What are the most important qualities that an entrepreneur needs to possess, in order to start up and run a business successfully? An entrepreneur is someone who owns and runs their own business. Enterprise can have two different definitions: 1) Enterprise is another name for a business. 2) Enterprise is also a skill which entrepreneurs should possess that involves many different skills and qualities, including showing initiative (being able to and actively bringing a good or service to the market), having a willingness to take risks and being imaginative.
Of course, enterprise (skill) cannot be defined representatively as simply a skill that an entrepreneur has, or as a certain skill or quality. Instead, it is an amalgamation of different skills and qualities which can be beneficial for entrepreneurs running a business, as they are desirable qualities which can help entrepreneurs start and run a business smoothly, deal with any problems that arise, and increase the chance of success.
There are many businesses across the world, but only a few businesses and their trademarks are recognized worldwide- the biggest companies, like Wal-Mart and McDonalds. However, there are millions of businesses in the world, and with them millions of entrepreneurs. Every year, 200,000 new businesses are created in the UK.[1] Many of these fail within a few years of starting up. In fact, one in ten businesses close in their first year, one in three close down within 3 years, and more than half of businesses close down after 5 years.[2] Even those which still run may not be as successful as they could be. The entrepreneur running the business will need to possess enterprise skills and qualities, but also be able to apply them to business situations. This will give the greatest chance of success.
An entrepreneur should possess the skill of enterprise, and this incorporates many different, important skills, some of which are very important. Often, an entrepreneur needs to possess these skills, because they are essential for starting up and running a business. For example, when a potential entrepreneur is starting a business, he/she needs to be creative to find an idea and consider all the factors (and ask questions) before actually having the initiative, drive and determination to start the business and pushing the idea through. They are also taking a risk by starting a business venture. However, these skills also need to be applied in business in order to help the business to succeed. Organising, adapting to situations and being determined are skills which are imperative when running a business, and there are many other skills which are also very important.
My research covers both primary and secondary research, from a range of sources, about the entrepreneurial skills and decisions that are important for entrepreneurs in order to yield the best chance of success when starting a business. My first source is an investigation into a small business owned by Ms Jin in China. She opened a shop operating in the fashion industry, selling clothes and apparel. Being a student at university, she decided that she needed to make some money to help pay off her student loans as early as possible. Without being asked to, she showed the initiative to come up with a business idea and put it into practice by starting her own business. However, before she actually started up her enterprise, she had to plan out her potential business.
Firstly, she decided to decide what target market she would be aiming her product at (seeking out market opportunities). She realised, both from personal observation and primary research conducted by surveys of people around the region, that the best market to target would be students and teachers, because there were over 400,000 students and teachers in the area (with 8 universities) and demand would be high for fashionable clothes.
Students in particular would find style important and this target market would fit perfectly around Ms Jin’s initial business idea. Furthermore, since the area was away from the city centre, there would be less competition from big stores, supermarkets and shopping centres. The students would be looking for low-medium priced/quality clothing while teachers would be more likely to go for medium-high priced/quality clothing, so to target the largest overall market segment; she decided to go for the medium price/quality market segment.
