Entrepreneurial characteristics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Entrepreneurial characteristics - Essay Example Entrepreneurial characteristics By exploring the characteristics and skills of entrepreneurs, I have a better understanding of what characteristics an entrepreneur should possess. He does not have to be a risk taker but must have confidence in himself and have good leadership qualities. To do this, he/she needs to have a vision, marketing skills, good communication skills, financial skills, good time management skills, administrative skills and also leadership skills. The type of entrepreneur depends on the kind of characteristics, behavior or attributes that he/she possesses. These attributes play a great role in determining the kind of skills possessed by the entrepreneur. For example, a person who is self-confident, persuasive, a good listener, inspirational has the marketing skills required to sell the business and its products. There are various theories that try to explain the personality of individuals or entrepreneurs such as the leadership theories, self-efficiency theory, effectuation theory, behavioral and communication theories among others. The paper will discuss these theories in trying to explain the entrepreneurial characteristics and also the extent to which these characteristics are found within the range of skills that they should possess. The sel f-efficacy theory advanced by Albert Bandura is based on the belief in oneself. Robbins and Judge (2010) interpret self-efficacy as the belief that one has the capability to organize and execute courses of action that are required to achieve specified goals. Individuals have different perceptions of themselves; some high expectations of achieving a certain objective while others do not believe in themselves hence they fear to initiate anything rest they fail. Self-efficacy thus determines how the entrepreneur pursues goals, tasks and challenges (62). A successful entrepreneur should have self-confidence so as to be able to set and achieve goals and also to get other people to believe in what he/she is doing. The self-efficacy theory is also based on experience. Most people observe entrepreneurs starting up businesses and either succeeding or failing. Depending on what one observes, his perception may change. For example, if one has experience of observing someone start up a business and fail, he may fear engaging in such a venture. People with high self-efficacy have the drive and motivation to attain certain goals and continue even if the business is not prospering since they believe they can make it. On the other hand, those with low efficacy do not have the motivation to start a business but Robbins and Judge (2010) argue that this is needed to allow an entrepreneur to learn more about the business before venturing into it. The effectuation theory advanced by Saras Sarasvanthy is based on the belief that there exists a market which an entrepreneur should discover. The entrepreneur in this case has the knowledge, skills, and the resources needed to start a business but the question is, is he/she ready to take risks? An entrepreneur should therefore be able to take risks since he is venturing into a business with an unpredictable future. Instead of calculating the returns from the business undertaking, the individual can venture in any business and shape its destiny (Sarasvanthy, 2008). Contrary to self-efficacy theory, one is not influenced by observing others but takes own initiative into the unknown. The entrepreneur in this case possesses such characteristics as risk taker, creative, good in grasping opportunities, decisive, likes learning by doing, and is a team builder since his work involves building