Let’s examine some definitions first:
en·tre·pre·neur ˌäntrəprəˈnər /noun
noun: entrepreneur; plural noun: entrepreneurs
1. a person who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so.
2. the person starting a business or other organization, develops a business model, acquires the human and other required resources, and is fully responsible for its success or failure.
3. Harvard Business School Professor Howard Stevenson: “Entrepreneurship is the pursuit of opportunity without regard to resources currently controlled.”
4. The Economist: “There are two distinctive views. The first is the popular view: that entrepreneurs are people who run their own companies, the self-employed or small-business people. The second is Joseph Schumpeter’s view that entrepreneurs are innovators: people who come up with ideas and embody those ideas in high-growth companies.”
5. Investopedia: “An individual who, rather than working as an employee, runs a small business and assumes all the risk and reward of a given business venture, idea, or good or service offered for sale. The entrepreneur is commonly seen as a business leader and innovator of new ideas and business processes.”
6.Definition According to the SBA,
An entrepreneur is a person who organizes and manages a business undertaking, assuming the risk for the sake of profit. An entrepreneur: Sees an opportunity. Makes a plan. Starts the business. Manages the business. Receives the profits.
So we notice there’s some divergence in views. There’s some romanticisation of the term, to the extent that some want to grant the title only to successful innovator, even-though there’s successful and unsuccessful entrepreneurs.
Who is an Entrepreneur and who is not?
Many have raised questions, regarding who can be and who can’t be considered an entrepreneur, here are some:
- Every owner of a business, small or big, is an entrepreneur ?
- Everyone who starts his or her own business is an entrepreneur ?
- Everyone who works for him- or herself is an entrepreneur?
Answering these questions might give us an insight on the real meaning of “entrepreneurship”,
1. Every owner of a business, is a business owner. If the business was created from scratch by this person, then definitely this person is an entrepreneur. If the business was transmitted or inherited then the person is not an entrepreneur.
2. People who start their own business are entrepreneurs, see semantic reasons below.
3. A person who works for him/herself is called a freelancer, unless he is working under the name of his company, in that case it’s entrepreneurship.
Semantic meaning and origin of the word
I would like to focus on the semantic of the word “entrepreneur”, It came to my attention that it may not be as frequently understood in the English language as it is in French.
Entrepreneur is a common word in English, but it often used as an elegant synonym to business man. Meanwhile in French the same exact word, with the same exact pronunciation is considered as a basic vocab, and holds no synonyms; If you want to say businessman in french you have to say entrepreneur, you have no other choice.
The word entrepreneur derived from the french verb “entreprendre” which mean to undertake a project, that’s why any kind of business men or women, who create a business, are called entrepreneurs, because they are undertaking new projects.
In french, we add often the ending “eur” to verbs, making them a noun of a person specialized in this action or invested in the action (verb). Thus entreprendre => entreprend’re’ => entreprendeur => entrepreneur.
ex: bâtisseur, constructeur, créateur, fondateur, ingénieur, maçon, promoteur …
The Real Meaning of Entrepreneur:
From the above section, we understand that in french adding eur to entreprendre, means that Entrepreneur is someone who became expert in the process of “entreprendre” undertaking projects. That means that no only he is successful in 1 but he in several projects/companies.
Thus the real meaning might be even more selective than the answers in the second section. According to the semantic logic, the real definition of Entrepreneur is what we call these days as “Serial Entrepreneur“.
Entrepreneur global reach:
So as you have guessed by now, the word entrepreneur is actually a French word not an English word, but it was borrowed by the English language , as it happens often between languages.
But the adoption of the word is not limited to English, the word was successfully adopted worldwide. Each month half a million search for the word “entrepreneur” is done, approximately half of these searches come from English speaking countries like the UK, US, Australia, India, etc, But the other half comes from all over the world.
The search is high in English speaking countries simply because the word is of foreign origin, and have some prestige associated to it. In French speaking countries, the use of the term is much more frequent, even though the search volume does not reflect that. But because the word is well understood in French, looking it up online would be like looking up the term potato (what is the percentage of people that look up the word potato).
But to have a half a million monthly search, means that the word is used at least 20 to 100 times more, that means the word is used more than 50 million times every single month.
From a French language side, a normal person would encounter the word entrepreneur at least once to twice per month. With 75 million native French speaker, and 340 million French speaker, the word “entrepreneur”, is with no doubt, used at least 100 million times each month, and that in French countries alone.
George Bush — doing a convincing imitation of a complete twerp
Thank you, Mr George W Bush Jr, for that pearl of wisdom, up there with “Africa is a nation that suffers from incredible disease” and “I couldn’t imagine someone like Osama bin Laden understanding the joy of Hanukkah”. You need to take more water with it, George.
Actually, I’m not of the school of thought which maintains that Georgie is a total retard. Surely, surely you can’t possibly get as far as president of the US if you have the IQ of a cockroach? I’m inclined to think he was a victim of bored soundbite-writers – OK guys, today’s challenge is to get him to say “I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully”. Bottle of Californian rosé and a Big Mac for anyone who manages it. Let’s face it, if you were president would you waste your time wading through all that stuff in advance? No, you’d go to the pub and read it off the autocue on the day.
Sarah Palin. Oh God, no. Please.
Barack Obama, while looking from here like a much more sensible choice of president, really doesn’t have the same comedy value. Anyone nostalgic for that sort of thing will have to wait for Sarah Palin next time round, although leaving comedic potential aside, we really need to hope for all our sakes that the mad bint doesn’t actually win. Still, with any luck her campaign will provide grist to the mill for About.com’s Sarah Palin Insane-O-Matic Quote Generator.
Fans of loony US politics will meanwhile just have to make do with the population’s reaction to the suggestion that healthcare for people other than hedge fund managers and the CEOs of multinational companies might be a worthwhile idea. ‘Socialism by the back door!’ they thunder. ‘Unconstitutional!’ ‘How dare you!’. Errrr ….. OK then, off you go and die of something eminently treatable, see if I care. Weirdos.
Stalin. Rather a bad idea by any standards.
Europeans generally find the American deployment of the word ‘socialism’ as a debate-closer a bit baffling, partly because they tend to use it to cover anything which isn’t an every-man-for-himself capitalist free for all and partly because we’ve seen the real thing in operation in most of its recent incarnations, from Ken Livingston-stylee pinko through New Labour to out-and-out Stalin, so we more or less see it as just another option, and one with good points and bad ones. (Really quite bad ones, in Uncle Joe’s case, though apparently his fellow Georgians are now getting all nostalgic for his reign of terror and describing him as a ‘strong leader’. Which goes to show just how wilfully self-deluded people can be.)
But I digress (something for which I am not covered by our subversive universal healthcare system, unfortunately). According to our good friend Wikipedia, entrepreneur is originally a loan word from French, which would rather seem to piss on George’s strawberries. A literal translation gives you ‘between-taker’, which suggests that it originally meant middleman – not quite what Dubya had in mind, I should think. But the meaning has clearly changed over the years, and Wikipedia tells us that the modern entrepreneur is “an individual in possession of a new enterprise … and assumes significant responsibility for the in herent risks and the outcome”. One imagines that this definition is much more to George’s liking.
