entrepreneurial thinking essay

1.3 The Entrepreneurial Mindset

Learning objectives.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

Explain what it means to have an entrepreneurial mindset
Describe what is meant by entrepreneurial spirit or passion

Entrepreneurship takes many forms (see Table 1.1 ), but entrepreneurs share a major trait in common: An entrepreneur is someone who identifies an opportunity and chooses to act on that opportunity. Most business ventures are innovative variations of an existing idea that has spread across communities, regions, and countries, such as starting a restaurant or opening a retail store. These business ventures are, in some ways, a lower-risk approach but nonetheless are entrepreneurial in some way. For example, Warby Parker , a profitable startup founded by four graduate students at Wharton, disrupted a major incumbent ( Luxottica ) by providing a more convenient (online initially), affordable, and stylish product line for a large segment of consumers. In this sense, their innovation is about creating something new, unique, or different from the mainstream. Yet they attracted an existing, and in some ways mature, sector of an established industry. In a different way, McDonalds , which is 90 percent owned by franchisees, introduced an “all day breakfast” menu in 2017 that was hugely successful; it also targeted a larger segment (in part younger consumers) and brought back consumers who had chosen other options. In summary, many entrepreneurs start a new venture by solving a problem that is significant, offering some value that other people would appreciate if the product or service were available to them. Other entrepreneurs, in contrast, start a venture by offering a “better mousetrap” in terms of a product, service, or both. In any case, it is vital that the entrepreneur understand the market and target segment well, articulate a key unmet need (“pain point”), and develop and deliver a solution that is both viable and feasible. In that aspect, many entrepreneurs mitigate risks before they launch the venture.

Being aware of your surroundings and the encounters in your life can reveal multiple opportunities for entrepreneurship. In our daily lives, we constantly find areas where improvements could be made. For example, you might ask, “What if we didn’t have to commute to work?” “What if we didn’t have to own a vehicle but still had access to one?” “What if we could relax while driving to work instead of being stressed out by traffic?” These types of questions inspired entrepreneurial ventures such as ride-sharing services like Uber , the self-driving vehicle industry, 21 and short-term bicycle access in the free bike-sharing program in Pella, Iowa ( Figure 1.10 ). 22

These ideas resulted from having an entrepreneurial mindset , an awareness and focus on identifying an opportunity through solving a problem, and a willingness to move forward to advance that idea. The entrepreneurial mindset is the lens through which the entrepreneur views the world, where everything is considered in light of the entrepreneurial business. The business is always a consideration when the entrepreneur makes a decision. In most cases, the action that the entrepreneur takes is for the benefit of the business, but sometimes, it helps the entrepreneur get ready to adopt the appropriate mindset. The mindset becomes a way of life for the entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs often are predisposed to action to achieve their goals and objectives. They are forward thinking, always planning ahead, and they are engaged in “what if” analyses. They frequently ask themselves, “What if we did this?” “What if a competitor did that?”—and consider what the business implications would be.

Most people follow habits and traditions without being aware of their surroundings or noticing the opportunities to become entrepreneurs. Because anyone can change their perspective from following established patterns to noticing the opportunities around them, anyone can become an entrepreneur. There is no restriction on age, gender, race, country of origin, or personal income. To become an entrepreneur, you need to recognize that an opportunity exists and be willing to act on it. Note, however, that the execution of the entrepreneurial mindset varies in different parts of the world. For example, in many Asian cultures, group decision-making is more common and valued as a character trait. In these regions, an entrepreneur would likely ask the advice of family members or other business associates before taking action. In contrast, individualism is highly valued in the United States and so many US entrepreneurs will decide to implement a plan for the business without consulting others.

Entrepreneurial Spirit and Passion

An entrepreneurial spirit allows entrepreneurs to carry a manner of thinking with them each day that allows them to overcome obstacles and to meet challenges with a can-do attitude. What does it mean to have an entrepreneurial spirit? For the purposes of this discussion, it could mean being passionate, purposeful, positive, bold, curious, or persistent.

The founders of Airbnb have a passion for supporting individual rights to rent out unused space. Why should the established model of hotels prevail? Why shouldn’t an individual homeowner have the freedom to rent out unused space and leverage that space into an income? Airbnb has succeeded in creating more flexible and affordable options in the space of the rapidly growing "sharing" economy. At the same time, some states and municipalities have raised issues about the regulations monitoring ventures like this. While entrepreneurial spirit is partly about fighting for individual rights and freedoms, there should be a balance between economic freedom and consumer protection. The entrepreneurial spirit involves a passion for presenting an idea that is worthwhile and valuable, and a willingness to think beyond established patterns and processes, while still keeping in mind local laws and regulations, in the quest to change those established patterns, or at least to offer alternatives to those established patterns.

Passion is a critical component of the entrepreneurial process. Without it, an entrepreneur can lose the drive to run the business. Passion can keep an entrepreneur going when the outside world sends negative messages or less-than-positive feedback. For example, if you are truly passionate about starting an animal shelter because of your love of animals, you will find a way to make it happen. Your internal drive to help animals in need will spur you on to do whatever it takes to make the shelter become a reality. The same is true of other types of startups and owners with similar passions. However, passion needs to be informed by the entrepreneur’s vision and mission—passion of the sake of passion is not enough. A clear mission statement —which details why the business exists and the entrepreneur’s objectives for achieving that mission—will guide an entrepreneur’s passion and keep the business on track. Passion, vision, and mission can reinforce each other and keep the entrepreneur on the right track with next steps for the business.

Some ideas might seem small or insignificant, but in the field of entrepreneurship, it’s important to recognize that for every new startup, someone else may recognize a spin-off idea that expands upon the original idea. The opportunities for identifying new possibilities are endless. Review your work in creating spinoff ideas for Angad Darvani’s projects, or Kevin F. Adler’s Miracle Messages venture. Or consider possible spin-off ideas around the technology used in agriculture. Creating spin-off ideas fits well with our discussion of divergent thinking and brainstorming. Through these processes, we can discover new uses for existing technology, just as Ring did by using video technology to add security by allowing customers to see who is at the door without opening it.

An Entrepreneurial Mindset in Your Discipline or Field

Within your industry of interest or area of study, what are the challenges that create frustration? How can these be turned into opportunities? Earlier in this chapter, we discussed Evernote , a company that focuses on expanding our memories by storing and organizing information. Let’s look at some other examples of entrepreneurial endeavors in specific industries to help you plan your own venture in your own industry.

In the agriculture industry, insects, weeds, weather conditions, and the challenges of harvesting crops are all ripe for entrepreneurial activities. The move toward organic produce has also affected this industry. From an entrepreneurial perspective, what products could you invent to support both organic farming and the problems of insects that damage or destroy crops? The old method was to use chemical sprays to kill the insects, but today, the growing demand for organic foods and increased awareness of the impact of chemical sprays on our environment are changing this scenario. One new idea to solve this problem combines a vacuum cleaner with an agriculture product.

Link to Learning

Watch this video on the creation of a crop vacuum that sucks up insects and bugs to learn more.

A bug vacuum is an example of how using divergent thinking contributed to the solution of removing bugs from crops without using chemicals. In the group activity of creating divergent ideas, this idea may not have been received well. However, in the incubation stage, the idea must have come forward as a viable solution. Entrepreneurs frequently face the challenge of pressure to conform to established habits and patterns within industries.

Often, the entrepreneurial mindset includes futuristic ideas that shake up the normal, conventional processes that are grounded in experience over time. Tried-and-tested processes and products that have a proven history of success can be a formidable obstacle to new ideas. A new idea may even appear as impossible or outlandish, perhaps even an embarrassment to the steady and predictable practices established within an industry. This can create a dilemma: Do we try something new and unproven that lacks documented research? Sometimes, we must disregard our past successes and research to be open to new possibilities for success and failure. An entrepreneurial mindset includes creativity, problem-solving skills, and a propensity to innovation. 23 Open-mindedness is one characteristic that supports creativity, problem solving, and innovation. Taking the time to explore new ideas, dream, reflect, and view situations from a new perspective contribute to the entrepreneurial mindset. Some innovations can lead to disruptions within the industry, or even create a new industry.

The innovator’s dilemma was presented by Clayton Christensen to explain disruptive technology , which are technologies that, once introduced, displace established patterns, processes, and systems previously accepted as normal or accepted. One example of a disruptive technology is Airbnb , a company that threatens the established hotel industry by connecting personal resources to people who desire those resources. If you have a spare bedroom that you aren’t using, why not sell that space to someone who wants and needs the space?

