Entrepreneurship is much more than just a business activity; it’s a powerful driver of social transformation, economic development and personal fulfillment. Although theoretically accessible to everyone, entrepreneurship requires specific skills to keep a business growing. Read on to find out more about entrepreneurship and how best to assess your entrepreneurial skills.
What is entrepreneurship?
Entrepreneurship refers to the action of undertaking and developing one’s own project. The person who creates an economic activity to meet a need is deemed an entrepreneur.
Entrepreneurship is only about creating new businesses, it also entails entrepreneurial initiatives within existing organizations, such as developing new products, integrating new technologies or implementing an expansion strategy. Entrepreneurs make informed decisions regarding their entrepreneurial activity operation and take on the associated risks.
Who can do it?
Entrepreneurship calls for certain qualities, such as:
Motivation
Motivation is the source of energy that enables us to achieve our goals and transform our entrepreneurial ideas into reality. It is essential for meeting challenges, overcoming obstacles and maintaining perseverance in difficult situations.
Patience and Resilience
Success doesn’t happen overnight. Entrepreneurs often have to go through various stages, especially in the start-up phase. Patience enables them to keep a long-term perspective and work steadily towards their goals.
Creativity
Entrepreneurs need to develop a creative spirit that encourages innovation in their business. This is essential if they are to stand out from the competition and open up new prospects for business expansion.
Courage
Entrepreneurship is a field exposed to many risks (fierce competition, economic crisis, shortage of raw materials, new regulations, etc.). That’s why you need courage to set up a business. However, it must be accompanied by risk management to deal with disruptive events and ensure business continuity.
Flexibility
An entrepreneur’s personality needs to be flexible in order to adapt to changes inside or outside the company.
Curiosity
Curiosity fosters continuous learning. A curious entrepreneur tends to acquire new knowledge and skills. They are open to technological developments and changes in their industry.
Entrepreneurial leadership
An entrepreneur must be a quality leader who is able to create a climate conducive to productivity and collaboration:
- An entrepreneurial leader inspires and motivates other team members;
- They make strategic decisions for their company’s future;
- They are a good listener;
- They establish a corporate culture;
- They align their team’s efforts to common goals;
- They must be able to manage conflict and maintain healthy relationships;
- Etc.
The meaning of communication
An entrepreneur must master the techniques of effective communication so as to:
- Communicate their vision and objectives to their team;
- Negotiating with suppliers;
- Attract and retain clients;
- Etc.
How do companies evaluate leadership?
What are the 7 forms of entrepreneurship?
1.Entrepreneurship from the ground up
This is the most popular form of start-up for young entrepreneurs. A business built from the ground up means that its founders start from scratch, and must mobilize all the elements necessary for its operation, such as financial capital, human resources, infrastructure, partnerships, customers/clients, etc.
There are several possible reasons for choosing this form of business:
- Create an innovative solution;
- Respond to a problem encountered by the entrepreneur;
- Respond to a change in the economic or social environment.
A business built from scratch takes a lot of time and effort to establish itself in the market. A solid business plan is essential to get the company off the ground.
2.Company Takeover
As the name suggests, this involves taking over the activities of an existing company, be it an SME, a start-up or a large corporation. The buyer has the choice of creating a new company or taking over an existing one. This form of enterprise offers a number of advantages, not least in terms of customer and supplier relations if the company was already strong. What’s more, communicating a message of continuity is a plus for a company that’s doing well.
3.Franchise Business
A franchise business is a business model in which an entrepreneur, known as a franchisee, obtains the operating rights to an established brand, known as the franchisor. The franchisee uses the knowledge, operating methods and brand recognition of the franchisor to start up and run the business.
Franchising offers a number of advantages, such as reduced risk compared with an independent business, access to a recognized brand, ongoing support and the possibility of faster growth.
4.Spin-offs (extrapreneurship)
When an employer helps their employees to become entrepreneurs, we call it a “spin-off” company. There are 3 types of spin-offs in entrepreneurship:
- Hot (or social) spin-offs: aimed at solving a problem of overstaffing within a company or implementing a restructuring policy;
- Cold (or active) spin-offs: this concerns staff who already have a business creation project;
- Strategic spin-offs: this involves outsourcing an activity and establishing a win-win economic relationship.
5.Intrapreneurship
Intrapreneurship encourages the development of entrepreneurial skills. It involves, for example, creating a new economic activity within the same company. In regard to an intrapreneur, this means an excellent opportunity for learning and experimentation, while avoiding the risk-taking inherent in setting up a new business.
6.Public entrepreneurship
Public entrepreneurship refers to initiatives and businesses that aim to create social and economic value and solve environmental problems.
- Vocabulary of social entrepreneurship: public companies focus on issues such as social equity, the environment, health, education, employment, culture and so on.
- Collaboration: public entrepreneurship encourages collaboration between different players, including governments, private sector companies, non-profit organizations, academic institutions, etc. These partnerships are important for mobilizing the resources and skills needed to achieve social objectives. These partnerships are important for mobilizing the resources and skills needed to achieve social objectives;
- Social innovation: innovation in social enterprise involves the creation of new approaches, technologies or solutions that respond to society’s emerging needs;
- Sustainable development: public entrepreneurship focuses on viable projects that respect the well-being of individuals and ecological constraints.
Why become an entrepreneur?
- Becoming your own boss: This allows you to organize yourself freely and flexibly, and achieve an effective work-life balance.
- Bringing ideas to life: Entrepreneurship allows you to realize your own strategies and stimulate your creative spirit.
- Developing skills: Beyond technical skills, entrepreneurship is an excellent opportunity to develop personal skills in team management, communication, negotiation, risk management and so on.
- Improving income: Entrepreneurial work offers greater income potential than salaried work. This is an important motive for maximizing business performance.
How to improve interpersonal relationships?
What are the advantages of entrepreneurship?
Creating economic value
Entrepreneurship helps create added value and stimulate the local and national economy.
Job creation
Companies help to create new employment opportunities, reducing unemployment and helping young people to integrate into working life.
Innovation
Entrepreneurs tend to come up with innovative solutions, which helps to improve the quality of products and services.
Social commitment
Entrepreneurs can support local initiatives, sponsor events, collaborate with other organizations and participate in community projects.
How do you measure your entrepreneurial skills?
If you’re interested in becoming an entrepreneur, HRid offers you the ID-Entrepreneurship test to assess your entrepreneurial abilities. Our process is based on in-depth research and the different aspects of a talented entrepreneur, namely:
- Motivation;
- Intent;
- Background;
- Personal qualities;
- Problem-solving skills;
- Etc.