Brits in France will often tell you that the French don’t do much work, aren’t entrepreneurial, don’t encourage small business, would all rather work for the state ….. blah etc. Which is odd really, considering that I meet far more independent business owners here than I ever did in the UK. What’s more, none of them looks particularly destitute – our former neighbours who have the little supermarket have just built a big house and bought a whopping 4×4, the one-man-band electrician I used to deal with for First Choice has taken on staff and opened a shop and JC’s former boss at Marché U has just sold his business for several million. Still, maybe they’re all arms dealers and the whole legit business thing is just a front for laundering money. Titter ye not – we had ETA terrorists holed up in a resort in the Maurienne last summer. It all happens round here, you know.
Our most recent local recruits to the whacky world of smaill business are a bunch of enterprising teenagers who have launched what can only be described as a rickshaw service, though they like to call it a vélotaxi.
Rickshaw ride, anyone?
The youngsters (or more likely someone’s Dad) have welded a couple of bikes together two abreast and then attached a two-wheeled carriage arrangement to the back. The carriage boasts an awning and a wooden bench made comfy with a few brightly coloured cushions, and the whole contraption is powered by various healthy-looking 15(ish)-year-old rickshaw-wallahs who cheerfully circle the town, honking adenoidally on the old fashioned horns attached to their handlebars. Tourists (who, as noted before, leave their brains behind when going on holiday) seem delighted with a rickshaw tour of the town, and wot not of the fact that the whole thing was clearly cobbled together in someone’s garage and is probably of rather dubious roadworthiness.
No doubt a dozen people will be along at any moment to leave sniffy comments about irresponsible parents, health ‘n’ safety, insurance, other road users, yada, drone, zzzzzzz etc. And if that’s you, stop ask yourself exactly what it is that’s stifling the go-getting entrepreneuial spirit here, alleged French laziness or the bossy busybody attitude of people just like you?
The word Entrepreneur is derived from: A brief article talking about the meaning and origin of the word entrepreneur. In this article, we also talk about the meaning of entrepreneur, entrepreneurship and its purpose. The word entrepreneur is derived from a French word meaning to take a risk. These risks culminate in the creation of something beautiful – a business born out of an idea.
The word entrepreneur is derived from the French word entreprendre. It means ‘to undertake’. Thus, an entrepreneur is a person who undertakes the risk. Risk and entrepreneurship go hand in hand – as a founder, a few common risks are:
- Invested capital, money and assets
- Time and lost opportunity in pursuing some other jobs
- Reputation
- Emotional loss and impact on confidence
In general we talk about risk as financial loss or money. Very few people talk about the emotional losses when entrepreneurship fails. However, amidst all these risks is the fantastic lure of an opportunity and your ability to make a difference. One of the most salient characteristics of an entrepreneur is their ability to handle risk.
Who is an entrepreneur and what is entrepreneurship?
As we discussed in the article – what is a startup and its difference with small business, an entrepreneur can be a founder of either. The difference between the two is in their purpose. We build a startup for scale, expansion and growth. The pressure to grow, scale and return an exponential return is huge. As a small business you can afford to focus on value, staying small and providing great quality of service. You can do this in a startup too, but can’t afford to stay small or grow at an organic pace.
Meaning of an Entrepreneur:
An entrepreneur is someone starting a business or a venture. The type of business can belong to any of the four types of entrepreneurs. Depending on the impact and area you want to operate, you can create the corresponding type of business. As long as you register a business and are actively trading – you can be qualified as an entrepreneur.
You can register a business as either – Sole Trader, Partnership or a limited company based on how you want to operate. The purpose of your business defines the type of entrepreneur you can become.
Meaning of Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is the profession in which an entrepreneur works. To be honest, there isn’t much difference between a business and entrepreneurship. Business is a grown version of the early stages of being an entrepreneur. There are 4 types of entrepreneurship – small business, scalable startup, large company entrepreneurship or social entrepreneurship.
As a founder, I’d focus on the types of entrepreneurship to indicate the future strategy. If you cause is social, then it must become a part of your vision and culture. The same applies for your commercial growth strategy or innovation as well. It comes back to the purpose of your business idea and how you want to shape its feature. Entrepreneurship is a beautiful opportunity to change and create innovation. It must always focus on value addition and keep the customer in mind.
One of the most powerful influences is in its ability to make a difference which lies at the centre of most entrepreneurial ventures. You can find more about entrepreneurship, who coined the usage, etc here.
When you think of the perfect words too late
ess-preed-less-kah-lyay
We’ve all been in a situation when we think of the perfect thing to say in response to something provocative or insulting too late to say it in the moment. When the right words come, the right time is past. The French call this too-late inspiration l’esprit de l’escalierplay . Esprit is the root of our word spirit, but in French can also mean “wit,” so this phrase is translated literally as “wit of the staircase” and is used to mean repartee thought of too late, on the way home.
The expression was coined by Denis Diderot, the French philosopher of the 1700s, so we can imagine that the grand staircase of a château or manor is what he had in mind.
Is Will Smith experiencing l’esprit de l’escalier after Slapgate?: Oscar night incident provides teachable moment on the value of ‘staircase wit’
— (headline) Irish Times (Dublin, IR), 31 Mar. 2022
Photo: Edouard Manet, «The Luncheon on the Grass»
oo-TRAY
When words are borrowed from other languages, it can sometimes seem that the idea the word expresses somehow goes beyond the limits of the language that adopted the new word. In the case of outréplay , that’s also a clue as to the borrowed word’s meaning. Outré means “violating convention or propriety” or “bizarre.” It is used to describe things that are unusual, extravagant, or shocking in some way:
Because of this, there’s always been a sense of him being too outré for traditional outlets: too direct, too bumptious, too partial, too much.
— Miranda Sawyer, The Observer (London, Eng.), 23 Apr. 2022That’s partly because the visual excess of «Moulin Rouge,» taking its cue from its sourcing of the famously outre Baz Luhrmann musical, matches the gestalt of the palace formerly known as the Oriental Theatre.
— Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 22 Apr. 2022
Outré comes from the French verb outrer, which means “to exaggerate” or “to outrage.” Even though the word does refer to things “outside” of conventions, beware that it’s just a coincidence that outrer looks like the English word outer; it’s ultimately from the Latin word ultra, which means “beyond” or “farther.”
Photo: Jacques-Louis David, «Napoleon Crossing the Alps»
ree-kuh-NOY-ter
Reconnoiterplay is the less familiar verb form of reconnaissanceplay ; if reconnaissance means “a preliminary survey to gain information,” then reconnoiter means “to go to a place in order to gain information.” Unsurprisingly, it is most often used in military contexts.
Reconnoiter comes from the French word that means “to recognize,” based on the verb connaître which means “to know,” so both recognize and reconnoiter literally mean “to know again” according to their shared etymology. This French word is related to other English words including recognize, cognizant, and connoisseur.
Reconnoiter is spelled with an o and reconnaissance with an a because they were borrowed into English at different times; the o spelling reflects an older French spelling. This is also true of connoisseur, since the way that word is spelled today in French (connaisseur) reflects the change in spelling in French after the word came into English.
