An entrepreneur is one who has a vision of an opportunity and takes the initiative to capitalize on it. In simple terms, he or she organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business. Surprisingly, there actually is debate over exactly what the term means, but few would argue that anyone who embarks on a new venture in order to create a new business would be considered an entrepreneur.
Entrepreneurs and other small businesses are the driving force behind the US economy, creating jobs and innovative technologies. These businesses “represent 99.7% of all employers, employ more than half of the private sector workers, account for 39% of high-tech jobs, and create 60-80% of the net new jobs annually,” says Entrepreneur magazine.
A true entrepreneur has a vision to seize an opportunity with passion and diligence. And these traits are crucial to success. If you are thinking to yourself: “This whole entrepreneurial thing is a piece of cake! It can’t be a complicated process? I can make millions effortlessly!” Well, you are sadly mistaken. Experience, knowledge, and most importantly, planning breed success.
from Flickr MartinPhotoSport
Entrepreneurs often are innovators, creating new products, new production methods, new markets, new forms of organization…. However, being an innovator doesn’t ensure success. People come up with new ideas everyday that we never even hear about.
Planning is the key to success. Even though some entrepreneurs may “luck” into success, a lack of planning really is a recipe for failure. There must be a market for whatever the idea is, and the product/service must actually be successfully produced and marketed. And then there is the competition; someone may already be doing something very similar, or may learn how to do it better very quickly, stealing the market away. The successful entrepreneur has a pretty good handle on all of these elements because he’s done his homework, he has planned.
Many entrepreneurs find that obtaining the support of an incubator can help them move more quickly along the path to success. Incubators like TowsonGlobal provide a wide range of support, including affordable office facilities; business counseling & mentoring; networking assistance; and workshops and other educational forums.
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Bobbie Laur
Sharyn Kuczka
Jeremy Monn
Raquel Frye
Clay Hickson
Dawn Bott
Lindsey Meyer
Allie Pyzik
Daraius Irani
Past Bloggers
Jenn Lake
Kelsey Beckett
Timothy Brooks
Ashley Buzzeo
