How small businesses operateWhat is an entrepreneur?

An entrepreneur is a person who starts their own business. They have the idea that is required to combine the factors of production in such a way as to make a profit.

Skills

A skill is an ability that has been developed through training or experience. Some of the skills required by an entrepreneur are:

• problem solving – be able to overcome difficulties in order for the business to survive
• ICT – have the necessary skills when using software to communicate or to complete professional documentation
• motivational – the ability to get staff on board and work hard to achieve the aims of the business
• interpersonal – the ability to deal with customers, suppliers and staff effectively
• decision-making – to ensure the correct decisions are made to fulfil the aims of the business
• leadership – the ability to show confidence and lead workers to achieve goals
• organisational – the ability to organise staff and resources to achieve aims
• communication – the ability to make instructions clear
• finance – the ability to manage finances correctly so the business makes a profit
• management – to ensure they can organise the staff that work for them

Qualities

A quality is used to describe the nature or personality of an individual. Some of the qualities required by an entrepreneur are:

• enthusiasm – the ability to keep staff and customers happy
• risk-taking – must be willing to take chances to stay ahead of the competition
• persuasion – the ability to get others to support your idea and to purchase your product or service
• determination – to never give up when tasks are challenging
• confidence – the ability to inspire others to have confidence in your business concept
• creative or enterprising – able to come up with an idea that will fill a gap in the market and make it different from competitors