The g in English words like recognize and cognizant was introduced by Renaissance scholars who wanted English to show the Latin ancestry of these French borrowings. The ultimate Latin root of all these words is cognoscere.
I like that zone where you’re going about three miles an hour but nothing can stop you. A few hours of that, or a few days of that, and when you raise your head to reconnoiter, some stuff has gotten done.
— Wisconsin State Journal_ (Madison, WI), 17 Apr. 2022
Photo: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, «At the Moulin Rouge, The Dance»
LOOSH
When being extremely judgmental about something, we are likely to narrow our eyes. In fact, sometimes that’s all we need to do in order to communicate disapproval. Without knowing it, we are expressing the history of louche. Loucheplay means “not reputable or decent”:
The onstage hijinx are tinctured with a pinch of decadence. Don Giovanni’s servant Leporello (the excellent Justin Welsh) wears a studded dog collar and a black motorcycle jacket. A dance sequence at Zerlina’s wedding features gaudily costumed locals who resemble 2 a.m. refugees from a louche nightclub.
— Adrian Chamberlain, Times-Colonist (Victoria, Can.), 23 Apr. 2022
Louche comes from the French word that means “cross-eyed” or “squint-eyed” and eventually gained a figurative meaning of “shady” or “devious.” It ultimately comes from the Latin word luscus, which means “one-eyed.”
oh-koo-RAHN
Au courantplay is a fancy way of saying “current” in connection with both recent information and fashion.
The term has been dropped into English sentences since the mid-1700s, and its use has shown a variety of subtle distinctions in meaning. It can be used to mean “fully informed,” as in “they seemed to be au courant of everything that had happened.” It can mean “up-to-date” or “abreast,” as in “the dictionary stays au courant through constant revision.” It has the straightforward meaning of “stylish” or “fashionable” as in “au courant clothes.” Finally, it can mean “aware,” “informed,” or “cognizant,” as in “we were au courant of what happened.”
The French word courant comes from the verb courir, which means “to run.”
Superimposing old-school glamour with an au courant touch, designer Preeti Jain’s ‘Ancienne’ collection comprises of her signature Nirmooha statement-making prints reconciled with the vintage-inspired array of easy chic separates.
— Akshay Kaushal, The Times of India (New Delhi, Ind.), 23 Mar. 2022
«Sabots» were wooden clogs worn in rural Europe.
Photo: Francois Boucher, «Les sabots,» detail
SAB-uh-tahzh
Sabotageplay means “deliberate destruction,” but its oldest meaning in English is more specific:
destruction of an employer’s property (as tools or materials) or the hindering of manufacturing by discontented workers
A sabot is a wooden shoe, formerly worn in rural Europe, and it later became the word for a metal “shoe” or bracket used in construction and laying railroad tracks. The French verb saboter originally meant “to secure with a metal bracket” but also came to mean “to botch” or “to do in a clumsy or slipshod way.” Finally, it came to have the “deliberate destruction,” a meaning, which, some have said, came about because of striking workers who threw their wooden shoes in the factory machinery to cause it to stop and break.
Remarkably, small units of this army carried on an assassination and sabotage campaign for years after the war ended, with the last insurgent commander killed in a shootout near Lviv in 1950.
— Anna Reid, Foreign Affairs (New York, NY), May/Jun. 2022
Photo: Paul Czanne, «Pierrot and Harlequin»
GOHSH
Gaucheplay is the French word for “left.” Its secondary or figurative meaning was “awkward” or “clumsy,” and that is the sense that came into English in the 1700s. Gauche is only one of several words that betray a prejudice against left-handedness; it came from a Germanic root and replaced the Latin-based word senestre—the origin of sinister—to mean “left” in French. Words like adroit and dexterity, with positive connotations, come from words for right-handedness.
Parents usually steer clear of giving the impression they have a favourite. And the Queen, with her reputation for discretion, is unlikely be so gauche to let slip that she has hers.
— Lindy McDowell, Belfast Telegraph (Belfast, IR), 23 Apr. 2022
ahn-truh-pruh-NER
Entrepreneurplay is a word that has come to have connotations of imagination, daring, and success—qualities that seem to be universally admired in contemporary business. And, in fact, it’s a new word in English, dating only to the mid-1800s—the reason it has kept its very French spelling and pronunciation. The much older word enterprise shares its roots with entrepreneur; an entrepreneur is one who starts or manages an enterprise: an “enterpriser,” if you will.
In French, entrepreneur can also mean “contractor,” as in a person who oversees the construction of a building. It’s also used to mean “undertaker” or “funeral director.” The words undertaker and entrepreneur are very similar: an entrepreneur “undertakes” a business, and the French word comes from prendre, meaning “to take.”
As Aroostook County continues to struggle with youth out-migration, one city is a promising destination for young entrepreneurs.
— Melissa Lizotte, Bangor Daily News (Bangor, ME), 23 Apr. 2022
French Sauces
Roux, rouille and other saucy terms (and how to say them)
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Based on so many headlines I’ve read lately, you’d never know that entrepreneur is a French word. Case in point: “France and the Euro: the Time Bomb at the Heart of Europe” in The Economist, and “Young and Educated Find Employment Elusive in France” in The NYTimes, and the large capital gains tax on entrepreneurs (thankfully removed due to pressure from the Geonpi “pigeon” movement) as covered – in English – by The Rude Baguette. Sometimes I worry the best and most innovative talent – those willing to think differently – are all going to leave France where the processes often complicate things on top of a less than ideal economic situation. Then I read articles such as “A Freelance Economy Can Be Good for Workers: Let’s Make it Better” in The Atlantic that give me hope again that freelancers and entrepreneurs are the wave of the future – anywhere. (Especially given the upcoming complete launch of Studio/Practice, a curated library of tips and tools for creative freelancers + small businesses that I’ve been creating with Lauren O’Neill). If anything, times are changing.
Recently Aussie Katia Grimmer-Laversanne interviewed me for The France Project, a weekly podcast where she explores a different topic and perspectives relating to life in France. Although my episode (No.7) – shared with bag designer Kasia Dietz – was about inspiration, I realized given my own situation in France that inspiration can’t exist for me without a bit of an entrepreneurial spirit (it’s how I’m able to stay here legally after all). As soon as Katia got me talking, she had me making connections about my life in France that I had never considered before. Half way through I got real feisty, and you can start to understand many of my frustrations with France and my relationship with bureaucracy. I’ve been blessed by many French friends who continually inspire me and who also have opted for the freelance road-less traveled here, and I know that they – as true French women – share many of the same frustrations. However, through these challenges I face, I also think it’s helped shape who I am and what I’m doing in life, and in France.
It was an incredible opportunity to get to chat with Katia about this topic, and I hope you can find some time for a listen (even if you’re multi-tasking, put it on in the background – I’ve recently fallen in love with podcasts for this reason). You can listen to the episode I’m featured in here (I’m in part 2, around 36 minutes), and past episodes here.
Entrepreneur Definition
Everything you need to know about the various definitions of entrepreneur. ‘Entrepreneur’ is a French word which means to undertake, to pursue opportunities, to fulfill needs and wants of the people through innovation and starting business.
