Entrepreneurship Development and Communication Skills

4.1.3 Profile of an Entrepreneur

Characteristics	Traits
Self-confidence Result orientation Risk-taking Leadership Originality Future outlook	Independence, Individuality, optimism. Need for achievement, profit-oriented, persistence, perseverance, determination, hard-work, drive, energy, initiative. Risk taking ability, likes challenges. Capacity to lead, gets alongwith others, responsive to suggestions and criticism. Innovative, creative, flexible, open-minded, versatile, knowledgeable. Foresighted, perceptive.

Joseph Schumpeter made a distinction between entrepreneur and manager. According to him, a manager is one who deals with day-to-day affairs of a going concern. But an entrepreneur attempts to change the factor combinations and thus increases productivity and profits. An entrepreneur launches a new enterprise whereas a manager operates an existing enterprise. The roles of entrepreneur and manager may, however, overlap in many situations. Entrepreneurs who start enterprises must use managerial skills to implement their innovative ideas successfully. Similarly, managers must use entrepreneurial skills in order to manage change and innovation to effectively deal with uncertain external environment of business.