What is an 'ENTREPRENEUR' ?

"Entrepreneurs are different"

An individual who, rather than working as an employee, runs a small business and
assumes all the risk and reward of a given business venture, idea, or good or
service offered for sale. The entrepreneur is commonly seen as a business leader
and innovator of new ideas and business processes.
Someone who exercises initiative by organizing a venture to take benefit of an
opportunity and, as the decision maker, decides what, how, and how much of a
good or service will be produced.
An entrepreneur supplies risk capital as a risk taker, and monitors and controls the
business activities. The entrepreneur is usually a sole proprietor, a partner, or the
one who owns the majority of shares in an incorporated venture.
According to economist Joseph Alois Schumpeter (1883-1950), entrepreneurs are
not necessarily motivated by profit but regard it as a standard for measuring
achievement or success. Schumpeter discovered that they ;
greatly value self-reliance,
strive for distinction through excellence,
are highly optimistic (otherwise nothing would be undertaken), and
always favor challenges of medium risk (neither too easy, nor ruinous).

What is an 'Entrepreneurship' ?
Entrepreneurship is the process of starting a business or other organization. The
entrepreneur develops a business model, acquires the human and other required
resources, and is fully responsible for its success or failure. Entrepreneurship
operates within an entrepreneurship ecosystem.
The capacity and willingness to develop, organize and manage a business venture
along with any of its risks in order to make a profit. The most obvious example of
entrepreneurship is the starting of new businesses.
In economics, entrepreneurship combined with land, labor, natural resources and
capital can produce profit. Entrepreneurial spirit is characterized by innovation and
risk-taking, and is an essential part of a nation's ability to succeed in an ever
changing and increasingly competitive global marketplace.

What are the characteristics of entrepreneurs?

An unwavering passion.

Open-mindedness.

The desire to be an expert.

A forward-looking approach.

A constant flow of ideas.

Confident

Feels a sense of ownership

able to communicate

Team player

System oriented

Dedicated

Optimistic

Gregarious

Not afraid of risk or success

Embrace these qualities and you will become a better entrepreneur.

Potential obstacles to entrepreneurial :

uncertainty of revenue accruing from starting a business that does not guarantee the
achievement of revenue that would provide the necessary support, entrepreneur,
risk of losing the entire investment due to the relatively high percentage
(approximately 35%) of bankruptcies of small businesses, even in the first two years and
in six years the percentage is nearly double;
hard labor without a long period of leave under pressure because if the business
ceases, the income is no longer made and customers are lost;
poor quality of life until the business stabilizes, due to the fact that in a important
period of life (entrepreneurs start their business, usually between 25 and 39 years), their
roles in the family after the two fall in terms of the company that creates;
high stress due to large investments that need to be entrepreneurs, in a low certainty
of winning even as they have invested, what it can lead to bankruptcy;

 full responsibility for the effects of entrepreneurs to take decisions which, by issues
that often have little knowledge or lack of assistance of a specialist in the field;
discouragement and disillusionment caused by the obstacles they may face, which
sometimes seem insurmountable, making only characterized by optimistic entrepreneurs
to enjoy success.

Choosing a Form of Business :

Sole Proprietorship: In a sole proprietorship, the individual entrepreneur owns the
business and is fully responsible for all its debts and legal liabilities. More than 75
percent of all U.S. businesses are sole proprietorships. Examples include writers and
consultants, local restaurants and shops, and home-based businesses.
Partnership: A partnership consists of two or more people who share the assets,
liabilities, and profits of a business. The greatest advantage comes from shared responsibilities. Partnerships also benefit by having more investors and a greater range of
knowledge and skills.
Corporations: Corporations are recommended for entrepreneurs who plan to conduct a
large-scale enterprise. As a legal entity that has a life separate from its owners, a
corporation can sue or be sued, acquire and sell property, and lend money.

WRITING A B-PLAN :
There are many reasons for writing a business plan:

To convince oneself that the new venture is worthwhile before making a significant
financial and personal commitment.

To assist management in goal-setting and long-range planning.

To attract investors and get financing.
To explain the business to other companies with which it would be useful to create
an alliance or contract.

To attract employees.

The basic elements of a standard business plan include:

Title Page

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

Company Description

Product/Service

Market and Competition

Marketing and Selling Strategy

Operating Plan

Management/Organization

Financing

Supporting Documents

Major mistakes of entrepreneurs :

poor management

lack of experience
low quality financial control
low quality marketing
lack of a strategy based
uncontrolled growth (cause unwelcome fall)
poor choice of location :- Although considered by many entrepreneurs as being
less important, the choice of location may be one of the mistakes that may even
lead to business failure. Choosing the location where the availability of spaces and
not the result of careful studies that benefit may be an important brake on
development of that business and even disappears.