An entrepreneur undertakes a venture, organizes it, raises capital to finance it, and assumes the whole or major part of the risk of business. In other words, entrepreneurship is the process of giving birth to a new business.
An entrepreneur is one of the most important inputs and segments of economic growth. He/she is one of the responsible person who can set up a business or an enterprise.
In reality, he/she is the one who has the initiative, innovative skills and who aims for high achievements. The entrepreneur is a person who brings overall change through innovation. The entrepreneur is a visionary and integrated man with outstanding leadership qualities.
Learn about the definitions of an entrepreneur as given by eminent authors like Bernard Belidor, Jean Baptiste, Jan Tinbergen, Adam Smith, Alfred Marshall, Joseph A. Schumpeter, Karl Marx, Jan Tinbergen, A. P. Usher, F.H. Knight, David Ricardo, J.S. Mill, Leon Walrus, F. B. Hawley, Francis A. Walker, Richard Cantillon, Noah Webster, Peter F. Drucker, Arthur Dewing, Robert D. Hisrich and Others.
Entrepreneur Meaning and Definition
Definitions of Entrepreneur – According to Bernard Belidor, Jean Baptiste, Jan Tinbergen, Adam Smith, Alfred Marshall, Joseph A. Schumpeter and Others
The term “entrepreneur” is defined in a variety of ways. Yet no consensus has been arrived at on the precise skills and abilities that make a person a successful entrepreneur.
The concept of entrepreneur varies from country to country as well as from period to period and the level of economic development thoughts and perceptions. A review of research done in different disciplines over the years would improve our understanding of the concept of entrepreneur.
The word ‘entrepreneur’ is derived from the French verb enterprendre. It means “to undertake.” In the early 16th century, the Frenchmen who organised and led military expeditions were referred to as “entrepreneurs.” Around 1700 A.D., the term was used for architects and contractors of public works.
Bernard Belidor applied it to the function of buying labour and material and uncertain prices and selling the resultant product at contracted price.
Quesnay regarded the rich farmer as an entrepreneur who manages and makes his business profitable by his intelligence, skill and wealth.
In many countries, the entrepreneur is often associated with a person who starts his own new and small business. Business encompasses manufacturing, transport, trade and all other self-employed vocations in the service sector. But not every new small business is entrepreneurial or represents entrepreneurship.
The term “entrepreneur” was applied to business initially by the French economist, Cantillon, in the 18th century, to designate a dealer who purchases the means of production for combining them into marketable products. Another Frenchman, J.B. Say, expanded Cantillon’s ideas and conceptualised the entrepreneur as an organiser of a business firm, central to its distributive and production functions. Beyond stressing the entrepreneur’s importance to the business, Say did little with his entrepreneurial analysis.
According to Jean Baptiste Say, an entrepreneur is the economic agent who unties all means of production, the labour force of the one and the capital or land of the others and who finds in the value of the products his results from their employment, the reconstitution of the entire capital that he utilises and the value of the wages, the interest and the rent which he pays as well as profit belonging to himself.
He emphasised the functions of coordination, organisation and supervision. Further, it can be said that the entrepreneur is an organiser and speculator of a business enterprise. The entrepreneur lifts economic resources out of an area of lower into an area of higher productivity and greater yield.
The New Encyclopedia Britannica considers an entrepreneur as “an individual who bears the risk of operating a business in the face of uncertainty about the future conditions.” Leading economists of all schools, including Karl Marx have emphasised the contribution of the entrepreneurs to the development of economies, but Joseph Schumpeter who argues that the rate of growth in an economy depends to a great extent on the activities of entrepreneurs, has probably put greater emphasis on the entrepreneurial function than any other economist.
As Professor Jan Tinbergen points out – “The best entrepreneur in any developing country is not necessarily the man who uses much capital, but rather the man who knows how to organise the employment and training of his employees. Whoever concentrates on this is rendering a much more important service to his country than the man who uses huge capital.”
Adam Smith, the father of classical economics, did not use the term entrepreneur anywhere. Instead, he used the words like employer, the merchant, the undertaker and the master.
Alfred Marshall wrote about the capitalists and management but he was silent about their difference. As such, the classical economists ignored the term entrepreneur entirely.
According to A. P. Usher, “Specialization or division of labour necessitates an entrepreneurial function the crux of which is to coordinate different economic activities. This view on entrepreneurship was very narrow and it reduced the entrepreneurship activities to no more than a managerial function.”
F. H. Knight, in his article on Risk, Uncertainty and Profit propounded the maxim that “entrepreneur are a specialized group of persons who bear risks and deal with uncertainty.” He also identified social, psychological and economic factors which govern the supply of entrepreneurship.
According to David Ricardo, a contemporary of J. B. Say, “The foremost motive of a risk taker is to mass capital and capital accumulation is the sine qua non of economic development.”
J. S. Mill viewed the word entrepreneur as organizer who was paid for his non-manual type of work. According to him, “Extraordinary skills acted as the bedrock in production process that ought to be possessed by the entrepreneur.”
Leon Walrus, in his papers, The Theory of Social Wealth pointed out that entrepreneur is the coordinator of basic factors of production. He treated ‘entrepreneur’ as the fourth factor of production who combines other factors such as land, labour and capital.
In 1882, F. B. Hawley contemplated risk taking as the prime characteristic feature of the entrepreneur which was comparable to the elementary agents of production like land, labour and capital. All classical and neoclassical economists believed in the significance of entrepreneurial action but did not incorporate the term ‘entrepreneur’ into their theories and thus entrepreneurship remained as a clandestine factor.
With J. A. Schumpeter, the term entrepreneur had received a wide acclaim. He defined the entrepreneur as an innovator who carries out new combinations to initiate the process of economic development through introduction of new products, new markets, conquests of new source of raw materials and establishment of a new organization of industry.
He said, “The carrying out of a new combination we call enterprise, the individuals whose function is to carry them out us call entrepreneurs. He has put emphasis on profit, which is the product of innovation and the prime mover of economic development.” According to Schumpeter, “The process of development is a deliberate and continuous phenomenon which is actively promoted by the escort services of a change agent who provides economic leadership. This change agent is what is called entrepreneur.”
Core described entrepreneur as an individual who undertakes “to initiate, maintain or aggrandize a profit-oriented business unit for production or distribution of economic goods and services.”
Schumpeter’s Definition of Entrepreneur:
Joseph A. Schumpeter thus writes- “The entrepreneur in an advanced economy is an individual who introduces something new in the economy — a method of production not yet tested by experience in the branch of manufacture concerned, a product with which consumers are not yet familiar, a new source of raw material or of new markets and the like.”
He further states the entrepreneur’s function is to “reform or revolutionise the pattern of production by exploiting an invention or more generally, an untried technological possibility for producing a new commodity….”
Briefly, an entrepreneur is one who innovates, raises money, assembles inputs, chooses managers and sets the organisation going with his ability to identify them. Innovation occurs through – (1) the introduction of a new quality in a product, (2) a new product, (3) a discovery of a fresh demand and a fresh source of supply and (4) by changes in the organisation and management.
