Can entrepreneurism be taught? or must it be born in you?

[democracy eh]

I do a lot of work in business development with the traditional production agriculture sector, which is going through some pretty serious structural adjustments these days. folks who are used to being excellent technicians and producers, but like just carting it off to the wholesaler or distributor and getting a cheque in the mail a few weeks later. not really interested in marketing, identifying new opportunities, paying really close attention to Cost of Production, margins, etc...

anyways, we debate this topic a bit, thought I would throw it out.

[Longhorn]

1. I think entrepreneurism is related to personality

so goes back to the nature vs. nurture argument. Are we born with our personalities or do we acquire them?

It takes a certain kind of person to be a driven, creative, self-starting risk-taker. My husband is like that. He's been self-employed for most of 28 years -- and the few times he worked for someone else, he couldn't stand it, mainly because he was always thinking of ways he would run the job better. Also, working for someone else, to him, was like creating a painting that someone else would sign. He likes to sign his own work! :D

[Ravenseye]

2. I agree about risk-taking...it's guts.

Most people just couldn't comprehend what I was doing when I started my business. Some people were impressed mainly that I had the guts to do it. They would talk about how they just didn't have the courage to go out on their own.

There were some that after awhile I couldn't stand. I'd been working for myself and supporting my family for a year and they were saying things like 'So you find a job yet?' not jokingly but seriously. I'd always explain to them what I did. Sure enough time would pass and they'd say something like 'He seems stressed. Is it because he doesn't have a job?'

After a while my wife and I stopped being friends with these people as they were just...wrong in the head.

Still. When I started my company it was after my last company went under. I was at a 'hey we're all laid off' party with 20 people who didn't have work, many with good savings built up, and I said 'lets start our own company and build our own product. Who's with me?' but in more words. Nobody took me up on the offer. One of them a few months later after not finding a job came on board, but thats it. Everyone else just wanted to find a job working for someone else.

I think it's got to do with the type of person a person is.

[Longhorn]

3. I have to admit that I wasn't always the most supportive spouse

in the world. When we started our family, there were times when I tried to get my husband to get a "real job." It just seemed so insecure. There were times that he didn't know what he was going to do the next day but then the phone would ring. Only a few weeks out of all these years has he not had work.

We were lucky, too. I had insurance with our first child because I had been working but we had no insurance for the second pregnancy. Guess what? We had undiagnosed twins! However, they weighed 8.5 and 7 pounds, were born in the birthing center, and we went home seven hours after they were born. It was probably the least expensive hospital bill for childbirth ever (something like $750 back in 1981,) and certainly for twins!

Over the years, though I came to realize that we were more secure than people who rely on a company for employment. With his construction skills, my husband can always find something to do, even if it's handyman-type work, which isn't necessarily true for others. And we went from having work for two weeks at a time, then three months, and now he's usually booked at least six months in advance. The last year has been worse than usual but we're still hanging in there.

[democratreformed]

4. About risk taking and "guts"

I taught school for six years. It was a big thing to me (meaning RISK) to quit teaching and go to work in my dad's business. Before I worked here, I would often say "I don't want anything to do with running any business." It took me a year to decide to give it a chance.

Then, I came here and have been addicted ever since. I LOVE it.
Although I am still here, it is in a reduced capacity. After my mom's sudden death five years ago, my husband and I decided to start our own business. It has been hard and very scary at times - but we are "getting there". And I still LOVE it.

[SiouxJ]

5. Imagination, Problem Solving, and Risk Taking

are the skills needed to be successful (IMO). I think you can teach problem solving to some extent but the other two are pretty innate.

To me it comes naturally. Every day I take risks in my business and never really think too much about them; you win some, you lose some. Friends I talk to are always amazed by the risks I'm willing to take. They also can't seem to visualize (no imagination) how to take action on anything, whereas the minute I sense an opportunity or a problem, I'm already thinking of what action needs to be taken in order to take advantage of it (or fix it).

In my business, I have thousands of accounts and I've known some of these people since I started out. Most of these are mom & pop stores. The ones that are still alive and kicking have the "risk taker" personality and are able to think for themselves. The ones that have gone under were the ones who either copied others (they had little imagination) and/or were always asking others for advice (including me). My partner and I rarely ever seek outside advice. We brainstorm between ourselves but that's about it.

[medeak]

6. interesting

thank goodness we have a team..one is risk taker and one is pragmatic thinking...balances out.

Otherwise we would have never attained success...truly believe.

[democratreformed]

7. Reading up above here, I was thinking "I'm doomed" b/c I

definitely don't consider myself a risk taker. But, you're right. Our business has that in my husband. I am the more cautious one. He pushes me. I shy away from some things and he convinces me to give them a try. We're defintely balanced too.

[democratreformed]

8. To address the original post:

I'm not really sure what I think. In some ways, I think it comes naturally. I feel like I have a pretty good "business sense" as far as how to market, organize, and run the finances.

Then, there's my hubby, who, four years ago, didn't really know how to talk to customers, get his point across, and listen to their needs. At first, when we would go "cold calling", he would mostly listen to me talk. Now, he's great at it. He does most of the visiting with customers now. Then again, sometimes, I think that he was a natural all along too - he just wasn't really confident until he had done it some.

[TX-RAT]

9. You have to be able to sell yourself first.

Sales has to be the hardest job ever, especially when your the boss.

[StClone]

10. Menance