Airbnb has become a significant threat to the established hotel industry’s business model of building large hotels and renting rooms within those hotels to their customers. Airbnb has reconfigured that model, and since its 2008 launch, 150 million travelers have taken advantage of 3 million Airbnb listings in more than 191 countries. Airbnb has raised more than $3 billion (plus a $1 billion credit line) and is considering selling stocks to support significant expansion. The value of Airbnb is approximately $30 billion. Compare this market value to Hilton ’s market capitalization of $19 billion and Marriott ’s of $35 billion. If you were the CEO of Hilton or Marriott, would you be worried? The hotel industry recognized Airbnb as a threat, and in 2016, began a campaign to create legislation to rein in Airbnb’s growth and popularity. From the hotel industry’s perspective, Airbnb is not playing by the same rules. This is the definition of disruptive technology, the focus on creating a new idea or process that negates or challenges established process or products. 24

Sometimes disruptive technologies result from not listening to customers. Customers don’t always know what they want. Customer groups might need to be redefined by the entrepreneurial team on the basis of better models, knowing when to invest in developing lower-performance products that promise lower margins while still satisfying the need, and knowing when to pursue small markets at the expense of larger or established markets. Basically, disruptive technologies occur through identifying new and valuable processes and products.

The founders of Airbnb recognized that some people have unused resources, bedrooms, that other people need. We can apply this idea to other unused resources such as vehicles and motor homes. We see this model reproduced in short-term car rental and bike-sharing programs.

21 Matthew DeBord. “Waymo Could Be Worth as Much as $75 Billion—Here’s a Brief History of the Google Car Project.” Business Insider . September 9, 2018. https://www.businessinsider.com/google-car-project-history-2018-8
22 Ethan Goetz. “Bike Share Program Launched Monday.” The Chronicle . July 2, 2018. https://www.pellachronicle.com/gallery/bike-share-program-launched-monday/article_950cebac-7e49-11e8-97a0-8fd615410188.html
23 Emma Fleck. “Needed: Entrepreneurial Mindset.” Central Penn Business Journal , 34 (12), 10. http://pageturnpro2.com.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/Publications/201803/15/83956/PDF/131668002208352000_CPBJ033018WEB.pdf
24 Katie Benner. “Inside the Hotel Industry’s Plan to Combat Airbnb.” New York Times . April 16, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/16/technology/inside-the-hotel-industrys-plan-to-combat-airbnb.html

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Entrepreneurial Thinking
Skills & Tools

Entrepreneurial thinking skills refer to the ability to identify marketplace opportunities and discover the most appropriate ways and time to capitalize on them. Sometimes, it is simply referred to as the ability to find and pursue the problem-solution fits.

Entrepreneurial thinking is the ability to see things differently than the rest of the world but, it is not necessarily an inherent trait and can be easily developed or improved. It is more like a state of mind that opens your eyes to new learning opportunities and helps you grow in your role.

Why is entrepreneurial thinking important

Having entrepreneurial thinking skills and putting them to good use is not important for business owners alone but for everyone pursuing a successful career. Employees with such skills stand out because they tend to think creatively and take ownership of their jobs as well as performance. Following are some benefits of entrepreneurial thinking skills that can translate into employee satisfaction, positive work environment, and ultimately profits for the organization:

Entrepreneurial thinking helps you stay ahead of others at work. It helps you tackle the ever increasing competition and rise through ranks. Your ability to identify problem quicker and provide solution timely is likely to put forward the best of you in front of your employer.
It allows for more flexibility in you . Entrepreneurial thinking can change your attitude towards th organization as well as yourself. Through the flexibility that it allows, it enables you to adapt to the changing environment such as the changes in competitive landscape, market dynamics, and consumer trends/demands etc. Little or no time is wasted in resistance towards the change, speeding up your career growth.

How to improve your entrepreneurial thinking skills

Now that we are well aware that entrepreneurial thinking skills are not innate and can be learned, you will find the following tips helpful in your efforts to improve them:

Be passionate about your work. We all know that passion is the ultimate key to career success as well as contentment. So if you are still spend half of your day at work fantasizing about how you’d rather be working elsewhere, it’s time to consider pivoting your career. There is no need to feel like you are stuck. If you are not passionate about what you do, you should simply shift to another industry, department, or company where your experience and expertise can be put to use in a better way.
Try to be a risk-taker . Almost all business owners are aware of the phrase ‘high risk, high reward’. What sets an employee with entrepreneurial thinking apart from the average ones is his appetite for risk. Nobody ever said it’s easy to put all you have at stake, but it does pay off! You can start with baby steps e.g. by pitching a new idea or taking up a challenge in the form of a task that is outside your comfort zone. By taking such small risks you are likely to get rewarded in the form of a nod of approval, development of new skills, or even a promotion.
Last but not the least; dream big ! Never limit your dreams because the most important aspect of entrepreneurial thinking skills is the boundlessness that is required. Throughout our lives we are all conditioned to be practical and realistic. The one thing that has the tendency to set you apart is your ability to dream big and think different. That’s where entrepreneurial thinking begins!

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More From Forbes

An entrepreneurial mindset: what is it and how can you build it.

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CEO and Founder of QA Madness . Leading a team of specialists who help companies globally deliver better digital products and experiences.

A regular C student is the perfect example of a person with an entrepreneurial mindset. How so? Believe it or not, I mean it in a good way. Most C students are great at crisis management. They need to manage to keep up with the studying process enough to pass the tests. They are less likely to be disappointed with getting a lower grade, but they bother just enough to pass the tests.

If you project this pattern of behavior on an adult, you’ll notice a striking similarity with many entrepreneurs. An entrepreneur has to be bold enough to face a crisis and, in a way, ready to lose everything.

I guess that’s why a person who was an average student, who dropped out of college or decided not to graduate, has become almost a cliche of successful entrepreneurs .

Does Formal Education Matter Nowadays?

To become an entrepreneur, a person needs to know how business and economics work. They need to have relevant skills to start a company and implement their ideas. If a C student manages to get enrolled in a college, they might find some gaps to fill, but not everything in the classroom will correlate directly to entrepreneurship. If a college dropout manages to start a business, there’s a good chance they already have a lot of the knowledge they need.

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Maybe the grades don’t matter that much, but knowledge does. Even if a person is bold and good at crisis management, they still need hard skills and theoretical knowledge — otherwise, a business enthusiast will simply become an entrepreneur who doesn’t make a profit.

Untutored Talent Versus Diligent Work

An entrepreneurial skill set isn’t something you are born with or inherit. I don’t think anyone gets “the appropriate mindset” by default. People can hone the traits that make them better business people, and hard skills are something you can develop. Of course, temperament and personality are innate to a certain extent. However, psychological studies show that these aspects of human identity are still affected by environment and upbringing .

I think people start developing the skills for business leadership early in their education. Personally, I don’t demand for my son to be an A student. Instead, I prefer him to learn how to get messages across to peers and adults, verbalize ideas, work with his wishes, develop time management skills, etc. Rather than specific content, I often prefer to explain to him the importance of doing his homework as a way to help him learn how to set priorities and get the essentials of time management.

Developing The Entrepreneurial Mindset

You can find many articles and posts on social media where authors share their tips on how to become a better business person.

Yet, reading these recommendations, I found that I cannot relate to much of the advice that frequently pops up. So, here is another list of to-dos based on my own experience that I hope can be more helpful.

• Read every day. Read the news, financial reports and analytics. At some point, you have to be discerning about what you read. If you have the choice between a fictional book and another market report, the latter should be a priority. Meanwhile, learn to highlight the essentials and skip the information that isn’t relevant. Make sure you don’t get lost in data.

• Analyze issues from different perspectives. If you don't do this, you risk missing something important and making an emotional decision instead of a rational one. Making time specifically for thinking is useful.

• Stay curious and learn new things. I don't think there's a limit to what a person can or should learn. In fact, we cannot afford to stop learning as the world is constantly changing. So whether it is intentional (advanced career training) or occasional (a new device you’ve just bought), make sure to stay curious.

• Don’t be afraid to face your fears. It goes both for personal and work-related ones. One day a person is afraid to ask a stranger about something and tomorrow they might be missing a business opportunity because of a hesitation to talk.

• Learn to be persuasive. From an elevator pitch to long-lasting and complicated negotiations, there will be many opportunities to use this skill to your benefit. Reading up on how to be persuasive can help, but it's only through practice that you can truly perfect this skill.

• Redefine a failure. I believe it’s better to look back and regret the things you did rather than the things you didn’t do. Not trying at all can be a more genuine disappointment.

As mentioned earlier, there are some popular ideas on how to level up one’s entrepreneurial mindset that I question. Here are a couple of the major culprits and why I push against them as viable methods to business success.

• Set challenging goals. I have previously written on how executives perceive challenges, and I still believe that this concept is often misinterpreted. Wouldn’t realistic and attainable goals work better? And do we even use “challenging” correctly in this context?

• Always stay busy. Some experts advise staying preoccupied with either planning or implementing. No third option is available. I believe a person should get enough rest, go on vacation even , and switch off. Constantly investing all of your energy into your business might come with some negative side effects.

Bottom Line

One last trait often quoted as a part of an entrepreneurial mindset is creativity. Many define creativity in business as an ability to find new solutions to old problems. I think we need to redefine this term. Let’s add a pinch of fantasy and specificity to the concept. I recommend you start looking for new issues that don’t have any solutions right now. That’s what will make a person a truly creative entrepreneur. Those who focus on something beaten into the ground are attempting to manifest short-term stability rather than vision.

