If you have always wanted to be an entrepreneur, it is important to discover whether you have the mind-set of an entrepreneur.
It will not only will help you to evaluate your readiness, but it will also help you to identify if you have the personality, characteristics and skills to succeed, as a mind-set is believed to be the most important requirement for success in entrepreneurship.
A mind-set is defined by Medical Dictionary as a "mental inclination", "tendency" or "habit". In other words, it is as a particular way a person thinks and forms opinion about things. So, when we refer to entrepreneurial mind-set, we are referring to the way entrepreneurs think.
Entrepreneurs are drawn towards entrepreneurial activities and outcomes.
They seek opportunities for innovation and value creation.
The Business Dictionary defines a start-up as "Early stage in the life cycle of an enterprise where the entrepreneur moves from the idea stage to securing financing, laying down the basis structure of the business, and initiating operations or trading".
The key words in the definition which are usually associated with starting a business that is of interest to us are "enterprise" and "entrepreneur". Understanding these two terms will help to clarify how an entrepreneur thinks.
The term enterprise is usually defined as a business. However, the definition by Leicester University is relevant to our consideration here as enterprise is defined as "...a set of skills and attitudes that can enable a culture of innovation, creativity, risk taking, opportunism, etc. that underpins employability, enables entre- and intra- preneurship, and facilitates knowledge transfer".
This definition does not link enterprise to something static like an entity or organisation, but as a process resulting from an outcome of the word enterprising.
According to this perspective, people who are enterprising have been known to have a set of skills, attributes and behaviours that enable them to successfully exploit ideas as shown below, as opposed to those who are not.
Is this you?
Kenneth Ukoh
Business Start Up Support
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