Entrepreneur: The Meaning, Myths, Functions, and Types

There are so many misconceptions about who an entrepreneur is. This is probably the reason why so many young youths today call themselves entrepreneurs and think the road to entrepreneurship is easy and simple but it is not.

So today, I want to explain everything you should about who is an entrepreneur, the common myths about entrepreneurs, characteristics, functions, importance, types of entrepreneurship, and more just so that you will be fully informed before you begin your entrepreneurship journey.

Meaning of Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurship is the act of creating value in exchange for money. Entrepreneurship is the act of facing all challenges to invent an idea or start a business to solve a particular problem. The end goal in entrepreneurship may not necessarily be to earn money but to solve a problem. However, in solving problems money can be paid as a reward.

Who is an Entrepreneur?

An entrepreneur is a person who invents an idea or starts a business solely for the purpose of solving a common problem. He or she might be an initiator or a starter. An entrepreneur sees opportunities when no one sees it. He or she sees progress when no one sees it and he follows it to the end. There are different types of entrepreneurs. This will be mentioned below.

Myths of an Entrepreneur 

Asides from knowing who an entrepreneur is there are different myths people have about entrepreneurship or being an entrepreneur. I will share some of these myths below.

1. Entrepreneurs are Born

This is one of the biggest myths about entrepreneurship. We hear people especially influential people like celebrities, pastors, and even CEOs say this but it does not mean it is true. Entrepreneurs are not born. They are made. Anyone whether rich or poor, educated or not educated, sick or well can become an entrepreneur as long as they possess the characteristics of an entrepreneur.

Anyone can become an entrepreneur as long as they can solve a common problem. You can start a business if the sole purpose of your business is to make life easy for people.

2. Being an Entrepreneur gives Freedom

Another myth about entrepreneurs is that they have the freedom to live their lives however they want to. They can leave work and travel anytime or go to clubs at any time they wish to or even stay away from work for a long time. This is not true. Entrepreneurs have the most complicated life. In fact, they do not live their life the way they want to.

They barely sleep. If they are not thinking about how to move their business or company forward they are thinking of how they can increase their customer base or something else. Entrepreneurs do more mental work than physical work. They might not have physical stress but sure they possess mental stress.

They are never off work, unlike their workers. Even when they are not at work they are still working.

3. Their Business Do Not Die

This is another myth about entrepreneurs – the saying that no matter how foolish your ideas are as long as they can solve a problem they cannot die. For the record, ideas can die no matter how good they are. And there are different reasons why this can happen. Ideas can die if you do not develop them.

They can also die if we are not consistent with them. Ideas or businesses can also die if they become old.

4. All You Need is an Idea

All you need to be an entrepreneur in the world today is not just an idea. There are other things you need to possess or have asides from an idea if you really want to be a successful entrepreneur. You need to be hardworking, focused, consistent, communicative, and have a never-give-up attitude. All these qualities are very important.

5. Wealth Comes in Starting a Business

This myth is very common but the truth is fast wealth does not come immediately after you start a company or business. In fact, it may not come at all. The chances of your business even creating wealth at is very slim especially if you do not put hard work into it.

Characteristics of an Entrepreneur

Asides from knowing who an entrepreneur is, it is important we know the major characteristics of an entrepreneur.

1. Hard Work

This is a major characteristic of an entrepreneur. Any entrepreneur that is not hard-working is not really an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs do not sleep they are always working around the clock. They barely have time for family or go on vacation. They are barely present in their children’s lives. Children of entrepreneurs usually crave attention from their parents but they do not get it.

However, the hard work pays in the end because the company may become a multi-million dollar company as time goes by.

2. Focus or Concentration

Another major characteristic of an entrepreneur is that he or she is very focused. Entrepreneurs focus on one thing till it pulls through. They do not do too many things at the same time. When they start a company they wait for it to grow before they start another one because they understand the power of focus.

Entrepreneurs follow their business or ideas all the way but they know when they should give up and do something else.

3. Communication

Entrepreneurs can also communicate. They can communicate how they feel whether they are progressing in their business or not. They can communicate with investors to see the future of their business. They can communicate to their workers what they want their workers to do and what they want their companies to achieve.

4. Consistency

Consistency is another major characteristic of entrepreneurs. When they have an idea they are consistent and diligent. They make sure they push through till they achieve positive results.

5. Never-Give-Up Attitude

Entrepreneurs do not give up easily. They are resilient and always see a way out of every problem even when others do not. This is why enjoy and relax later in life. Because at some point the hard work paid off. At this point, people are jealous of them because they drive luxury cars and live in executive apartments.

Functions of an Entrepreneur

In knowing who an entrepreneur is, we also need to know the functions or importance of an entrepreneur are many but I will list the major ones.

1. To Invent Ideas

The major function of entrepreneurs is to invent ideas – ideas that will change the world and bring positive change. These ideas can be small or big. It does not matter as long as they can create a positive change.

2. Create Solutions

Like a mentor of mine will say that there are always problems the question is who will solve these problems. We once had a problem of power and someone created a solution. So also we did have a problem with light and another inventor created a solution. There are always problems around us however, only entrepreneurs are able to recognise these problems and create long-lasting solutions.

3. Develop the World

Another function of entrepreneurs is to develop the world. The world has been able to advance today because entrepreneurs have kept on inventing. Today, we can travel to space, and go anywhere in the world. We owe all these to entrepreneurs because they always find a better way to improve life generally.

4. Create Employment

Entrepreneurs also create employment. When they start a business today they employ people to work for them to make tasks easier and faster. These create employment in the world. People can work to feed their families.

5. Make Millionaires

Another function of entrepreneurs is to create millionaires. When entrepreneurs invent ideas or start a business and the business becomes a multi-million dollar business these can make these entrepreneurs and their workers millionaires. Examples of these are Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Aliko Dangote, and more.

Types of Entrepreneurs

There are many types of entrepreneurs today. However, in this article, I want to mention just five entrepreneurs that are very common.

1. Imitator Entrepreneur

This is a type of entrepreneur that copies the business ideas of others simply that start a similar business. This kind of entrepreneur is common around us. This is why we have so many entrepreneurs that are in the same business today. If you want to start a business today and you do not want imitators to copy your business idea you have to make sure no one knows the secret behind your business.

2. Research Entrepreneur

These are entrepreneurs that like taking their time before they start their businesses. They believe that ideas are not enough so they take enormous time to do serious underground work before setting up their business. They believe when they take the time it increases the chance of their business being successful. 

3. Investor Entrepreneur

The investor entrepreneur is a type of entrepreneur that invests in other people’s businesses or ideas. Investors do not have a business of their own they just invest money into existing businesses to make money when the business grows. We have investor entrepreneurs in the world today.

Many of them are full investors and some of them are not because they already have a business of their own.

4. Improved Entrepreneur

These are entrepreneurs that improve existing business ideas to start something better. They work to make life better by improving on what has been done already.

5. Hustler Entrepreneur

Hustlers are entrepreneurs who do not mind starting their entrepreneurship journey from scratch. Hustler entrepreneurs always have a humble beginning. They do not become millionaires immediately but as time goes by.

Conclusion

There are different ways to become an entrepreneur the question is do you have the characteristics and can you create a solution to the common problems facing the world today? These are the questions you should ask yourself.

Recommended:

• 121 Best Trending Instagram Hashtags in Nigeria
• Peter Obi Net Worth
• Best Ways to Make Money with Ethereum
• How to Start a Blog on Instagram
• How to Become an Entrepreneur in Nigeria