In the case of a developing economy like India, the concept is being understood differently. An entrepreneur in a developing economy is one who starts an industry (old or new), undertakes risk, bears uncertainties and also performs the managerial functions of decision-making and co-ordination. He also puts the new process based on technological research into operation. Even if he imitates any technique of production from a developed economy, he is called an entrepreneur.
In point of fact, entrepreneurship in developing economies is one form of labour that tells the rest of labour what to do and sees to it that it gets things done. Unlike in the developed industrial world, emphasis is not put (nor is there any need for it) only on “Schumpeterian innovations” in the case of developing countries.
Schumpter’s entrepreneur only exists if the factors of production are combined for the first time. To him, maintenance of a combination is not entrepreneurial activity. As such, he differs from the theory of Rent enunciated by Ricardo. Ricardo included the term “entrepreneurial ability” as an independent factor of production. To Ricardo, profit is the reward for entrepreneurial ability.
Drucker’s Views on Entrepreneur:
Peter Drucker has aptly observed that, “Innovation is the specific tool of entrepreneurs, die means by which they exploit changes as an opportunity for a different business or a different service. It is capable of being presented as a discipline, capable of being learned and practiced. Entrepreneurs need to search purposefully for the sources of innovation, the changes and their symptoms that- indicate opportunities for successful innovation. And they need to know and to apply the principles of successful innovation.”
Systematic innovation, according to him, consists in the purposeful and organised search for changes and in the systematic analysis of the opportunities such changes might offer scope for economic and social innovation.
According to Drucker, three conditions have to be fulfilled:
1. Innovation at work – It requires knowledge and ingenuity. It makes great demands on diligence, persistence and commitment.
2. To succeed, innovation must build on their strengths.
3. Innovation always has to be close to the market focused on the market, indeed market- driven.
Specially, systematic innovation means monitoring six sources for innovative opportunity.
The first three sources lie within the enterprise, whether it be a business or a public service institution or within an industry or service sector. They are therefore, visible primarily to people within that industry or service sector. They are basically symptoms. But they are highly reliable indicators of changes that have already occurred or can be made to occur with little effort.
These four source areas are:
1. The unexpected — the unexpected success, the unexpected failure, the unexpected outside event.
2. The incongruity — between reality as it actually is and reality as it is assumed to be or as it “ought to be.”
3. Innovation in industry structure or market structure that catches everyone unawares.
4. The second set of sources for innovative opportunity, a set of three, involves changes outside the enterprise or industry –
i. Demographics (population changes).
ii. Changes in perception, mood and meaning.
iii. New knowledge, both scientific and non-scientific.
Walker’s Views on Entrepreneur:
According to Francis A. Walker, the true entrepreneur is one who is endowed with more than average capacities in the task of organising and coordinating the various other factors of production. He should be a pioneer, a captain of industry.
The supply of such entrepreneurship is however quite limited and enterprise in general consists of several grades of organisational skill and capability. The more efficient entrepreneurs receive a surplus reward over and above the managerial wages and this sum constitutes true profit ascribable to superior talent.
New Concept of Entrepreneur:
The term “entrepreneur” has been defined as one who detects and evaluates a new situation in his environment and directs the making of such adjustments in the economic systems as he deems necessary.
He conceives of an industrial enterprise for the purpose, displays considerable initiative, grit and determination in bringing his project to fruition, and in this process, performs one or more of the following:
1. Perceives opportunities for profitable investments;
2. Explores the prospects of starting such a manufacturing enterprise;
3. Obtains necessary industrial licenses;
4. Arranges initial capital;
5. Provides personal guarantees to the financial institutions;
6. Promises to meet the shortfalls in the capital; and
7. Supplies technical know-how.
Some Observations:
The term “entrepreneur” has now been attributed to all small industrialists, small business, traders and industrialists. All people who are gainfully engaged in work — manufacturing, distribution or service and other sectors are called entrepreneurs.
Again, even founder, creator and risk-taker are called entrepreneurs. Each of these terms focus on some aspect of entrepreneur. They have some attributes, but they are not entrepreneurs in the strictness. Many successful people have been good at copying and/or imitating others.
For example, the first commercial manufacturing of two-wheelers is to be called an entrepreneur, who has visualised the importance of two wheelers in modern times for the benefit of the maximum users and all subsequent scores of people engaged in are just imitators. Likewise, a brothel-keeper or a call-girl business organiser cannot be an entrepreneur, though he takes risks, creates a market and gets a reward more than visualised.
So also a bootlegger, drug peddler, black-marketer etc. These occupations are not for the social good. They violate business ethics. The term “entrepreneur” is to be understood in its totality and not in a fabricated manner. The term “entrepreneur” can only be understood with a bearing on economic, psychological, sociological, and cultural bearings. The social responsibility is essentially a part of entrepreneurial outlook on life.
W. Robert Maclaurin divides the elements of technical advances into:
1. Development of pure science,
2. Invention,
3. Innovation,
4. Financing of innovation, and
5. Acceptance of the innovation.
In the less developed economies first three elements of technical advancement can be skipped, and the emphasis should be on the adoption of business practice of discoveries already made. In such countries, the role of the Schumpetarian entrepreneur is somewhat limited. A large number of indigenous Schumpetarian entrepreneurs are trading entrepreneurs whose innovations are the opening of new markets.
In the light of the possibilities of technical transfers from advanced economies, no undue emphasis should be put on the development of entirely new combinations. Hoselitz also remarks that in an underdeveloped economy, not to speak of Schumpetarian innovators, even imitator entrepreneurs have a distinct role to play. Such entrepreneurs provide a fillip to the process of economic growth, sometimes having as strong or perhaps even stronger impact on economic growth as real or alleged innovations.
Finding no clues to the meaning of the term ‘entrepreneur’, Peter Kilby likened entrepreneur with ‘Heffalump’— a large and very important animal which was hunted by many individuals, but no one succeeded in capturing him. All those persons who claim to have seen him describe differently about his particularities and thus no agreement exists in their description about the animal. Hence a detailed note on the entrepreneur’s functions in a developing economy was given by Kilby, which included some of the managerial functions also.
These functions can be delegated to subordinates for efficient performance, which are as follows:
A. Exchange Relationship:
1. Perception of market opportunities (novel or Imitative),
2. Gaining command over scarce resources,
3. Purchasing inputs,
4. Marketing of the products and responding to competition.
B. Political Administration:
1. Dealing with the public bureaucracy (concessions, licenses, and taxes),
2. Management of human relations within the firm,
3. Management of customer and supplier relations,
4. Financial management,
5. Production management (control by written records, supervision, co-ordinating input flows with orders, maintenance).
C. Technology:
1. Acquiring and overseeing assembly of the factory,
2. Industrial engineering (minimising inputs with a given production process),
3. Upgrading process and product quality, and
4. Introduction of new production techniques and products.
Entrepreneurship may be defined in various ways, but the four key elements involved in it are – (i) Innovation, (ii) Risk-taking, (iii) Vision and (iv) Organising skill. All the four elements are interrelated and form a continuous process in business. Entrepreneurial vision encompasses the relentless pursuit for operational excellence, innovative technology and being responsive to the needs of the market place.