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Entrepreneurship Essay: Topics & Samples about Entrepreneurship

In the course of your studies for management, marketing, or finance degree, you can be asked to write an entrepreneurship essay. Those who tried it know how challenging it is to compose a convincing and fact-based paper about business.

An entrepreneurship essay requires you to carry out thorough research. You have to arrange the findings to substantiate your opinion wisely. It shall be engaging for the reader. Usually, your purpose is not to inform but to explain your view on an economic phenomenon.

Entrepreneurship is about calculating one’s chances for success. It aims to establish a business opportunity and avail of it. In most cases, it involves product or process innovation. Thus, the goal of an entrepreneurship essay is to train your business thinking. It develops a habit of using subject-specific terminology and theories.

This article is your way to a perfect essay about entrepreneurship. Our team has prepared a guide and a list of topics where you can find an excellent sample essay about entrepreneurship. Yet, we know that the most challenging thing for many students is to come up with specific questions.

You can rely on the following steps while working on your paper:

Pick or create a topic. The best essays focus on a narrow problem. Pick an idea that offers solutions or specifies how the reader can relate. Convey it all in your topic.
Research thoroughly. Good preliminary research will prevent you from discussing stale news. Look for currently topical issues that many people face.
Write an introduction. It is the most “selling” part of your entrepreneurship essay. Provide background information about the problem you are going to explore. Why did it arise, and who was affected?
Work out a thesis statement. This sentence contains the central message of your writing. Specify your position on the narrow topic. For example, “Employee turnover is not always a negative thing.”
Develop an argumentation. Make a list of all arguments that support your position and a few counterarguments. You will refine it when writing the main body. Include only the vital ideas and examples in your essay on entrepreneurship.
Think of a conclusion. Mind that your readers will remember this paragraph most of all. What were the central ideas of your work? Summarize your arguments and restate your thesis with a development.
Come up with an engaging title. It should make the readers want to keep on reading your text. An entrepreneurship essay title should reveal the problem you are going to discuss.

15 Entrepreneurship Essay Topics

To write a successful essay, you’ll need engaging topics on entrepreneurship. A good idea inspires you and gives a substantial reason for discussion.

Here we have collected the best entrepreneurship topics for your essay:

Is becoming a successful entrepreneur an inborn quality or a developed skill?
Is it efficient to unite researchers and entrepreneurs into one organization?
Is contemporary entrepreneurship possible without online marketing?
How can creativity make your business more identifiable?
Does a model of economic development help entrepreneurs to achieve their goals, or does it limit their imagination?
What are the psychological causes that urge entrepreneurs to seek profit?
What are the reasons that spur the growing expertise of individuals in business issues?
Which factors can bring entrepreneurship to bankruptcy?
How could governments incentivize individuals to become sole entrepreneurs?
What are the leadership characteristics of successful entrepreneurial management?
Does gender influence a person’s skills in entrepreneurship as a career?
Is it better to have a small enterprise or work for a large corporation, provided that the salary is the same?
Compare the approaches entrepreneurs who start only one business and those who invest in multiple enterprises.
How can MBA help you to become an entrepreneur?
Analyze the path of a successful entrepreneur and suggest what could be improved.

5 Entrepreneurship Essay Questions

Your college or school professors can give you detailed essay questions. They direct your thought to make sure you do not diverge from the central idea.

Here you can check a list of entrepreneurship essay questions:

In your opinion, is there a moment when an entrepreneur should stop expanding their business? Small business is easier to manage, but it provides less revenue. Big enterprises earn more but bring their investors to more serious risks and more significant expenses. Substantiate your point of view.
What makes a successful business plan? Is it more important to calculate the economic feasibility of the future enterprise or predict the reaction of the target audience? Give examples of both approaches.
Explain the concept of entrepreneurship. The essay should synthesize different formulations of prominent economists and sociologists. Make up your explanation of the term based on your synthesis.
What can be done to avoid cutting the expenses of an enterprise? Staff reduction, renting smaller premises, and cutting salaries usually have negative aftermath. Are there any universal ways to make your business survive a recession?
Imagine you are looking for a business partner. Which questions would you ask the candidates during the interview? Are there any traits you would look for? What kind of behavior would immediately tell you it is the wrong person?

Thanks for reading the article! Below you can find sample essays about entrepreneurship illustrating the structure that we have described above.

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Entrepreneurial Mindset: How to Think Like an Entrepreneur

If you’ve ever had a feeling in the pit of your stomach — that you’re meant to do something bigger, more meaningful, and all yours — you might have entrepreneurship in your future.

But do you have the entrepreneurial mindset to succeed?

There’s a major obstacle that stops many people from becoming successful business owners – and it’s not what you might think.

It’s not the economy, failure, or bad ideas.

It’s doubt – in ourselves, our surroundings, and our abilities.

Self-doubt kills many dreams — long before any external factors can come into play. In 20 years of entrepreneurship, I’ve experienced plenty of doubt and uncertainty. I’ve also read countless business books by entrepreneurs and interviewed 483 of them . I’m fascinated by the inner game that empowers us to keep taking action on our ideas.

In this article, I’ve distilled the entrepreneurial mindset into five characteristics – and shared some effective ways to nourish and hone these qualities in yourself.

Originally published in 2017, this post was updated and republished on April 18th, 2024.

What Is an Entrepreneurial Mindset?

Entrepreneurial mindset: 5 qualities of entrepreneurial success, how to develop an entrepreneurial mindset, entrepreneurial mindset examples in real life.

Every one of us has a mindset. It’s the attitude and approach you have toward yourself and your life: what you think, how you feel, and how you respond to the world around you.

An entrepreneurial mindset is different. It’s characterized by tenacity, confidence, and resilience. Entrepreneurs don’t settle for the status quo. They see problems as opportunities. They believe in continuous improvement. They cultivate the courage to step outside of their comfort zones and pursue what matters.

These qualities fuel entrepreneurs to go beyond the ordinary, overcome obstacles as they arise, and achieve their goals.

As humans, we are all unique. Some entrepreneurs want to change the world. Others want to make money online and provide a better life for themselves and their families. Some of us want to do both.

Yet, there are definite qualities and characteristics that define entrepreneurs – ways we tend to think and act.

No matter how different we are as individuals, we think like entrepreneurs.

And no, I won’t tell you to hustle and have a positive attitude. This is about acquiring new habits of thought and action. My goal is to make this as action-oriented as possible.

Here are the five characteristics of an entrepreneurial mindset.

1. Decisiveness

Entrepreneurial Mindset Characteristic_ Decisive

To succeed as an entrepreneur, you must learn to look at a problem or situation, digest all available data (at that point in time), and make a confident decision to move forward.

Your decision-making ability will make or break your future successes.

Just look at Jaimee Newberry , the founder and CEO of Picture This Clothing. In 2012, family hardship and corporate burnout left her feeling disconnected and disenchanted about her job.

For a few months, she pondered leaving but wasn’t sure what her next step would be. Thankfully, some wise words from a friend ignited her into action. Those words? “It’s not about what’s next. It’s about what’s important.”

That’s the thing. Even if you haven’t got your next step figured out, deciding what to do right now is much better than doing nothing.

In fact, indecision is one of the greatest causes of business failure.

When you can’t decide what to do, you delay taking action. In other words, you do nothing. Think about how many dreams (and businesses) failing to take action has killed.

Like many other skills an entrepreneur needs, being decisive is a skill that can (and should) be practiced and strengthened in your day-to-day life — starting with the tiniest decisions.

Take Action: Sandwich or Salad?

Try this in your own life: the next time you are out for lunch at a restaurant, scan the menu once and decide what to order. And do it confidently .

This can seem trivial or unnecessary, but it absolutely isn’t.

Being decisive takes practice to master, and it begins with small decisions in the business of daily life.

From here, you can build on your decisiveness and begin to use it in bigger and bigger ways.

2. Confidence

Entrepreneurial Mindset Characteristic_ Confidence

You must learn many skills to accomplish everything you want in life.

But how do you act confidently when you don’t know what you’re doing?

You learn to act with confidence, the second characteristic of the entrepreneurial mindset. And one of the most important qualities of an entrepreneur.

It’s essential that you get used to the uncomfortable feeling of knowing that you don’t know what you’re doing.

Whether it’s getting on stage to speak , launching your product, or learning how to start a blog and publishing your business ideas out to the world, we tend to see others doing it and incorrectly assume they’ve always been good at it.

They weren’t born knowing how to speak confidently, launch successful products, or write excellent books. They also weren’t born knowing how to become entrepreneurs.

They learned, and we can, too.

Now, as human beings, we are not naturally afraid of looking stupid or failing – we get educated into it.

But as Steli Efti , Founder of Close.io, put it, “When a baby is learning to walk, they constantly fall over, but that doesn’t make them want to stop trying. They don’t think, ‘That’s it, I’m done with walking. I look stupid, everybody is laughing at me. I will just crawl from now on.’”

