What is entrepreneurship?

Many years ago, the term entrepreneurship was related to people who had huge ideas and a lot of money to kick start their ideas into making profits. As such, people with novel ideas or skills but no starting capital see their dreams of entrepreneurship die, even before kick-off most times.

These days though, things have changed and many people can start making waves in their chosen fields without a starting capital.

In this article, we will endeavour to expound on the nitty-gritty of the entrepreneurial world in present times. If you want to be a founder of your own company, you have come to the right place to get a better understanding of your prospects.

What is entrepreneurship?

In the past, the term entrepreneurship would have simply meant building a business from scratch with the sole purpose of making a profit. These days though, the term has greatly changed to include startups and freelancers. As such, the world now has about 58 million entrepreneurs.

We can therefore say in the broad sense that entrepreneurship is the act of building an idea, skill, or product in a unique way such that it solves existing problems, thereby creating a niche for yourself while maximising profits and bearing all risks.

What does this mean in terms of the future? Well, we live in a world of constant change. The world is now more connected than ever before and with technology at our fingertips, the world has become a lot smaller than it once was. As such, we can say that entrepreneurship has never been more important than it is now.

Who is an entrepreneur?

Ordinarily, an entrepreneur is viewed as a sole proprietor who owns and builds his business, bears all liabilities, and also pockets all the profits from his business.

However, this definition seems somewhat restrictive as startups like Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, and the likes originated from individuals. These people had ideas that changed the world. Even though they started out as sole proprietorships or partnerships, they have opted to share the liabilities of their companies by making the companies Public Limited Liability Companies.

Bearing that in mind, therefore, an entrepreneur is an individual who has a novel idea from which he can create wealth, and runs with it. He can decide to do it alone or employ a team to work alongside him.

Why is entrepreneurship so important?

• Job creation. Entrepreneurs, through their innovative ideas, help to create job opportunities for people. While government jobs are good and probably have better job security, the truth is that the government cannot provide jobs for all. Hence, entrepreneurs or private owners help to create avenues where people can be employed, thereby reducing the rate of unemployment.
   
• Bringing new ideas to the market or a change to the status quo. Entrepreneurs bring ground-breaking ideas that change the world view to the table. They are innovative and encourage their teams to be critical and advanced in their thinking too. They essentially see a need and find ways to meet those needs. Entrepreneurs are problem solvers.
   
• State-of-the-art Technology. With ground-breaking ideas come innovative technologies and better, easier, and faster ways of getting things done.
   
• Introducing new and better products. Computers used to be desktops until some entrepreneur decided to venture into making laptops; and then phones became handheld instead of being stationary or glued to the wall. In simple terms, entrepreneurs bring about changes that drive technology forward and revolutionise the world.
   
• Increases the country’s GDP. Every business pays tax to the government and that also increases the national income through which they provide basic amenities to the citizens. Through these taxes, there is economic growth and development in the country.

Why become an entrepreneur?

Becoming an entrepreneur is a choice and it’s not always easy. It takes a lot of hard work, dedication, and commitment. However, the rewards are endless if you are successful.

The rewards of entrepreneurship are:

• Be your own boss. This is probably the most intriguing. You don’t have to answer to anyone but yourself. You are the don of your company and can choose to do whatever you want.
   
• Enjoy flexible working hours. You can choose to work at any time you want. You set the schedule for others working with you!
   
• Work from anywhere. Being an entrepreneur is a good excuse to be a digital nomad. You do not have to have an official working space. 
   
• Solve critical problems. Instead of doing minimal chores that add no value to anyone, you get to solve critical problems when you are your own boss.
   
• See your ideas come to life. There’s something pleasing about seeing your ideas come to life right before your very eyes. You get to give life to your dreams and ambitions when you are an entrepreneur.
   
• Change the world. Successful entrepreneurs change the status quo in their line of business and sometimes even change the world’s progression.
   
• Create and increase wealth. Being an entrepreneur is a good way to be able to create and increase wealth for both personal and public benefit.

What are the disadvantages or downsides to being an entrepreneur?

• Working late hours – when you are an entrepreneur, you do not have a closing time. You close when the job is done.
   
• Major responsibilities – the responsibility to make major decisions rests solely on the business owner. It is your responsibility whether the business thrives or fails.
   
• Risk of failure – there’s always the risk of failure for any startup. It is a known fact that 90% of startups fail.

Being an entrepreneur is not for everyone. It’s not easy and it takes a lot of effort, but if you are passionate about your work, you will succeed.

There are no guarantees that you will be successful. Nevertheless, entrepreneurship gives you the opportunity to make your mark in the world. Having good entrepreneurial skills also determines how big or sustainable that mark would be. Who knows, maybe your startup stands the chance of being the next breakthrough the world is waiting for…