Poor inventory :- Although the biggest investment they make entrepreneurs are
necessary material means (machines, equipment, facilities, etc.), often less
attention is given to the good of their inventories. However, an inefficient
inventory could lead to redundant stocks generally unjustified expenses that may
constitute grounds for failure in the continuation of that business.

setting incorrect price

Financing :

 Presonal savings
friends and family
bank loans
venture investors
government plans
Bootstrapping :- Entrepreneurs may attempt to "bootstrap" a company rather
than seeking external investors. One consensus definition of bootstrapping sees it
as "a collection of methods used to minimize the amount of outside debt and
equity financing needed from banks and investors". Most commonly,
entrepreneurs engaging in bootstrapping incur personal credit-card debt, but they
may utilize a wide variety of methods. While bootstrapping involves increased risk
for entrepreneurs, the absence of any other stakeholder gives the entrepreneur
more freedom to develop the company. Many successful companies - including Dell
Computer and Facebook - started by bootstrapping.
Types of bootstrapping include:
owner financing
sweat equity
minimization of accounts payable
joint utilization
delaying payment
minimizing inventory
subsidy finance
personal debt
External financing
Many businesses need more capital than can be provided by the owners themselves,
and in this case, a range of options is available including:
Angel investors
Venture capital investors.
Crowd funding
Hedge funds
Alternative Asset Management

Some of these sources provide not only funds, but also financial oversight, accountability
for carrying out tasks and meeting milestones, and in some cases business contacts and
experience in many cases in return for an equity stake.

Selling Online :
To start an online business, an entrepreneur must:
Register a domain name an Internet name and address.
Purchase a server or contract with an Internet service provider to host the Web
site. Buy Internet software to create a Web site or hire an expert to do so. Design
an attractive and easy-to-navigate online store.

Create an online catalog. Provide clearly written information, without technical

language or jargon. Use lots of photos to encourage potential customers to buy.
Include clear instructions to order by phone or online.

Establish a payment method. Some companies bill a customer before or after

shipping merchandise. This may cause payment delays, however. Another option is
to have customers use credit or debit cards online. A business can get a bankauthorized transaction- processing account (merchant account) for handling the
revenue (and fees) from credit card transactions from a bank or other institution
that processes credit cards online. Alternately, it is possible to hire an on- line
payment service, such as WorldPay (www.world- pay.com), to handle these
transactions.

Make the Web site secure, especially to protect customers financial information.
Hiring a technology expert is time and money well spent as compared to the
potential risk of security violations.

Establish a policy for shipping. Options include letting the business absorb the
cost (no charge), includ- ing costs in the listed prices, or explicitly listing ship- ping
charges. Customers should never be surprised at the end of a transaction with
shipping costs. Cus- tomers may cancel the sale.

Offer customers an e-mail address or phone number for complaints, suggestions,

or compliments, and re- spond to them. This can boost customer loyalty

Glossary of terms
Angel investors: Individuals who have capital that they are will- ing to risk. Angels are
often successful entrepreneurs who in- vest in emerging entrepreneurial ventures, often

as a bridge from the self-funded stage to the point in which a business can attract
venture capital.
Assets: Items of value owned by a company and shown on the balance sheet, including
cash, equipment, inventory, etc.
Balance sheet: Summary statement of a companys financial po- sition at a given point
in time, listing assets as well as liabilities.
Breakeven point: Dollar value of sales that will cover, but not exceed, all of the
companys costs, both fixed and variable.
Bridge finance: Short-term finance that is expected to be repaid quickly.
Browser: A computer program that enables users to access and navigate the World
Wide Web.
Business incubator: This is a form of mentoring in which work- space, coaching, and
support services are provided to entre- preneurs and early-stage businesses at a free or
reduced cost.
Business plan: A written document detailing a proposed venture, covering current
status, expected needs, and projected results for the enterprise. It contains a thorough
analysis of the prod- uct or service being offered, the market and competition, the
marketing strategy, the operating plan, and the management as well as profit, balance
sheet, and cash flow projections.
Capital: Cash or goods used to generate income. For entrepre- neurs, capital often
refers to the funds and other assets invested in the business venture.
Cash flow: The difference between the companys cash receipts and its cash payments
in a given period. It refers to the amount of money actually available to make purchases
and pay current bills and obligations.
Cash flow statement: A summary of a companys cash flow over a period of time.
Collateral: An asset pledged as security for a loan.
Copyright: Copyright is a form of legal protection for published and unpublished
literary, scientific, and artistic works that have been fixed in a tangible or material form.
It grants exclusive rights to the works creator for a specified period of time.
Corporation: A business form that is an entity legally separate from its owners. Its
important features include limited liabil- ity, easy transfer of ownership, and unlimited
life.
Depreciation: The decrease in the value of assets over their ex- pected life by an
accepted accounting method, such as allocat- ing the cost of an asset over the years in
which it is used.
E-commerce: The sale of products and services over the Inter- net.