The takeaway? Get comfortable with failing, being wrong, and stumbling along the way. After all, it’s only when we exit our comfort zones that we give ourselves the chance to learn new things and develop true, lasting confidence.

Take Action: Pretend you know what you’re doing

Here’s how to become more confident right now …

Looking confident, practiced, and skilled is what we admire in others. But looking confident and being confident are two different things . Seriously.

Acting confident while getting on stage to give a speech to a packed room, even when your hands are violently shaking, is essential to learn the art of public speaking.

This works with everything. Here’s what I mean.

Do you want to be a podcaster? Start podcasting.
Do you want to become a professional chef? Start cooking.
Do you want to be a copywriter? Start writing sales pages that convert.
Do you have side hustle ideas you want to start? Stop watching Netflix every night.
Do you want to learn email marketing ? Start building your email list today.

Pretending you are good at something will enable you to do it confidently enough times until you become good at it .

The more you do this, the better you will become. It’s counterintuitive, but it works every time. And if you aren’t quite ready to take this leap, here are some motivational quotes to kick you in the ass.

3. Accountability

Entrepreneurial Mindset Characteristic_ Accountability

The entrepreneurial mindset comes from taking responsibility for your own business, actions, and outcomes.

You need to internalize and accept that:

Everything that happens at work – YOU are responsible for.
Everything that happens to your business – YOU are responsible for.
Whether you succeed or fail, it is YOUR responsibility.

From this moment forward, you must accept responsibility for everything in your life and hold yourself accountable for it.

That’s exactly what Austen Allred , the founder of Lambda School, does. When he came on the podcast, he explained his grit-laden mindset:

“Something either worked because it worked out, or it failed because I wasn’t good enough. I have to be okay with the possibility that everything could fall apart, even if I do everything I can to make this company happen. If it fails, it’s probably because I suck. ” Austen Allred, Founder of Lambda School

Taking ownership of your failures in this way can seem radical and harsh, but it’s a surefire way to bolster personal accountability. So, no more excuses, passing the buck, and blaming others.

All that matters is what you are doing RIGHT NOW to find your success.

Hold yourself accountable – even when you aren’t to blame – so you can take action to fix the problem.

4. Resilience

Entrepreneurial Mindset Characteristic_ resilience

As an entrepreneur, you must learn to deal with making mistakes and failing. They are inevitable and a part of your growth.

If every misstep plummets you into self-doubt, you must change your perception of being wrong.

This mindset shift takes resilience and is foundational to the entrepreneurial mindset.

For inspiration, consider the life and work of Dame Stephanie Shirley , a pioneering female computer programmer and founder of several companies.

As a young woman in the 1950s, Shirley was frustrated that men were paid more than women simply because of their gender rather than their contributions.

However, rather than being deterred, Shirley channeled resilience, believed in herself, and took a bold leap: founding a progressive, all-female software company in the 1960s.

Even then, success didn’t happen in a straight line, and Shirley notes that she didn’t receive a dividend for almost 25 years.

Despite this, she remained steadfast, understanding that wrong turns and making mistakes is something that happens to everyone.

“The only people who don’t make mistakes are the ones who don’t do anything.” – My Dad to me a hundred times as a kid.

Resilience isn’t only helpful when dealing with catastrophic mistakes. It’s a way to handle the small, simple decisions you’ve made that didn’t turn out right.

Resilience enables you to think, act, and move iteratively — making small, incremental corrections along the way.

Take Action: The wind-blown pilot

Imagine you are the pilot of a plane taking off from Miami and heading north to Boston .

With the Atlantic Ocean on the right, there’s bound to be a strong wind pushing it westward (or to the left).

As the pilot, you set a trajectory north to Boston upon departure. Yet you are beginning to get slightly off course with the wind blowing.

Do you keep plowing ahead as planned and end up in Chicago instead?

Or do you continually and incrementally correct your course against the wind and turbulence?

The answer is obvious. You must constantly fight against external forces or never reach your destination.

You need to be resilient to change and keep pushing ahead no matter what may try and knock you off course.

There is no straight line to where you are going.

5. Humility

Entrepreneurial Mindset Characteristic_ Humility

Humility is freedom from pride or arrogance, and it ties all of the characteristics of entrepreneurship.

From decisiveness to confidence, humility will keep you focused and centered .

From accountability to resilience, you will continue progressing through failure, mistakes, and upsets.

This is accomplished with humility.

“If you are the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room.” – Someone smarter than me.

Along with humility comes coachability — the ability to be coached.

If you want to accomplish big things in life, you need to be willing to learn from others and nourish a growth mindset.

To do big things, you need to grow. To grow, you need to learn.

No matter what you are trying to accomplish, someone has already done it before you. That’s why the CEO of Saddleback, Dave Munson , embraces learning from others.

When he spoke with me on the podcast, he shared: “I listen to wisdom from people who know more than I do. I use coaches–really wise guys that have made a whole bunch of mistakes in their past. So, they won’t do them again, and they will coach me against [those mistakes].”

As David’s humble approach shows, thinking like an entrepreneur means knowing you don’t know everything, and seeking out mentors and coaches who have been where you are trying to go — and having the humility to accept their guidance.

You can work toward starting a business without quitting your job, without knowing how to code, and without a million-dollar idea. Having a proven online business model helps, too.

But to create a successful business, you’ll have to learn to control your inner game.

Most people are afraid to start . Or if they do start, they turn back at the first signs of struggle, convinced they don’t have what it takes.

Whether you’re an employee looking to level up your career, a 9-to-5 worker exploring how to become a freelancer , or founder and CEO of your own company – when you adopt the entrepreneur mindset, you’ll begin to accomplish more goals than you ever imagined.

Embrace Continuous Learning and Curiosity

All successful entrepreneurs are lifelong students. They know that with time, dedication, and practice, they can expand their capabilities and acquire new skills.

This is known as a growth mindset. It’s a stark contrast to a fixed mindset, where you believe your skills and knowledge are unchangeable.

If you have a fixed mindset, you’ll never push yourself to reach your full potential.

Luckily, anyone can nurture a growth mindset and shake themselves out of a fixed one. Here’s some tips to get started:

Regularly take part in activities that push you outside of your comfort zone.
Realize there’s always more to learn, whether it’s business hacks , leadership, or any area you want to develop! It’s okay not to know the answer. Be curious and enjoy the process of expanding your point of view.
Focus on progress rather than results. The greatest reward is in the journey, not the finish line.
Be mindful of how you speak to yourself. Replace self-limiting beliefs with healthy, encouraging ones.

Cultivate Resilience Through Failure

People with an entrepreneurial mindset view failure through a unique lens. Instead of seeing it as a sign that ‘things aren’t meant to be,’ they realize that failing is an inevitable stepping stone that gets them closer to success.

Don’t get me wrong. Failure hurts, and it can often fuel the fires of self-doubt.

The trick is to remember that everyone – even the most successful entrepreneurs – has failed.

The difference between them and others is that when they stumble, they get back up and find the inner strength to keep charging toward their goals.

Set Visionary Goals and Break Them Down

Anyone can have a great idea, but few people turn great ideas into reality. That’s another critical aspect of fostering an entrepreneurial mindset: breaking down your visionary goal into achievable, linear steps.

Doing this is crucial for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, breaking down your goals keeps you motivated. As you progress through each goal you’ve set for yourself, you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment that will drive you forward.

Secondly, big, audacious goals can become overwhelming without a solid plan. Creating a structure will keep you on the right path, while also offering critical points for reflection and adjustment.

Build a Supportive Network

I’m sure you’ve heard that you’re the sum of the five people you spend the most time with. If your friends and family are negative, pessimistic, and unsupportive, it can harm your attempts to build an entrepreneurial mindset.

That’s why it’s imperative to nurture a network of like-minded individuals also trying to unleash their potential.

Whether connecting with fellow entrepreneurs on LinkedIn, taking an entrepreneurship course, or joining a digital community, make an effort to surround yourself with people who match your energy.

In addition to seeking out mentors and coaches, you can also learn from reading and listening to the stories of other successful entrepreneurs.

I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing hundreds of exceptional entrepreneurs on the Hack the Entrepreneur podcast. Here are a couple of recent episodes where we deep dive into the mindset of an entrepreneur:

David Asprey is a biohacker, author, nutritionist, Bulletproof executive, and entrepreneur. In this episode , he shares his insights on several hallmarks of the entrepreneurial mindset, including the importance of gratitude and learning something new every day.
Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist of the popular graphic design app, Canva. He’s also written 13 business books that are used by universities world wide. Find out how cultivating a growth mindset and working a little harder than everyone else got him to where he is today.

Take the Next Step Toward Developing Your Entrepreneurial Mindset

There are so many misconceptions about entrepreneurship and starting a business – it’s no wonder there’s so much doubt (and so little confidence).

A few common misconceptions that need to be dispelled are:

Entrepreneurs are born hustlers
You need a unique (and revolutionary) idea to be successful
Starting an online business requires technical skills
You can’t succeed without full-time effort

There are hundreds of examples from my podcast alone that prove these ideas wrong.

