What Is Entrepreneurship?
By: Jaleesa Meredith
Differences between Employees and
Entrepreneurs
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Most Americans earn money by working a business
A business is the buying and selling of products/services
All employees do not own a business, they work for
others
Some people start their own business and work
themselves
Entrepreneurs often are owners and employees
After expenses and taxes have been paid that’s the profit
Success/failure is the owners responsibility
Think Like an Entrepreneur
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Employees notice (and often promote) employees who
think entrepreneurially.
Never stop learning.
If you give starting a business a try, you’ll learn valuable
skills.
Entrepreneurs do three important things: listen, observe,
and think.
Big and Small Business
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“big bus.” – having more than 100 employees, selling than
$1 million worth of products or services in a year
Small businesses run must of the world
Baby-sitting and a neighborhood restaurant are small
business
Principles involving in running a large company and small
are the same
A Business Must Make a Profit to Stay in
Business
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Make profit to stay “in business”
Amount of money coming in must be greater than the
amount of money required to pay the bills
Ventures do lose money after start-up
Businesses who aren’t profitable will close and won’t have
money to pay the bills
Closing a business is nothing to be ashamed of
If the venture isn’t making money/profit, you may be in
the wrong business
“creative destruction” – Joseph Schumpeter
Profit Is the Sign that the Entrepreneur Is
Adding Value
If a business is making profit, then clearly the entrepreneur
is doing something right. Profit is usually a sign that the
owner has added value to the “scarce” which is limited
resources. Resources are items that can be used to make
something else or to fill a need.
Examples:
Oil is used as fuel.
Wood is used to make a house, table, and/or paper.
The Economic Questions
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What should be produced?
How will it be produced?
Who gets to have what is produced?
Voluntary Exchange
This exchange is between two owners/parties.You don’t
have to trade but you can if you’re interested.Voluntary
exchange is when parties trade money for a product or
service because they believe it will benefit them in the
long run.
Benefits of Free Enterprise
People benefit from free enterprise when a business lowers
their prices, so that the consumer can get what they need
at a lower price. This stirs up competition for the
businesses, as they want profit too. Depending on the
resource, the business can get customers, lower the price,
and still make a profit.
Entrepreneurs View Change as Opportunity
Automobile manufactures usually find it hard to see change
as an “opportunity”. Since everyone has an automobile,
they can’t send the “change” message out to everyone
and still benefit from it. Whereas small businesses can
because they have a small networking system and it won’t
be as difficult.
Why Be an Entrepreneur?
Disadvantages
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Business failure
Obstacles
Loneliness
Financial insecurity
Long hours/hard work
Advantages
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Control over time
Creative, fulfilling life
Opportunity to create great
wealth
Control over compensation
Control over working
conditions
Self-evaluation
Participation in an international
community
Opportunity to help one’s
community
Ownership Is the Key to Wealth
Being an entrepreneur can better your life. Depending on
how you operate your business, you can move up the
ladder to success in no time! In the corporate world,
some people’s salary isn’t just profit. It’s also stocks.
Basically, you become part-owners.
Living a Life You Will Love
Once you become an Entrepreneur, you will gain wealth,
influence many people around the globe, and have
control.
Vocabulary
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Business
The buying and selling of goods and services in order to make a profit
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Capital
Money or property owned or used in business
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Capitalism
The free-market economic system; anyone with the “capital” is free to start a business
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Economy
The financial structure of a country or other area that determines how resources and wealth are distributed
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Employee
Person hired by a business to work for wages, salary, or commission
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Entrepreneur
Person who organizes and manages a business, assuming the risk for the sake of the potential return
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Free enterprise system
Economic system in which businesses are privately owned and operate relatively free of government
interference
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Profit
The sum remaining after all costs are deducted from the income of a business
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Resource
Supply of something; a source, either natural or intellectual
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Voluntary exchange
Mutually agreed-on business transaction