A Classic Example:
Since the dawn of civilisation, there have appeared at periodic intervals men who have led mankind shaping the future out of the lessons of the past and the experiences of the present. Visionaries, builders, thinkers, scientists were those who saw ahead of their times and whose presence benefited not only the country, but all mankind.
In this illustrious company of uncommon people a special place is occupied by an Indian who was born 155 years ago — Jamesetji Nusserwanji Tata. His inspired vision of modern industrialised India was to sustain economic growth to support freedom.
To breathe life into his dream, he set about to create steel, electric power and scientific-cum-technical education as the vital ingredients of economic growth. Today, the Tata organisation covers a bright landscape in Indian economy.
To this day, Jamsetji Tata’s industrial philosophy, including his firm belief in the principle of trusteeship, his insistence on absolute standards of integrity and the realisation that to survive and prosper, free enterprise must serve the needs of society, were all remarkably in tune with modern thinking and the ethical and social standards of the most advanced societies’ of today.
Entrepreneurship is not just a way to increase the level of innovation and productivity of organisations, although it will do that. More importantly, it is a way of initiating vast business so that work becomes a joyful expression of one’s contribution to society. The Indian entrepreneur, intrapreneur and/or manager of the 90s have to be moulded in psycho-philosophy rooted in the Indian context and values.
“The crisis in business is spiritual,” says Prof. Sitangshu Kumar Chakraborty, “All management ideas till now have been external-directed paradigms, developing behaviour and skills, not character and values. But meaning and richness must flow from mind to work, not the other way. We need a fundamental shift from the current reductionist, fragmentist, and materialistic paradigm to one which recognises relationships, consciousness and spirit as the right approach.”
The concept of entrepreneur and entrepreneurship incorporates basic qualities of leadership, innovation, enterprise, hard work, vision and maximisation of profits. All his socio-economic, organisational and managerial qualities are always directed towards the well-being of the society and the community. He is committed to progress. He is a catalytic agent of development and change. Personal satisfaction and monetary rewards are blended with social betterment and welfare of mankind.
Definitions of an Entrepreneur – By Eminent Authors like Richard Cantillon, Marx, Noah Webster, Peter F. Drucker, Arthur Dewing, Robert D. Hisrich and Others
Quesnay recognised a rich farmer as an entrepreneur who manages and makes his business profitable by his intelligence and wealth.
Adam Smith described entrepreneur as a person who only provides capital without taking active part in the leading role in enterprise.
Richard Cantillon considered all persons engaged in economic activity as entrepreneurs.
Jean Baptiste Say opined that the entrepreneur was a person endowed with the qualities of judgement, perseverance and a knowledge of the world as well as of business. The entrepreneur shifts economic resources out of an area of lower and into an area of higher productivity and greater yield. The definition included the concept of bringing together the factors of production.
French tradition regard an entrepreneur as a person translating a profitable idea into a productive activity.
Marx regarded entrepreneur as a social parasite.
Joseph A. Schumpeter recognised person who introduces innovation changes is an entrepreneur. He treated entrepreneur as an integral part of economic growth. The fundamental source of equilibrium was the entrepreneur.
Frank Young describes entrepreneur as a change agent.
Noah Webster thinks entrepreneur is one who assumes the responsibility of the risk and management of business.
Francis A. Walter observes that the true entrepreneur is one who is endowed with more than average capacities in the risk of organising and coordinating the various other factors of production.
Peter F. Drucker defines an entrepreneur as one who always searches for change, responds to it and exploits it as an opportunity. Innovation is the specific tool of entrepreneurs, the means by which they exploit change as an opportunity for a different business or service.
Arthur Dewing conceptualised the function of the entrepreneur as one that promotes ideas into business.
Clarence H. Dantrof considers entrepreneur as a person who makes decision under alternative courses of action.
Entrepreneur has become the focal point in economic activities. He is viewed as an initiator of action, a stimulant of socio-economic change and development.
Robert D. Hisrich says, “The person who is going to establish a successful new business venture must also be a visionary leader — a person who dreams great dreams. Although there are many definitions of leadership, the one that best describes the needed intrapreneurial leadership is, A leader is like a gardener. When you want a tomato, you take a seed, put it in fertile soil, and carefully water under tender care. You don’t manufacture tomatoes, you grow them.”
Martin Luther King said, “I have a dream, and thousands followed in spite of overwhelming obstacles. In order to establish a successful new business venture the intrapreneurial leader must have a dream and work against all obstacles to achieve it.”
Entrepreneur is one who distinguishes as a person who undertakes to organise, manage and assume the risk of running a factory and/or a business or an enterprise.
Entrepreneurship is neither a science nor an art. It is a practice. It has a knowledge base. Knowledge in entrepreneurship is a mean to an end. Indeed, what constitutes knowledge in practice is largely defined by the ends that is by practice.
According to Mark Casson – “An entrepreneur is a person who specialises in taking judgemental decision about the coordination of scarce resources.”
According to Max Weber – “Entrepreneurs are a product of particular social condition in which they are brought up and it is the society which shapes individuals as entrepreneurs.”
International Labour Organisation (ILO) defines entrepreneurs as those people who have the ability to see and evaluate business opportunities, together with the necessary resources to take advantage of them and to initiate appropriate action to ensure success.
According to E. E. Haggen, an entrepreneur is an economic man who tries to maximise his profits by innovations. Innovations involve problem-solving and the entrepreneur gets satisfaction from using his capabilities in attacking problems.
The New Encyclopedia Britannica considers an entrepreneur as “an individual who bears the risk of operating a business in the face of uncertainty about the future conditions.” Leading economists of all schools, including Karl Marx, have emphasised the contribution of the entrepreneurs to the development of economies, but Joseph Schumpeter, who argues that the rate of growth in an economy depends to a great extent on the activities of entrepreneurs, has probably put greater emphasis on the entrepreneurial function than any other economist.
Robert E. Nelson defined entrepreneur as a person who is able to look at the environment.
According to David McClelland – “An entrepreneur is someone who exercises some control over the means of production and produces more than what he can consume in order to sell (or exchange) it for individual (or household) income.”
An entrepreneur, as defined by Robert E. Nelson, is a person who is able to look at environment, identify opportunities to improve the environment, marshal resources and implement action to maximize those opportunities.
According to J. K. Galbraith – “An entrepreneur must accept the challenge and should be willing hard to achieve something.”
Akhouri, M.M.P. describes entrepreneur as a character who contributes innovativeness, readiness to take risk, sensing opportunities, identifying and mobilising potential resources concern for excellence, and who is persistent in achieving the goal. The term entrepreneur contain notions of newness, innovation, vision, organising, creating wealth, mobilising resources, risk taking and achievement. A driving force of economic development.
Not every new small business is entrepreneurial or represents entrepreneurship. To be entrepreneurial, an enterprise has to have special characteristics over and above being new and small. Indeed, entrepreneurs create something new, something different, they change or transmute value.
Laura Parkin – Entrepreneurs are both born and made. While some people are born with natural talent and risk tolerance. Entrepreneurship is a discipline and entrepreneurship skills can be learned by everyone.
Albert Shapero observes that the entrepreneur takes initiative, organises some social and economic mechanisms, and accepts risks of failure.