To be clear, mastering your entrepreneurial mindset isn’t easy. Nobody said it was.

But if you have an unshakeable feeling that entrepreneurship is for you, don’t let it become an unfulfilled dream.

I encourage you to use what you learned in this article to start thinking differently. Go into this journey knowing you can get past any obstacle that comes up — because you can and will.

Jonny Nastor

Hey, I'm Jonny. My mission is to help you find your focus and do work that matters. To do this, I work as a consultant, bestselling author , and founder of HTE.

What Is Entrepreneurial Thinking

Ten Theses and Provocations

First Online: 03 May 2018

Cite this chapter

Fritz Fleischmann 2

Part of the book series: Springer Reference Wirtschaft ((SRW))

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2 Citations

This paper offers “ten theses on entrepreneurial thinking” to highlight personal, institutional, social, and methodological aspects that characterize an entrepreneurial approach to economic and social problem-solving. Ranging from the self-evident to the more challenging, the ten theses claim that entrepreneurial thinking (ET) is (or should be) characterized by the following attributes:

ET is hopeful thinking.

ET is melioristic thinking; it wants to make something better.

ET is holistic thinking, in the sense of connective thinking.

ET is action-oriented and team-oriented; it has a multiplier effect.

ET enables leadership, by embracing possibility.

ET is emancipatory thinking – a force against alienation.

ET is social and ethical thinking.

ET is heuristic and dialectical thinking; it rejects the hubris of certainties.

ET is utopian thinking.

ET is about connective problem-solving.

Expanding beyond the confines of business and economics, ET can become a transformative force for the common good.

An earlier version of this paper was delivered at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, on October 4, 2009. Keeping the tone of the original presentation, rather than constructing a more conventional academic paper, has been a conscious decision. I thank Katrin Fischer for her critical comments on this revised and expanded version.

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Among the many summaries available, one of the most concise is given at the beginning of Speth’s book (1-2), where we also find an illuminating sample “of the ‘collapse’ books” (5) on the market in 2008. Since then, the number has increased dramatically, as we struggle to comprehend what we have done and what lies ahead. Among the most incisive are Guterl, Hamilton, Kolbert, and McKibben (2010 and 2014). There is also an abundance of blogging on the subject, the best of which is to be found at www.grist.org .

In recent years, the concept of emancipation has been developed and critically examined in a number of studies within the discipline of academic entrepreneurship (see, in particular, Rindova et al., and Verduijn et al.). Not surprisingly, Verduijn et al. caution us “that entrepreneurship’s emancipatory quest is anything but self-evident; it will constantly be challenged, contained and co-opted by different obstacles and forces” (106). By focusing on aspects of alienation and agency, rather than claims of efficacy, I emphasize the sense of potential immanent in my notion of entrepreneurial thinking.

“In einer höheren Phase der kommunistischen Gesellschaft, nachdem die knechtende Unterordnung der Individuen unter die Teilung der Arbeit, damit auch der Gegensatz geistiger und körperlicher Arbeit verschwunden ist; nachdem die Arbeit nicht nur Mittel zum Leben, sondern selbst das erste Lebensbedürfnis geworden; nachdem mit der allseitigen Entwicklung der Individuen auch ihre Produktivkräfte gewachsen und alle Springquellen des genossenschaftlichen Reichtums voller fließen - erst dann kann der enge bürgerliche Rechtshorizont ganz überschritten werden und die Gesellschaft auf ihre Fahne schreiben: Jeder nach seinen Fähigkeiten, jedem nach seinen Bedürfnissen!” ( Kritik des Gothaer Programms, Part I.) All original German texts are given here in footnotes; English translations or paraphrases are mine.

“Nach meiner Theorie ist ein Mensch entfremdet, dessen Selbst- und Weltbezug gestört ist. Er fühlt sich fremd seinem eigenen Leben gegenüber, seinen Handlungen oder seinen Wünschen gegenüber, er ist beziehungslos gegenüber der sozialen, aber auch der dinglichen Welt, die ihn umgibt.”

“Nicht entfremdet zu sein … bezeichnet eine bestimmte Weise des Vollzugs des eigenen Lebens. Es wäre ein Leben, in dem man selbstbestimmt seine Projekte verfolgt, die man sich dabei zu eigen macht und mit denen man sich identifizieren kann.”

“Nicht-Entfremdung ist weder ein harmonisch-konfliktfreier Zustand noch ist es identisch mit dem, was manche Menschen als ‘Glück’ bezeichnen, aber vielleicht ist es das Einzige, was wir über das gute Leben sagen können oder sollten.”

In her honors thesis, “Redefining Success: Towards a Philosophy of Entrepreneurship,” in which she connects interviews with entrepreneurs to key philosophical concepts taken from such thinkers as Aristotle and John Stuart Mill, Dana Pansen has concluded that those entrepreneurs “who are successful do consider the effect of their actions on the entire community, even if that stretches as far as the entire world” (Pansen 24).

In a 1912 commencement speech at Brown University entitled “Business - A Profession,” Louis D. Brandeis (later known as Justice Brandeis and the man after whom Brandeis University is named) said, “Real success in business is to be found in achievements comparable … with those of the artist or scientist, of the inventor or the statesman. And the joys sought in the profession of business must be like their joys …”

Because he criticized the suppression of the Hungarian uprising in 1956, he was forced to retire from his chair at the University of Leipzig in 1957 and left East Germany in 1961.

“Die Wurzel der Geschichte aber ist der arbeitende, schaffende, die Gegebenheiten umbildende und ueberholende Mensch. Hat er sich erfasst und das Seine ohne Entaeusserung und Entfremdung in realer Demokratie begruendet, so entsteht in der Welt etwas, das allen in die Kindheit scheint und worin noch niemand war: Heimat.”

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Fleischmann, F. (2018). What Is Entrepreneurial Thinking. In: Faltin, G. (eds) Handbuch Entrepreneurship. Springer Reference Wirtschaft . Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-04994-2_2

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Essay on Entrepreneurship

Introduction to Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is the cornerstone of innovation, economic growth, and societal progress. Entrepreneurship embodies risk-taking, innovation, and determination as entrepreneurs actively identify, create, and pursue opportunities to build and scale ventures. From the inception of small startups to the expansion of multinational corporations, entrepreneurial endeavors permeate every facet of our global economy.

This essay delves into the complex world of entrepreneurship, examining its importance, traits of prosperous businesspeople, function in economic growth, kinds of entrepreneurship, how to start one, obstacles to overcome, the ecosystem surrounding entrepreneurship, and motivational success stories of well-known businesspeople. Through this exploration, we aim to shed light on the dynamic nature of entrepreneurship and its profound impact on shaping our world.

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Historical Context of Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship, as a concept, has roots that stretch back centuries. It evolved in response to changing economic, social, and technological landscapes. While the term “Entrepreneurship” may be relatively modern, the spirit of entrepreneurship has been evident throughout human history.

1. Early Civilization and Trade

Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt: Merchants in ancient civilizations like Mesopotamia and Egypt actively engaged in trade, barter, and commerce, marking the earliest forms of entrepreneurship.
Medieval Guilds: During the Middle Ages, guilds emerged as entrepreneurship centers, bringing together artisans and craftsmen to regulate trade, ensure quality standards, and foster innovation.

2. Age of Exploration and Colonization

Age of Exploration: During the Age of Exploration, which lasted between the 15th and 16th centuries, international trade networks were formed, and as explorers looked for new trade routes, this encouraged commercial ventures.
Colonialism: European colonial expansion in the 17th and 18th centuries created opportunities for entrepreneurial endeavors in trade, agriculture , and resource extraction, albeit often at the expense of indigenous populations.

3. Industrial Revolution

Transition to Industrialization: The emergence of factories, mechanization, and mass production during the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries drove economic expansion and urbanization, so ushering in a revolutionary era for entrepreneurship.
Innovations and Entrepreneurs: Visionary entrepreneurs like James Watt, Thomas Edison , and Henry Ford revolutionized industries through technological innovations, shaping the modern world.

4. 20th Century and Beyond

Post-World War II Reconstruction: The aftermath of World War II saw a resurgence of entrepreneurship driven by reconstruction efforts, technological advancements, and the rise of consumer culture.
Digital Revolution: The digital revolution, which began in the late 20th century and was marked by the widespread use of computers, the Internet, and information technology, fostered a new era of entrepreneurship focused on innovation, startups, and digital commerce.

5. Contemporary Entrepreneurship

Globalization: In the 21st century, globalization has expanded opportunities for entrepreneurship, enabling businesses to operate across borders, access global markets, and collaborate on a scale never before seen.
Social Entrepreneurship: Alongside traditional business ventures, the rise of social entrepreneurship reflects a growing emphasis on addressing societal challenges, promoting sustainability, and creating positive social impact.

Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs

Visionary Leadership : Successful entrepreneurs have a clear vision of their goals and are adept at inspiring others to share. They can successfully communicate their vision and mobilize stakeholders behind it.
Resilience and Persistence : Entrepreneurship is fraught with setbacks and obstacles, but successful entrepreneurs exhibit resilience in adversity. Despite obstacles, they continue to work toward their objectives and see setbacks as teaching opportunities.
Risk-taking Propensity : Risk is a natural part of entrepreneurship, and prosperous businesspeople aren’t afraid to take calculated chances to seize opportunities. They possess the courage to step outside their comfort zones and embrace uncertainty.
Creativity and Innovation : Entrepreneurs are creative people who are always looking for innovative approaches to addressing issues and satisfying consumer demands. Their imaginative mindset enables them to come up with original ideas and think outside the box.
Adaptability and Flexibility : The business landscape is dynamic, and successful entrepreneurs demonstrate adaptability in response to changing circumstances. They are flexible and willing to pivot and adjust strategies as needed.
Passion and Commitment : Passion fuels the entrepreneurial journey, driving entrepreneurs to pour their time, energy, and resources into their ventures. Successful entrepreneurs are deeply committed to their work and willing to make sacrifices to succeed.
Strong Work Ethic : Entrepreneurship requires hard work, dedication, and perseverance. Successful entrepreneurs are willing to work long hours and exert the effort to build and grow their businesses.
Effective Communication Skills : Effective communication depends on establishing and maintaining connections, obtaining funding, and promoting goods and services. Successful entrepreneurs possess strong communication skills, both verbal and written, enabling them to convey their ideas persuasively.
Empathy and Emotional Intelligence : Understanding the needs and perspectives of others is crucial in entrepreneurship. Empathy and emotional intelligence are hallmarks of successful entrepreneurs. They build strong relationships with employees, customers, and partners.
Strategic Thinking : Entrepreneurs must think strategically to navigate complex business environments and make informed decisions. Successful entrepreneurs possess strategic thinking skills, enabling them to set clear objectives, prioritize tasks, and allocate resources effectively.

The Entrepreneurial Process

The entrepreneurial process encompasses the journey from ideation to establishing and growing a successful venture. Entrepreneurs must go through several phases and processes to realize their ideas and add value to the market.

Opportunity Identification : The entrepreneurial process often begins with identifying opportunities in the market or recognizing unmet needs and problems. Entrepreneurs may draw inspiration from personal experiences, industry trends, market gaps, or technological advancements.
Market Research and Validation : Once entrepreneurs identify an opportunity, they conduct thorough market research to assess the viability of their ideas. It involves analyzing target markets, understanding customer preferences, evaluating competitors, and validating demand for the proposed product or service.
Business Planning : With a clear understanding of the market opportunity, entrepreneurs develop a comprehensive business plan outlining their vision, goals, strategies, and operational plans. The business plan serves as a roadmap for the venture, guiding decision-making and resource allocation.
Resource Acquisition : Entrepreneurs must secure the resources necessary to realize their ideas. This may involve raising capital through investments, loans, or crowdfunding, recruiting talent, acquiring technology or equipment, and establishing partnerships.
Venture Launch : The launch phase marks the official start of the venture, where entrepreneurs execute their business plans and introduce their products or services to the market, involving product development, marketing and branding efforts, setting up operations, and launching sales channels.
Growth and Scaling : As the venture gains traction and generates revenue, entrepreneurs focus on scaling operations and expanding their market reach, often involving refining business processes, optimizing efficiency, entering new markets, and diversifying product offerings.
Risk Management : Entrepreneurship inherently involves risk, and successful entrepreneurs must proactively identify, assess, and manage risks throughout the venture lifecycle. They must also implement risk mitigation strategies, diversify revenue streams, and maintain financial resilience.
Innovation and Adaptation : In a rapidly evolving corporate environment, entrepreneurs need to innovate and adapt to stay competitive continuously. It includes launching new goods and services, utilizing cutting-edge technologies, and reacting to shifting consumer demands and industry trends.
Network Building and Relationship Management : Entrepreneurs must build a strong network of relationships to access resources, expertise, and opportunities. It includes cultivating relationships with investors, customers, suppliers, mentors, and other stakeholders.
Continuous Learning and Improvement : Entrepreneurship is a dynamic and iterative process, and successful entrepreneurs are committed to lifelong learning and improvement. They seek feedback, learn from failures and successes, and adapt their strategies based on new insights and experiences.

Types of Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship manifests in various forms, each characterized by distinct goals, approaches, and impacts on society and the economy. Understanding the different types of entrepreneurship provides insights into how individuals and organizations engage in entrepreneurial activities to create value and drive innovation.

1. Small Business Entrepreneurship : Small business entrepreneurship involves creating and managing small-scale enterprises typically operated by a single individual or a small team. These ventures often serve local markets and focus on providing goods or services tailored to specific customer needs.

Examples: Family-owned businesses, local restaurants, independent retailers, and service providers such as plumbers or electricians actively operate within their respective domains.

2. Social Entrepreneurship : Social entrepreneurship blends entrepreneurial principles that address social, environmental, or humanitarian challenges. These ventures aim to create a positive social impact while generating sustainable financial returns.

Examples: Nonprofit organizations, social enterprises, and initiatives focused on poverty alleviation, environmental conservation, healthcare access, education, and community development.

3. Corporate Entrepreneurship : Corporate entrepreneurship refers to activities undertaken within established organizations, including corporations, companies, and institutions. These activities foster innovation, explore new business opportunities, and drive organizational growth and competitiveness.

Examples: Corporate innovation labs, intrapreneurship programs, new product development initiatives, and strategic partnerships with startups or external innovators drive innovation within established organizations.

4. Technology Entrepreneurship : Technology entrepreneurship revolves around the development, commercialization, and utilization of technological innovations to create new products, services, or solutions. These ventures often operate at the intersection of science, engineering, and business.

Examples: Software-development startups, biotechnology companies, hardware producers, and businesses concentrating on cutting-edge technologies like blockchain, artificial intelligence, and renewable energy are some examples of tech startups.

5. Serial Entrepreneurship : Serial entrepreneurship involves individuals who repeatedly start, grow, and exit multiple ventures throughout their careers. These entrepreneurs leverage their experience, networks, and insights from previous ventures to launch new initiatives.

Examples: Entrepreneurs who have founded and successfully scaled multiple startups across different industries or sectors, such as Elon Musk (PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla) and Richard Branson (Virgin Group).

6. Innovative Entrepreneurship : Innovative entrepreneurship emphasizes the creation of groundbreaking innovations and disruptive technologies that transform industries and markets. These ventures challenge existing norms and paradigms and introduce novel solutions to complex problems.

Examples: Startups like Airbnb, Uber, and SpaceX are pioneering revolutionary technologies or business models, such as peer-to-peer lodging, ride-sharing, and space exploration and transportation, respectively.

7. Cultural Entrepreneurship : Cultural entrepreneurship involves the creation, preservation, and promotion of cultural products, experiences, and heritage. These ventures contribute to the enrichment of cultural diversity, identity, and expression.

Examples: Art galleries, museums, cultural festivals, heritage tourism initiatives, and creative industries like film, music, literature, and fashion contribute actively to the enrichment of cultural diversity, identity, and expression.

Challenges Faced by Entrepreneurs

1. Financial Constraints

Limited Capital: Accessing sufficient funding to start and sustain operations is a common challenge for entrepreneurs, especially in the early stages of venture development.
Cash Flow Management: A company’s capacity to remain viable and sustainable depends on its ability to manage cash flow, especially in times of variable revenue and expenses.

2. Market Competition

Competitive Landscape: Entrepreneurs must contend with intense competition from existing incumbents, emerging startups, and disruptive innovators who are vying for market share and customer attention.
Market Saturation: Saturated markets pose challenges for entrepreneurs seeking to differentiate their offerings and carve out a niche amidst a crowded marketplace.

3. Regulatory and Legal Hurdles

Compliance Requirements: Entrepreneurs must navigate complex regulatory frameworks and legal requirements governing business operations, taxation, licensing, permits, and intellectual property rights.
Litigation Risks: Legal disputes, lawsuits, and regulatory penalties can pose significant risks to entrepreneurs, requiring proactive risk management and legal counsel.

4. Failure and Resilience

Fear of Failure: Fear of failure can immobilize business owners and inhibit their willingness to take risks, which keeps them from taking advantage of chances and exploring novel concepts.
Resilience and Grit: Building resilience and maintaining a positive mindset are essential for overcoming setbacks, learning from failures, and persevering in adversity.

5. Market Uncertainty and Volatility

Economic Fluctuations: Entrepreneurs must navigate economic uncertainties, market downturns, and macroeconomic factors that impact consumer spending, business investment, and market demand.
Technological Disruption: Rapid technological advancements and disruptive innovations can render existing business models obsolete, requiring entrepreneurs to adapt and innovate to stay competitive.

6. Talent Acquisition and Retention

Recruitment Challenges: Hiring and retaining skilled talent is a persistent challenge for entrepreneurs, particularly in competitive industries and niche sectors with high demand for specialized expertise.
Team Building and Management: Building cohesive teams, fostering a positive work culture, and managing interpersonal dynamics are essential for organizational success and employee engagement.

