My New Identity As An Entrepreneur

My New Identity as an Entrepreneur

Joining this industry of internet marketers, the word ”entrepreneur” has been mentioned a hundredfold. Speakers addressing the attendees ”You are an entrepreneur” or ”We entrepreneurs”. Then I started wondering. If I am labelled as so then exactly what does that mean? My search for the definition of my newfound identity begun.

Here’s to my luck, I found out that there has been some doubts whether the word entrepreneur can be defined. Oops! There goes my identity. Arthur Cole ran a 10 years research to define that word but never succeeded (Cole 1969). Brockhaus and Horwitz’s (1985) supported the argument that there is no generic definition of the entrepreneur or if there is they do not have the psychological instrument to discover it at this time. Bad time!! However, much research in the entrepreneurship field has focused on the person, asking the question, ”Why do individuals start firms, when others, under similar conditions do not?

So, what are the traits of these species called entrepreneurs?

Daile Tucker, provides her thoughts on this. It is "a person who has decided to take control of his future and become self-employed whether by creating his own unique business or working as a member of a team, as in multi-level marketing. They compete with themselves and believe that success or failure lies within their personal control or influence." Mark Hendricks takes Tucker's definition a step further, acknowledging innovation, but also providing alternatives. Hendricks suggests that to be an entrepreneur you don't particularly have to be daring. Many are perfectly content to sell tried-and-true products, bringing a steady income without the intensity of launching a new product. He labels these "lifestyle entrepreneurs". They want to be their own boss and make a good living but they don't need to be on the cutting edge, which entails living where one wants, working with people one likes, and doing work one wants to do.

The ”definition” has certainly evolved and it fits me more and more.

But do you ever wonder if you have what it takes to be one?

Here are some questions you might want to ask yourself :

• Are you a self starter?

• How well are you in making decisions?

• Do you have the physical and emotional stamina to run a business?

• How well do you plan and organize?

• Is your drive strong enough to keep you motivated when the going gets rough?

• Is your family supportive of you doing this?

• Do you have the financial resources to keep you going for at least a year if you don’t have the income from the business right away?

Are you ready? Here's more entrepreneur ideas