Entrepreneurial Background and Characteristics

Only a few background characteristics have differentiated the entrepreneur from the general populace or managers.
Childhood Family Environment
The impact of birth order and social status has had conflicting research results. There is strong evidence that entrepreneurs, both male and female, tend to have self-employed or entrepreneurial fathers. Having a father who is self-employed provides a strong inspiration in the example of independence and flexibility of self-employment. This feeling of independence is often further enforced by an entrepreneurial mother.

The overall parental relationship may be the most important aspect of the childhood environment in establishing the desirability of entrepreneurial activity. Parents of entrepreneurs need to be supportive and encourage independence, achievement, and responsibility. This supportive relationship appears to be most important for females. Female entrepreneurs tend to grow up in middle-to upper-class environments, where families are child-centered, and are similar to their fathers in personality.

Other characteristics may be:

• Education
• Age
• Personal Value
• Work History

Importance of Entrepreneurship

Although the desire of new venture formation derived from the individual’s culture, subculture, family, teachers and peers needs to be present before any action is taken, the second feature necessary centers around this question “What makes it possible to form a new company?” Formal education and previous business experience give a potential entrepreneur the skills needed to form and manage a new enterprise. Although educational systems are important in providing the needed business knowledge, individual will tend to be more successful in forming in fields in which they have worked. The government also contributes by providing the infrastructure to help a new venture.

Financial resources must be readily available. Although most start-up money comes from personal savings, credit, and friends, but there is often a need for additional capital. Risk-capital availability plays an essential role in the development and growth of entrepreneurial activity.

What Entrepreneurship is all about...

The effort used to coordinate the factors of production—natural resources, labor, physical capital, and human capital—to produce and sell products.

Many individuals have difficulty bringing their ideas to the market and creating new venture. Yet entrepreneurship and the actual entrepreneurial decisions have resulted in several million new businesses being started throughout the world. Indeed, millions of ventures are formed despite recession, inflation, high interest rates, and lack of infrastructure, economic uncertainty and the high probability of failure.