7. Scaling and Growth

Operational Scalability: Scaling operations to accommodate growth while maintaining efficiency and quality requires strategic planning, infrastructure investment, and process optimization.
Resource Allocation: Entrepreneurs at every stage of venture development face the strategic challenge of effectively allocating resources to support growth initiatives, expand market reach, and capitalize on new opportunities.

8. Market Disruption and Adaptation

Disruptive Forces: Entrepreneurs must foresee and react to disruptive factors that have the potential to transform sectors and jeopardize established business models. These forces include technology innovation, shifting customer preferences, and shifting market dynamics.
Adaptability and Agility: It takes agility, flexibility, and capacity to change course in reaction to shifting market conditions so business owners can stay ahead of the curve and profit from new trends.

9. Mental Health and Well-being

Stress and Burnout: Entrepreneurship can damage mental health and well-being due to the pressures of running a business, managing uncertainties, and balancing work-life demands.
Self-care and Support Systems: Long-term business success depends on prioritizing self-care, getting help from peers, mentors, and mental health specialists, and maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

The Role of Entrepreneurship in Economic Development

Job Creation : Entrepreneurship is a primary engine of job creation, as new ventures often require a workforce to support their operations. Entrepreneurs generate employment opportunities, reduce unemployment rates, and promote economic inclusion by starting and expanding existing businesses.
Innovation and Technological Advancement : Entrepreneurs are at the forefront of innovation, pioneering new technologies, products, and services that disrupt industries and drive progress. Entrepreneurs introduce novel solutions to market needs through research, experimentation, and risk-taking, fueling technological advancement and enhancing productivity.
Wealth Creation and Economic Growth : Successful entrepreneurship leads to wealth creation, as ventures generate profits, attract investment, and increase the overall wealth of individuals and communities. This wealth is reinvested in the economy through spending, savings, and investment, contributing to economic growth and prosperity.
Regional Development and Economic Diversification : Entrepreneurship promotes regional development by spurring economic activity in previously underserved or marginalized areas. By establishing businesses and investing in local infrastructure, entrepreneurs contribute to diversifying regional economies, reducing dependence on specific industries, and enhancing resilience to economic shocks.
Income Generation and Poverty Alleviation : Entrepreneurship allows people from various backgrounds to increase their wealth, create income, and enhance their quality of life. By creating self-employment opportunities and empowering marginalized groups, entrepreneurship serves as a pathway out of poverty and promotes social mobility.
Export Promotion and International Trade : Entrepreneurial ventures often engage in international trade, exporting goods and services to foreign markets and contributing to trade balances. By tapping into global markets, entrepreneurs access new growth opportunities, expand their customer base, and drive economic integration and globalization.
Ecosystem Development and Knowledge Spillovers : Entrepreneurship fosters the development of vibrant ecosystems comprised of startups, investors, incubators, accelerators, and support organizations. These ecosystems facilitate knowledge sharing, collaboration, and networking, leading to the diffusion of ideas and best practices across industries and regions.
Cultural and Social Impact : Entrepreneurship transcends economic boundaries, shaping cultural norms, values, and attitudes towards innovation and risk-taking. Successful entrepreneurs are role models, inspiring others to pursue their aspirations and contribute to societal progress.

Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Catalysts of Change : Entrepreneurship acts as a catalyst for innovation, sparking the creation of groundbreaking ideas, technologies, and business models. Innovators, in turn, fuel entrepreneurial endeavors by presenting new solutions and opportunities ripe for exploration.
Market Disruption : Entrepreneurs often disrupt markets through innovative products or services, challenging established norms and creating new market segments. This disruption prompts further innovation as incumbents respond with their advancements, leading to a cycle of continuous improvement and evolution.
Risk-Taking and Experimentation : Entrepreneurship thrives on risk-taking and experimentation, essential ingredients for innovation. Recognizing that failure is often a prerequisite for eventual success, entrepreneurs strategically take calculated risks to transform their creative visions into reality.
Ecosystem Collaboration : Vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystems foster collaboration between entrepreneurs, researchers, investors, and policymakers. By combining varied knowledge and resources, these collaborations promote innovation by quickening the development and commercialization of innovative ideas.
Customer-Centric Solutions : Successful entrepreneurs understand the importance of innovation in addressing customer needs and pain points. They leverage innovation to create customer-centric solutions, driving adoption and loyalty while continuously refining their offerings based on feedback and market insights.
Technological Advancements : Entrepreneurial ventures often drive the adoption and commercialization of emerging technologies. Entrepreneurs propel technological advancements forward by recognizing new technologies’ potential and integrating them into innovative products or processes.
Social and Environmental Impact : Entrepreneurship and innovation increasingly address pressing social and environmental challenges. Social entrepreneurs leverage innovative business models to tackle issues such as poverty, healthcare, education, and environmental sustainability, creating positive change on a global scale.
Economic Resilience and Competitiveness : Nations with thriving entrepreneurial ecosystems and a culture of innovation are better positioned to adapt to economic disruptions and maintain competitiveness in the global marketplace. Entrepreneurship and innovation foster economic resilience by driving productivity, creating jobs, and fostering economic diversification.

Ethical Considerations in Entrepreneurship

Transparency and Honesty : Entrepreneurs should prioritize transparency and honesty in their dealings with stakeholders, including customers, employees, investors, and partners. Providing accurate information, being truthful about risks, and avoiding deceptive practices build trust and credibility.
Fair Treatment of Stakeholders : Entrepreneurs should treat all stakeholders fairly and equitably, considering the interests and well-being of employees, suppliers, customers, and the community. Fair labor practices, non-discriminatory policies, and responsible supply chain management demonstrate a commitment to ethical conduct.
Responsible Innovation : Entrepreneurs should pursue innovation responsibly, actively considering the potential social, environmental, and ethical implications. Entrepreneurs should consider the broader impact of their products or services, prioritizing safety, sustainability, and ethical use.
Respect for Intellectual Property : Entrepreneurs must respect intellectual property rights and avoid infringing on others’ patents, trademarks, copyrights, or trade secrets. Protecting intellectual property created by the venture also safeguards against unfair competition and promotes innovation.
Environmental Sustainability : Entrepreneurs should integrate environmental sustainability into their business practices, minimizing negative environmental impacts and promoting resource efficiency. Sustainable sourcing, eco-friendly manufacturing processes, and carbon footprint reduction initiatives demonstrate a commitment to environmental stewardship.
Social Responsibility : Entrepreneurs are responsible for contributing positively to society, addressing social issues, and supporting community development. Socially responsible initiatives such as charitable giving, volunteerism, and ethical sourcing enhance the venture’s reputation and foster goodwill among stakeholders.
Ethical Marketing and Advertising : Entrepreneurs should adhere to ethical standards in marketing and advertising, avoiding deceptive or manipulative tactics that mislead consumers. Clear and truthful communication, respecting consumer privacy, and avoiding false claims uphold integrity in marketing practices.
Data Privacy and Security : Entrepreneurs must prioritize protecting customer and employee data, respecting privacy rights, and implementing robust cybersecurity measures. Safeguarding sensitive information against unauthorized access, breaches, or misuse is essential for maintaining trust and compliance with data protection regulations.
Corporate Governance and Accountability : Entrepreneurs should establish sound corporate governance practices that promote accountability, integrity, and ethical behavior within the organization. Transparent decision-making processes, independent oversight, and ethical leadership foster a culture of accountability and responsibility .
Continuous Ethical Reflection and Improvement : Entrepreneurs should actively integrate ethical considerations into the fabric of their ventures, engaging in continuous reflection and improvement. Regular ethical assessments, stakeholder engagement, and responsiveness to feedback help ensure ethical conduct remains a priority as the venture evolves.

Case Studies

Success Stories of Entrepreneurs and Lessons Learned from Failures

1. Steve Jobs (Apple Inc.)

Success Story: Steve Jobs co-founded Apple Inc., leading it to become one of the world’s most valuable companies. He revolutionized industries with products like the iPhone, iPad, and Macintosh.
Lessons Learned from Failure: Throughout his career, Jobs experienced many failures, including being fired from Apple in 1985 due to internal strife. However, in 1997, Steve returned to Apple, helping it achieve remarkable success. However, he returned to Apple in 1997, leading it to unprecedented success. His failures taught him the importance of perseverance, innovation, and resilience in adversity.

2. Sara Blakely (Spanx)

Success Story: Sara Blakely transformed the fashion industry and empowered women worldwide by founding Spanx, a multi-billion-dollar shapewear company.
Lessons Learned from Failure: Blakely faced multiple rejections when pitching her idea to manufacturers and investors. However, she persisted, self-funding her venture and learning from each rejection. Her experience taught her the value of persistence, self-belief, and resilience in overcoming obstacles.

3. Elon Musk (SpaceX, Tesla)

Success Story: Elon Musk co-founded SpaceX, which revolutionized space exploration, and Tesla, which pioneered electric vehicles and sustainable energy solutions.
Lessons Learned from Failure: Musk experienced numerous setbacks and near-bankruptcy with SpaceX and Tesla. Despite facing criticism and skepticism, he remained steadfast in his vision, learning from failures and leveraging them to fuel future successes. His journey underscores the importance of resilience, risk-taking, and relentless pursuit of goals.

