A business consists on many ramifications. Some of them are what is called an Entrepreneur and a Business Owner. With the world getting more competitive every day, people are requested to think as Entrepreneurs to innovate creating a business or managing an existing one. The way companies are directed, either led by a male or female, will determine success or failure, mentioning articles by Shobhit Seth from Investopedia.com and Abdulwahab Bin Shmailan from the Journal of Entrepreneurship & Organization Management.
There is a line between what is a Small Business Owner, also known as SB, and an EV, which is short for Entrepreneurial Ventures, even though they have many characteristics in common. According to Investopedia: “An Entrepreneur is an individual who starts and runs a business with limited resources and planning, taking account of all the risks and rewards of his or her business venture.” (Seth, 2017). Entrepreneurial Ventures consist of high levels of doubt that the person, or entrepreneur, has to take into consideration before and while engaging in the startup of a new business or idea. One of the considerations is the fact that one’s economic security is at risk of not providing a recovery for the amount invested and, of course, a profit on the long term. Plenty of valuable time is also invested. This happens because the company is not well known by the public and, therefore, the products won’t sell. The entrepreneur needs to find a way to attract the public’s attention. Additionally, the business requires a good location and trained employees to provide the appropriate service for the clients.
The entrepreneur is in charge of everything that goes on in the business. Until today, there have been many new advancements that have helped the person in charge of the amount of either time consuming or complicated responsibilities in hand. One of them is Outsourcing, which is hiring another independent business to perform a specific task that initially was performed by employees within the business. This is done mostly to minimize the duty cost and in case something happens the entrepreneur is not responsible. (Investopedia).
An entrepreneur in not a person who works for other businesses nor inherits or co-owns an existing one that already sales existing products as a franchise or dealership. (Seth, 2017).
A Small business owner normally deals with known risks and established goods, aims for limited growth and continued profit, and do not affect the economy. (Seth, 2017). On the other hand, an Entrepreneurial Venture needs to offer new innovative products and deal with new risks, target quick development and high efficiency returns. They also have an impact on the economy creating new job positions and opportunities for people from the community.
Even though they have differences, a Small Business Owner and an Entrepreneur have similarities. The hardest part of managing a business is at the beginning. The people in charge, that start working, need time to learn how things work within the company.
Despite the fact that there is no guide for an Entrepreneur to follow, being your own boss requires plenty of work. It all depends on the attitude and appropriate idea for the business and how it is managed. Let’s keep in mind the fact that being one’s own boss allows the person to not work, but if this happens then the business will fail. There have been several of Entrepreneurial Ventures, unfortunately not all succeed.
The word entrepreneur comes from the French word “Entreprende”, which means “undertake” (Bin Shmailan, 2016). The word Entrepreneur was first used in the 1700’s and was referred to as a person who takes risks in buying and selling objects. A few years later, people mentioned it as a person with skills to produce more. In this century, Entrepreneurs find opportunities to create an organization and benefit from it.
Entrepreneurs find opportunities and turn them into profitable ventures; they are highly motivated and they are also risk takers. These Entrepreneurs are both male and female; they also possess characteristics that are similar and others that are different. The basic factors that contribute to these differences and similarities are decision-making styles, goals for the business, risk tolerance, financing of the businesses, motivations, management styles, and networking (Bin Shmailan, 2016).
The general characteristics show the male and female entrepreneurs similarities and differences. They may be similar in terms of demographic and psychological features such as attending similar schools, originate from the same region and so much more. According to Compare the Characteristics of Male and Female Entrepreneurs as Explorative Study by Shmailan, academically, females tend to pursue courses in liberal arts, unlike the male who prefer fields like engineering and many other technical disciplines. He also found that women are less likely to be entrepreneurs than men. On non-financial matters, women are more sensitive than men. The similarity, however, is that they both have mentors who provide for them in terms of decision-making and guidance on entrepreneurship (Bin Shmailan, 2016).
In regards to their business goals, both male and female entrepreneurs establish businesses to have more control and autonomy, personal satisfaction and income. Another reason for women or female involvement in business is for self-fulfillment, unlike men who may enter for economic reasons. On risk-taking, females are perceived to be less entrepreneurial than men since they do not take many risks as compared to them. On financing, it is estimated that women are starting businesses with less capital than men, therefore women businesses tend to be smaller than men, and this is according to many studies explained on Compare the Characteristics of Male and Female Entrepreneurs an Explorative Study by Shmailan. Women and men draw their motivations from different factors. As Shmailan provides in the article, women portray a more positive business trait than men; therefore, they are more skilled in making decisions than men. They can portray a high level of aggressiveness especially in achieving their goals. In management, the main difference on how the male and female workers manage their businesses are that their styles of management vary for the individual. Women use a more feminine approach, for instance, they value good relationships with their employees. On networking, it is suggested that both male and female entrepreneurs need to have networks. At times networking can be more important than financial aid, in order for the company to keep up the business. However, it indicates that men naturally have a wider network than women, that is why men own most of the thriving businesses (Bin Shmailan, 2016).
In conclusion, an Entrepreneur has many aspects in common with a Business Owner. Men and women have the means and are capable of being hardworking people in order to succeed; generally, each in different fields of expertise. It is not easy to find one’s role in business, which is why the person should always try to make an effort to be the best and achieve as much as possible. If one is not willing to work hard, it is impossible to succeed.