6 ◾ The Guide to Entrepreneurship: How to Create Wealth for Your Company
Table1.2 Entrepreneurial FAQ
Are entrepreneurs born or made (nature vs. nurture)?
“Ride the horse in the direction it is going.”
Successful entrepreneurs are usually born with an inherent ability in a given eld
(similar to playing piano or guitar), years of formal academic training, technical
experience, contacts, know-how, and self-development. Thus, entrepreneurs are
both born and made.
Can anyone start a business, anywhere, and at any time?
Fortune cookie: “To open a business very easy. To keep open very difcult.”
The easiest part is starting; the hardest part is surviving and growing a venture that
will create value for its founders and shareholders.
Are entrepreneurs gamblers or risk managers?
“A ship is safe while in harbor, but that is not what a ship is built for.”
Entrepreneurs stack the odds in their favor by minimizing risks. Gamblers do not
change the odds; they just play the game.
Entrepreneurs do not seek uncompensated risks, but conversely do not shy away
from unavoidable risks.
Do entrepreneurs want to be the only star of the show?
“Half of this game is 90% mental.”
Entrepreneurs have the vision, ability, and courage to start a new venture;
therefore, for quite some time the limelight has been directly on them as
individuals. Eventually, the entrepreneur needs to build a team, an organization,
and a sustainable company; at that time, the whole stage lights up with all
participants sharing in the applause.
Are entrepreneurs really their own bosses and completely independent?
“You can either complain that bushes have thorns—or rejoice that thorns have
roses.”
Ironically, the more successful the enterprise, the more “bosses” you will have. So
much for “independence.”
Entrepreneurs serve many masters and constituencies, including partners,
investors, suppliers, creditors, bankers, lawyers, employees, advisors, consultants,
distributors, and agents. These entities are collectively known as “stakeholders.”