1. THE EVOLUTION AND CONCEPT OF
ENTREPRENEURSHIP

2.  The word comes from the French word
“entreprendre” – “to undertake” or “go-between”

3. Who is an Entrepreneur?
 The earliest use of the term expressed the sense of “middlemen” who
directed the resources provided by others.
 Middle age: someone who managed large projects on behalf of a
landowner or the church, such as building of a cathedral or castle.
 17th century - Entrepreneurs were those who contracted with the state
to perform certain duties such as the collection of revenues or the
operation of banking and trading service.
 Here the term is extended to include some elements of risk and profit.

4.  Today, an Entrepreneur is an Innovator, or developer
who recognises and seizes opportunities convert
those opportunities into workable/marketable ideas;
adds values through time, effort money or skills,
assumes the risk of competitive marketplace to
implement these ideas; and realises the rewards from
the efforts. (Kuratko & Hoggetts, 1989)

5.  J.B. Say, sees an Entrepreneur as “someone who consciously moves
economic resources from an area of lower productivity to an area of
higher productivity and greater yield”
 Thus an entrepreneurs takes existing resources
 People
 Materials
 Buildings
 Money time
 Redeploys them to make them productive and give them greater value.

6.  There is no universally, agreed definition of
Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneur.
 According to Ranstadt (1984) “Entrepreneurship is the
dynamic process of creating incremental wealth”
 This wealth is created by individuals who assume the major
risk in terms of equity, time and/or career commitment of
providing value for some products or services
 The product or the service itself may or may not be new
or Unique but value must somehow be infused by the
Entrepreneur by securing and locating the necessary
skills and resources

7.  According to Joseph Schumpeter (1951)
Entrepreneurship consists of doing things that are
not generally done in the ordinary course of
business routine; it is essentially a phenomenon
that comes under the wider aspect of leadership.

8.  However according to Shapore (1975/1987) “in
almost all of the definitions of
entrepreneurship, there is the agreement that we
are talking about a kind of behaviour that includes:
I. Initiative taking
II. The organisation or reorganisation of social
economic mechanisms to turn resources and
situation to practical account, and
III. The acceptance of risk failure.

9.  The ambition and desire to succeed
 A need for independence
 Vision, flair and imagination
 Creative and innovative traits
 Readiness to take risks
 Perseverance – they never give up
 Strategic thinkers –looking to the future
 Set high standards for themselves and others

10.  There seem not to be a single “entrepreneur type”
but there is a great deal of consistency in the way
in which successful entrepreneurs approach their
task.
 Some of the characteristic exhibited by successful
entrepreneurs are discussed as follows

11.  Hard work:
Successful entrepreneurs put a lot of physical and mental
effort into developing their ventures. They often work long
and antisocial hours. After all, an entrepreneur is their own
most valuable asset. Balancing the needs of the venture with
other life commitments such as family and friends is one of
the great challenges which faces the entrepreneur

12.  Self-starting
Entrepreneurs do not need to be told what to do. They identify tasks
for themselves and then follow them through without looking for
encouragement or direction from others.
 Setting of personal goals
Entrepreneurs tend to set themselves clear, and demanding goals.
The embark their achievements against these personal goals. As a
result, entrepreneurs tend to work to internal standards rather than
look to others for assessment of their performance.

13.  Resilience
Not everything goes right all the time. In fact, failure may be
experienced more often than success.
Entrepreneurs must not only pick themselves up after things
have gone wrong but must learn positively from the
experience and that learn to increase the chances of
success the next time

14. Confidence
The entrepreneur must demonstrate that they not
only believe in themselves but also in the venture
they are pursuing. After all, if they don’t who will?

15. Receptiveness to new ideas
 The entrepreneur must not be overly confident. They must
recognise their own limitations and the possibilities that they
have to improve their skills. They must be willing to revise their
ideas in the light of new experience
 One of the main reasons that banks and venture capitalists give
for not supporting a business proposal is that the entrepreneur
was too sure of themselves to be receptive to good advice when
it is offered

16. Assertiveness
 Entrepreneurs are usually clear as to what they
want to gain from a situation and not frightened to
express their wishes.
 Being assertive does not mean a commitment to
outcomes, not means. True assertiveness relies
on mutual understanding and is founded on good
communication skills.

17.  Information seeking
 Eager to learn
 Attuned to opportunity
 Receptive to change
 Commitment to others
 Comfort with power

19. 1. Freedom to adopt my own 6. Flexible work-life balance
approach to work 7. Desire to have high earnings
2. To take advantage of an 8. Challenge
opportunity 9. To achieve something and
3. To control my own time get recognition
4. It made sense at that time in 10. To continue learning
my life (!) 11. Respect of friends and family
5. Security for myself and 12. Tax avoidance
family

20. 1. Personal Freedom: entrepreneurs are not controlled by any
other managers in their organisations.
 They set their own work schedule
 Make their own decisions
 Try out their own new ideas
 Direct their energies to into business activities they deem fit.
2. Personal Satisfaction: Personal freedom leads to personal
satisfaction of doing what you enjoy each day. They would be in
control of their lives by controlling their business and their work

21. 3. Increased Income: personal satisfaction leads to hard work and
working hard usually results in making more money.
4. Self Esteem: freedom, satisfaction and increased income add up
to a greater feeling of self-esteem.