Karl Vesper affirms that the entrepreneur is seen differently by economists, psychologists, business persons and politicians.
Robert C. Ronstadt considers that the wealth is created by individuals who assume the major risks in terms of equity, time, commitment, and value for some product or service.
According to David Ricardo, the foremost motive of a risk taker is to a mass capital and capital accumulation is the sine qua non of economic development.
John Stuart Mill viewed the world entrepreneur as organiser who is paid for his non-manual type of work.
Leon Walrus pointed out that entrepreneur is the coordinator of basic factors of production. He treated ‘entrepreneur’ as the fourth factor of production who combines other factors such as land, labour and capital.
Carl Menger (1840-1921) considers the entrepreneur as the change agent who transforms resources into useful goods and services, often creating the circumstances that lead to industrial growth.
Frank H. Knight points out that entrepreneurs are a specialised group of persons who bear risk and deals with uncertainty.
Mark Cassons opines that an entrepreneur is a person who specialises in taking judgemental decision about the coordination of scarce resources.
Max Weber states that the entrepreneurs are a product of particular social condition in which they are brought up and it is the society which shapes individuals as entrepreneurs.
A. David Silver described the entrepreneur as energetic, single minded, and having “a mission and clear vision; he or she intends to create out of this vision a product or service in a field many have determined is important to improve the lives of millions.”
Henry Ford who created the manufacturing miracle that launched a modern era in industry, said that. Entrepreneur can do anything with passion and enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is the yeast that makes his hopes rise to the stars.
Enthusiasm is the spark in his eye, the swing in his gait, the grip of his hand, the irresistible surge of his will and his energy to execute his ideas. Enthusiasts are fighters, they have fortitude, and they have strong qualities. Enthusiasm is at the bottom of all progress. With it there is accomplishment. Without it there are only alibis.
Definitions of Entrepreneur – According to Alfred North White Head, Forest Frantz, Richard Cantillon, Alfred Marshall, James Burna, Gerld A. Silver, Peter F. Drucker and Others
“A good entrepreneur is one who is capable of inspiring confidence in people and has the ability to motivate them to work with him in fulfilling the economic goals set by him.”
“The greatest invention of all is the inventions of inventing inventions.”- Alfred North White Head
“The entrepreneur is more than a manager. He is an innovator and promoter as well.”- Forest Frantz
An entrepreneur is one of the most important inputs and segments of economic growth. He/she is one of the responsible person who can set up a business or an enterprise. In reality, he/she is the one who has the initiative, innovative skills and who aims for high achievements. The entrepreneur is a person who brings overall change through innovation. The entrepreneur is a visionary and integrated man with outstanding leadership qualities. The entrepreneur is also known as a category of economic development. The term ‘entrepreneur’ is defined in various ways. The concept of entrepreneur varies from one country to another country, period to period and level of economic development thoughts and perception. In few countries, the entrepreneur is associated with a person who creates his own new and small business. The characteristic features of an entrepreneur includes urge, skill, vision, growth, management, enterprise, risk and innovation.
“An individual who bears the risk of operating a business in the face of uncertainty about the future conditions.”- New Encyclopedia Britannica
Alfred North White Head, “The greatest invention of all is the inventions of inventing inventions.”
Forest Frantz, “The entrepreneur is more than a manager. He is an innovator and promoter as well.”
The word entrepreneur is derived from a French word ‘Entreprendre’ which refers to ‘undertake’. During 16th century the French man who organized and led military tradition was called an entrepreneur. After 17th century, the term was used for adventurers, civil engineers, who were involved in construction work.
According to Bernard F. De. Bolidar, “An entrepreneur is one who performs the task of bringing labour and material at certain price and selling the resultant products at contracted price”.
During 18th century, according to Richard Cantillon, “An entrepreneur is a person who buys factor services at certain prices with a view to sell its product at certain prices in future”.
According to Richard Cantillon, “An entrepreneur is an agent who buys means of production at certain prices in order to combine them into a product which he is going to sell at prices that are uncertain.”
According to Frank H. Knight, “A specialized group of persons who bears risk and meet the uncertainty.”
According to J.B. Say, “The entrepreneur is a person who shifts economic resources out of an area of lower and into an area of higher productivity and greater yield.”
According to Alfred Marshall, “Entrepreneur is an individual who ‘adventures’ or ‘undertakes’ risks, who brings together the capital and labour required for the work, who arranges or engineers its general plan, and who superintendents minor details.”
According to James Burna, “Entrepreneur is a person or group of persons responsible for the existence of a new industrial enterprise.”
According to Gerld A. Silver, “An entrepreneur is an individual who conceives an idea for a new product or service, then finds some way of raising capital to form a business to produce the product or service.”
According to R.T. Ely, “Entrepreneur is the person who organises and directs the productive factor.”
According to Peter F. Drucker, “The Entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity.”
Division of Definition of Entrepreneur:
Thus, the definitions of Entrepreneur may be divided into three parts:
1. Based on Traditional Approach
2. Based on Modern Approach
3. Based on Synthesised Approach.
1. Based on Traditional Approaches:
Alfred Marshall, “Entrepreneur is an individual who brings together the capital and labour required for the work, who adventures or undertake risks, who arrange or engineers its general plan.”
J.B. Say, “The entrepreneur is a person who shifts economic resources out of the area of lower yield and into an area of higher and greater yield.”
Frank H. Knight, “The Entrepreneur is a specialised person or group of persons who bear risks and meet the uncertainty.”
2. Based on Modern Approaches:
Peter F. Drucker, “Entrepreneurs create something new, something different, they change and transmute value.”
Arthur dewing, “Entrepreneur is one who transforms ideas into a profitable business.”
3. Based on Synthesised Approaches:
Joseph A. Schumpeter, “Entrepreneur is a person who foresees the opportunity and try to exploit it by introducing a new product, a new method of production, new market, new source of raw material or new combination of factors of production.”
Frantz, “Entrepreneur is an innovator and promoter as well as generally he is more than a manager.”
An entrepreneur may be defined as an individual who intends to add value to the economy by creating a new business venture through the able utilisation of his knowledge, passion, dream, and desire.
An entrepreneur is thought to be a person who intends and evaluates the new situation in the environment and directs the making of such adjustments or alteration in the economic or manufacturing system as he thinks necessary for achieving desired results.
He conceives the industrial enterprises as the purpose of new creation, display consideration, initiates courage and determination in bringing his new project into existence perform one or more of the following-
(i) Perceiving opportunities for profitable investments.
(ii) Exploring the prospects of a manufacturing concern.
(iii) Obtains necessary industrial licenses.
(iv) Arranges initial capital.
(v) Providing personal guarantees.
(vi) Supplies technical know-how.
Definitions of an Entrepreneur
‘Entrepreneur’ is a French word which means to undertake, to pursue opportunities, to fulfill needs and wants of the people through innovation and starting business. An entrepreneur undertakes a venture, organizes it, raises capital to finance it, and assumes the whole or major part of the risk of business. In other words, entrepreneurship is the process of giving birth to a new business.