Entrepreneur: A person who organizes, operates, and assumes the risk for a business
venture.
Equity: An ownership interest in a business.
Home-based business: A business, of any size or type, whose pri- mary office is in the
owners home.
Income statement: Also known as a profit and loss statement, it shows a firms
income and expenses, and the resulting profit or loss over a specified period of time.
Intangible assets: Items of value that have no tangible physical properties, such as
ideas.
Internet: The vast network of networks connecting millions of individual and networked
computers worldwide.
Inventory: Finished goods, work in process of manufacture, and raw materials owned by
a company.
Joint venture: A legal entity created by two or more businesses joining together to
conduct a specific business enterprise with both parties sharing profits and losses.
Liabilities: Debts a business owes, including accounts payable, taxes, bank loans, and
other obligations. Short-term liabilities are due within a year, while long-term liabilities
are due in a pe- riod of time greater than a year.

Top entrepreneurs of the world :

Lawrence Page reputed to be worth a staggering $17.5bn at 37 years old, Larry is
the co-founder of Google Inc .
Sergey Brin again reputed to be worth more than $17.5bn Brin is also the cofounder of Google and high on our list of famous entrepreneurs.
Jeffrey Bezos estimated to be worth in the region of $12.3bn Bezos was born to a
teenage mother in Albuquerque, New Mexico and later became known as the man who
set up Amazon, amongst other things.

Bill Gates- Gates is widely thought of as the Worlds richest man and has become in
many ways a household name due to his enormous wealth and yet few people know
what goes on behind the face of Microsoft.
Warren Buffett Warren Edward Buffett is known as an American investor, industrialist
and philanthropist and is accepted as one of the most accomplished investors around
today.
Pierre Omidyar estimated to be worth in the region of $5.2bn Pierre came to light
as the founder of eBay auction site when he was just 28 years old.
Steve Jobs Talking of internet success stories lets take a look at the late Steven Paul
Jobs.
Jobs was an American business magnate and inventor better known for being the cofounder and CEO of Apple computers. Jobs has an interesting past, previously serving as
CEO of Pixar Animation Studios. A lot has been said of Jobs demanding and aggressive
style and Fortune magazine reported that he is considered one of Silicon Valleys
leading egomaniacs.
Mark Zuckerberg today Zuckerberg is reputed to be valued at somewhere close to
$4.0bn At 25 this is pretty good I guess and as Zuckerberg occupies this list as the
youngest of our billionaires, I guess this is testament to the power of the internet.
Richard Branson Bringing up the rear in pretty good style is Sir Richard Charles
Nicholas Branson.
Branson is a British businessman, entrepreneur and all round nice guy, recognized as the
founder and CEO of the Virgin Group of over 400 companies in recent years. As a child,
Branson has dyslexia and is reported to have struggled academically, before discovering
his ability to connect with and influence people. in 1984 Branson formed Virgin Atlantic
Airways.

List of Indian entrepreneurs :

Name

Founded

Verghese Kurien

Amul

Azim Premji

Wipro

Lakshmi Mittal

ArcelorMittal

Dhirubhai Ambani

Reliance Industries

Anand Mahindra

Mahindra and Mahindra

Sabeer Bhatia

Hotmail

Sachin Bansal & Binny Bansal

Flipkart

Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao

GMR Group

Phanindra Sama and Charan Padmaraju

G. R. Gopinath
N. R. Narayana Murthy
Shiv Nadar
V. G. Siddhartha
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
Gautam Thapar

Redbus.in
Air Deccan
Infosys
HCL Technologies
Caf Coffee Day
Biocon
Avantha Group

Sunil Mittal

Bharti Enterprises

Venugopal Dhoot

Videocon

Karsanbhai Patel
Vishal Gondal
Ardeshir Godrej, Pirojsha Godrej, Adi Godrej
Kallam Anji Reddy
Jamnalal Bajaj, Rahul Bajaj
Prathap C. Reddy
Ajay Piramal, Swati Piramal
Kalanithi Maran
Prannoy Roy

Nirma
Indiagames
Godrej Group
Dr. Reddy's Laboratories
Bajaj Group
Apollo Hospitals
Piramal Enterprises Ltd
Sun Group
NDTV

Anil Agarwal

Vedanta Resources

Subrata Roy

Sahara India Pariwar

Shashi & Ravi Ruia

Essar Group

Jagdish Chandra Mahindra

Mahindra Group

Naveen Jain
Brijmohan Lall Munjal
Jamsetji Tata
Walchand Hirachand

Moon Express
Hero Group
Tata Group
Walchand group

Khwaja Abdul Hamied

Cipla

Kochuousep Chittilapilly

V-Guard Industries Ltd

Kishore Biyani

Future Group

Laxmanrao Kirloskar

Kirloskar Group

Baba Kalyani

Bharat Forge

Chandubhai Virani

Balaji_Group

Byrraju Ramalinga Raju

Mahindra Satyam

Pradeep Jain, Sudhir Hasija

Karbonn Mobiles

Qimat Rai Gupta

Havells India Ltd.