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What is the meaning of entrepreneur: In the last few articles, we’ve focused on entrepreneurship, its origin, functions and key characteristics. In today’s article, we’ll focus on answering the question – what is the meaning of an entrepreneur. I’m sure you’ve heard or read about this in different formats. Most times, loosely entrepreneurship is treated synonymously as a business.

What is the meaning of Entrepreneur?

We answered this question loosely in the article what is a startup, the difference with small business. As defined previously, the word entrepreneur comes from a French word – Entreprende meaning undertaking a task. Inherently, this means taking a risk and creating something. (Source – Origins of Entrepreneur)

An entrepreneur refers to someone who creates value in the marketplace. This can refer to either a product or service which can elevate the quality of service to a customer. In some cases, the entrepreneur also impacts society through social entrepreneurship. The types of entrepreneurship allow you to define the area of impact.

Purpose of Entrepreneurs

The purpose of entrepreneurship is slightly different from a businessman because its primary area of focus is not profit. Generally for most entrepreneurs, either the service or product is a new offering. These types of founders focus on creating a difference in the market by either adding a new product or service. These innovations can either be complicated or simple but the end goal is to add value to a user/client. (Related: Differences between entrepreneur and businessman)

Key functions of an entrepreneur

The primary function of an entrepreneur is to give shape to a business idea. This is strongly supported by a business plan and its execution.

Other key functions identified for an entrepreneur are:

• Identifying opportunities – both for product development and market, sales
• Team building and resource management with minimal opportunities
• Innovation – both in service and product delivery
• Decision making to stay agile and quick
• Managing risks and uncertainty as a part of your business plan and strategy
• Unlearning from previous experiences and maintain your business curiosity

Characteristics of an Entrepreneur

Although each entrepreneur is different, they all possess key characteristics described below to build a business. These qualities of an entrepreneur help you develop the required skills to drive a business forward.

• Vision
• Passion
• Self-confidence and belief
• Creativity and Problem Solving
• Risk Appetite
• Ability to Persuade and Convince
• Adapting to change and being flexible
• Working with people – Collaboration

Summary: What is the meaning of an entrepreneur

In summary, the answer to – what is the meaning of an entrepreneur is in the personality type. It usually refers to someone willing to take a risk and create value. In other words, entrepreneurship is an opportunity to create wealth. This wealth can be either to a customer, job creation or even improvement in competition. As an entrepreneur, you have a blank canvas to make an impact on the business world.