B. Higgins has defined entrepreneurship as, “Entrepreneurship is the function of seeking investment and production opportunities, organising an enterprise to undertake a new production process, raising capital, hiring .labour, arranging the supply of raw materials, finding site, introducing a new technique, discovering new sources of raw materials and selecting top managers for day-to-day operations of the enterprise.”
This definition highlights risk-taking, innovation and resource organising aspects of entrepreneurship. In other words of Kao, “Entrepreneurship is the attempt to create value through recognition of business opportunity, the management of risk-taking appropriate to the opportunity and through the communicative and management skills to mobilize human, financial and material resources necessary to bring a project to fruition.”
This definition recognises that entrepreneurship involves the fusion of capital, technology and human talent to complete a project successfully and with reasonable degree of risk.
Therefore, the main characteristic features of entrepreneurship can be summed up as under:
(a) It relates to economic activity.
(b) It involves creativity or innovation.
(c) It involves dynamism or flexibility.
(d) It means taking decision under uncertainty.
(e) It involves bringing together the difference means of production.
(f) It involves risks.
(g) It involves ability to organised and administer.
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Claim: President George W. Bush proclaimed, «The problem with the French is that they don’t have a word for entrepreneur.»
Status: False.
Origins: Yet another
«George W. Bush is dumb» story has been taken up by those who like their caricatures drawn in
stark, bold lines. According to scuttlebutt that emerged in the British press in July 2002, President Bush, Britain’s Prime Minister Tony Blair, and France’s President Jacques Chirac were discussing economics and, in particular, the decline of the French economy. «The problem with the French,» Bush afterwards confided in Blair, «is that they don’t have a word for entrepreneur.»
The source was Shirley Williams, also known as the Baroness Williams of Crosby, who claimed «my good friend Tony Blair» had recently regaled her with this anecdote in Brighton.
Lloyd Grove of The Washington Post was unable to reach Baroness Williams to gain her confirmation of the tale, but he did receive a call from Alastair Campbell, Blair’s director of communications and strategy. «I can tell you that the prime minister never heard George Bush say that, and he certainly never told Shirley Williams that President Bush did say it,» Campbell told The Post. «If she put this in a speech, it must have been a
joke.»
This is far from the first time Bush has been made the butt of a jibe meant to showcase what some perceive as his less than stellar intellectual abilities. Without straining our memories too hard, we can come up with three other instances we’ve chronicled on this site. In the summer of 2001, the joke of the moment centered upon a supposed study that had resulted in the ranking of Presidential IQs, with George W. Bush being pegged as the Chief Executive who scraped the bottom of the intelligence barrel. In December 2000 it was a fake Nostradamus quatrain which pontificated that the «village idiot» would win the 2000 Presidential election. And in the spring of 2002, it was the story of Bush’s waving at Stevie Wonder that set folks to chortling up their sleeves.
Stories that illustrate this widely believed intellectual shortcoming will always waft after George W. Bush because they seemingly confirm what many already hold as true about this public figure, that he’s not the brightest fellow that’s ever been. It is human nature to revel in yarns that the hearer at some level agrees with, thus tales of this sort will always fall upon appreciative ears.
Barbara «ears of corn» Mikkelson
Last updated: 23 September 2007
Sources:
- Fitchett, Joseph. «The Global Class: Word for It.»
- The International Herald Tribune. 11 July 2002 (p. 18).
- Grove, Lloyd. «The Reliable Source.»
- The Washington Post. 10 July 2002 (p. C3).
- Malvern, Jack. «Bush and Blair.»
- The [London] Times. 9 July 2002 (p. 18).
- Smith, Liz. «Stovepipe Dreams.»
- Newsday. 12 July 2002 (p. A13).
By Barbara Mikkelson
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What Is an Entrepreneur?
An entrepreneur is an individual who creates a new business, bearing most of the risks and enjoying most of the rewards. The entrepreneur is commonly seen as an innovator, a source of new ideas, goods, services, and business/or procedures.
Entrepreneurs play a key role in any economy, using the skills and initiative necessary to anticipate needs and bring good new ideas to market. Entrepreneurs who prove to be successful in taking on the risks of a startup are rewarded with profits, fame, and continued growth opportunities. Those who fail, suffer losses and become less prevalent in the markets.
Key Takeaways
- Entrepreneurs are vital parts of capitalist economies, taking on large degrees of risk in order to innovate and found new companies.
- While economic thinkers have long known that business owners (aka «capitalists») are vital to economic growth and wealth creation, the word «entrepreneur» only appeared in the 1800s.
- Coined by economic philosopher Jean-Baptiste Say, the word comes from French, where it means «undertaker»—i.e. one who undertakes a new venture.
Who Coined It?
Economists have never had a consistent definition of «entrepreneur» or «entrepreneurship.» Though the concept of an entrepreneur has existed and was known for centuries, the classical and neoclassical economists interestingly left entrepreneurs out of their formal models of the economy: They assumed that perfect information would be known to fully rational actors, leaving no room for risk-taking or discovery. It wasn’t until the middle of the 20th century that economists seriously attempted to incorporate entrepreneurship into their models.
Three thinkers were central to the inclusion of entrepreneurs in later iterations of economics: Joseph Schumpeter, Frank Knight, and Israel Kirzner. Schumpeter suggested that entrepreneurs—not just companies—were responsible for the creation of new things in the search of profit. Knight focused on entrepreneurs as the bearers of uncertainty and believed they were responsible for risk premiums in financial markets. Kirzner thought of entrepreneurship as a process that led to the discovery.
Even though he was the first to describe in detail capitalist production and the profit motive of business owners, it wasn’t Adam Smith who coined the term «entrepreneur.» One type of person strangely overlooked in Smith’s free-market masterpiece, «The Wealth of Nations,» is the entrepreneur. This is because the term was actually coined afterwards by an admirer of Adam Smith’s book.
Entrepreneur is a French word probably coined by the economist Jean-Baptiste Say from the word entreprendre, which is usually translated as «undertaker» or «adventurer.» Say studied Smith’s book and, while agreeing on all points, found that the omission of enterprising businessmen was a serious flaw.
Say’s View on Entrepreneurship
Jean-Baptiste Say pointed out in his own writings that it was entrepreneurs who sought out inefficient uses of resources and capital and moved them into more productive, higher yield areas. Simply put, entrepreneurs seek opportunities for profit and, by doing so, create new markets and fresh opportunities. By constantly disrupting the balance of competition, entrepreneurs prevent monopolies from forming and create a wide diversity of products that keep consumers consuming and producers producing.
In return for taking these risks, successful entrepreneurs like Bill Gates and Henry Ford reap fortunes far beyond those of normal agents in the economy.
Say put the focus on entrepreneurs because he was one. As a cotton manufacturer, he saw how an entrepreneur must be able to recognize opportunities and manage them effectively. Say’s «A Treatise on Political Economy, or the Production, Distribution, and Consumption of Wealth» captured the imagination of many people. Thomas Jefferson read the English translation and tried to convince Say to teach in his new nation.
Although Say never stepped foot on U.S. soil, his entrepreneurial outlook found a home in America anyway. Combining Adam Smith’s free-market principles and Say’s entrepreneurial call to arms, the U.S. went wholeheartedly into the industrial revolution and emerged with one of the strongest economies in the world.