4. JK Rowling (Harry Potter)

Success Story: The Harry Potter series, authored by J.K. Rowling, became a global phenomenon, inspiring generations of readers and selling over 500 million copies worldwide.
Lessons Learned from Failure: Rowling faced rejection from multiple publishers before finally securing a book deal for Harry Potter. Her experiences taught her the value of perseverance, belief in oneself, and the transformative power of resilience. Rowling’s journey exemplifies the importance of resilience in facing rejection and adversity.

5. Jeff Bezos (Amazon)

Success Story: Jeff Bezos founded Amazon, which he turned from an online bookshop into the biggest e-commerce platform in the world and one of the most valuable firms.
Lessons Learned from Failure: Bezos experienced failures and setbacks throughout Amazon’s journey, including failed product launches and financial challenges. However, he embraced failure as a learning opportunity, iterating on ideas and remaining focused on long-term goals. Bezos’ experience underscores the importance of adaptability, customer obsession, and a willingness to experiment.

Entrepreneurship is a beacon of innovation, economic dynamism, and societal progress. From the visionary leadership of pioneers like Steve Jobs to the relentless determination of trailblazers like Sara Blakely, the entrepreneurial journey is marked by triumphs forged from failures. Aspiring entrepreneurs must embrace resilience, creativity, and ethical conduct to navigate the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in shaping a brighter future through entrepreneurship.

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Entrepreneurial mindset: what is it & how to think like an entrepreneur

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What is an entrepreneurial mindset?

The importance of having an entrepreneurial mindset, think like an entrepreneur: 5 characteristics of an entrepreneurial mindset, how to develop an entrepreneurial mindset, the benefits of an entrepreneurial mindset in the workplace, examples of an entrepreneurial mindset and thinking in the real world, anyone can embrace the entrepreneurial mindset.

What separates an entrepreneur from you or me? Hint: it's has to do with their mindset.

From the outside looking in, it’s easy to think there’s something different about them. Perhaps even special. But that’s often because we only hear about entrepreneurs in the context of business owners and tech startup CEOS.

But let me tell you a secret: even the most successful entrepreneurs are human beings. They eat, sleep, and make mistakes like the rest of us.

The difference is they cultivated a set of skills conducive to creative thinking, growth, and adaptability. In this way, entrepreneurship is a mindset more than anything else — and you can learn it, too. You don’t even have to own a business! The entrepreneurial mindset is valuable whether you're a Fortune 500 leader or an intern at a local NGO.

Do you have what it takes? I bet you do.

Let’s dive in.

female-freelancer-with-pen-is-touching-face-while-sitting-at-table-and-reading-data-from-laptop-entrepreneurship-mindset

4. Resilience

Mistakes and failures come with the territory of taking risks and having an entrepreneurial spirit. Bouncing back and moving forward despite challenges and adversity will help you grow, learn, and build your problem-solving skill set.

5. Willingness to experiment

Playing it safe, though a solid option, only takes you so far. People with an entrepreneurial mindset don’t shy away from failure.

Even when experiments don’t have ideal outcomes, it’s still meaningful. Testing out different business plans or management methods, gathering feedback, and making tough decisions are all a part of this process. Sometimes you need to know when to shift your focus to another project or angle you hadn’t considered before.

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5. The people you don’t hear about

Rowling, Mandela, Jobs, and Edison embody the entrepreneurial mindset and exemplify how it can change the world.

But let’s not forget that some people don’t make the same headlines but impact their communities. Think of the boss that inspires her team, the volunteer who started a fundraiser to help sick kids, or the family who runs your favorite restaurant.

These people aren’t waiting for something to happen. They’re doing the work to address a need while achieving their own goals, dreams, and aspirations.

You don’t have to run a business to be an entrepreneur. The entrepreneurial mindset is about taking ownership of your work and using your abilities to tackle challenges and make an impact.

As an aspiring entrepreneur, you can start today. Examine your workflow and ask, “How can I do this better?” Listen to your colleagues. What do they complain about, and how could their problem be solved? Or, if you’re feeling bold, make a plan for that online business of your dreams.

If you don’t know where to start, BetterUp is here. Designed to help individuals realize their potential, BetterUp is dedicated to healthy human transformation through career development and building social connections. We aren’t going to sugarcoat it: focusing on and improving yourself and your skills is hard work, but we’re here to encourage you.

Partner with a BetterUp coach to see how you can embrace aspects of the entrepreneur approach in your own life.

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Maggie Wooll, MBA

Maggie Wooll is a researcher, author, and speaker focused on the evolving future of work. Formerly the lead researcher at the Deloitte Center for the Edge, she holds a Bachelor of Science in Education from Princeton University and an MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. Maggie is passionate about creating better work and greater opportunities for all.

What is an entrepreneur? Understanding the different types and examples of entrepreneurship

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Home » Home » Essay » Essay on entrepreneurship (100, 200, 300, & 500 Words)

Essay on entrepreneurship (100, 200, 300, & 500 Words)

Entrepreneurship is the driving force behind innovation, economic growth, and job creation. It encompasses the ability to identify opportunities, take risks, and bring new and innovative ideas to life. In this essay, we will explore the various aspects of entrepreneurship, its importance in today’s world, and the qualities that make a successful entrepreneur.

Essay on Entrepreneurship (100 Words)

Entrepreneurship means starting your own business. It’s a way for people to use their ideas to make money. But it’s not easy. It takes hard work, courage, and a good plan. Entrepreneurs are important because they create new jobs and help the economy grow. They think of new ways to solve problems and make life better. Starting a business can be risky, but it can also be very rewarding. You get to be your own boss and make your own choices. So, entrepreneurship is a good path for people who want to bring their ideas to life.

Essay on Entrepreneurship (200 Words)

Entrepreneurship is the act of starting and running a business. Many people dream of being entrepreneurs because they want to be their own bosses and make something new. It can be a shop, a tech company, or even a small home-based business. Being an entrepreneur is exciting but also challenging. You have to make plans, manage money, and know how to sell your product or service.

Good entrepreneurs are creative and brave. They are willing to try new things and take risks. But risks can also mean failure. That’s why it’s important to learn from mistakes and keep going. You also need to know how to manage money well because running a business costs money.

Entrepreneurs help communities. They create jobs and can make new things that improve people’s lives. They also pay taxes, which helps the government do its job. In short, entrepreneurship is good for everyone. It gives people a chance to make their dreams come true and helps the world be a better place.

Essay on Entrepreneurship (300 Words)

Entrepreneurship is about taking your ideas and making them into a business. It’s a great way to make a living and create something new. But starting a business is not easy. You need to have a good idea, a plan, and the skills to make it happen. Here are some things to think about if you want to be an entrepreneur.

First, you need a business idea. It should be something you are passionate about because you will be spending a lot of time on it. Then, you need to make a business plan. This is like a map that shows you how to make your business successful.

Money is also important. Starting a business can be expensive, and you might not make money right away. You’ll need to figure out how to pay for things like rent, supplies, and employees. Some people save up money, while others get loans or find investors.

One of the biggest challenges of entrepreneurship is handling failure. Not all businesses succeed, and that’s okay. The important thing is to learn from your mistakes. Many successful entrepreneurs failed several times before finding success.

Another thing to consider is your impact on the community. Businesses can do a lot of good by creating jobs and offering new products or services. Some entrepreneurs even start businesses that solve big problems, like clean energy or healthcare.

In the end, being an entrepreneur is about more than just making money. It’s about taking risks, facing challenges, and making the world a better place. It’s a hard but rewarding path, and those who succeed can make a big difference. So if you have a dream and the will to make it happen, entrepreneurship could be for you.

The Importance of Entrepreneurship

Economic Growth : Entrepreneurship plays a crucial role in driving economic growth by creating new businesses, products, and services. It fosters competition and encourages innovation, leading to increased productivity and efficiency in the economy.
Job Creation : Entrepreneurs are job creators. They not only create jobs for themselves but also generate employment opportunities for others. Startups and small businesses are known to be significant contributors to job creation, especially in developing economies.
Innovation and Technology : Entrepreneurs are at the forefront of innovation and technological advancements. They constantly challenge the status quo and introduce new ideas, products, and processes, driving progress in various industries.
Societal Development : Entrepreneurship has a positive impact on society by addressing social problems and meeting unmet needs. Social entrepreneurs focus on creating ventures that tackle issues like poverty, education, healthcare, and environmental sustainability.

Qualities of Successful Entrepreneurs

Passion and Motivation : Successful entrepreneurs are driven by a strong passion for their ideas, products, or services. They are motivated to overcome challenges and persevere through setbacks, fueling their determination to succeed.
Creativity and Innovation : Entrepreneurs possess a high degree of creativity and are constantly seeking new and innovative solutions. They think outside the box, challenge conventions, and find unique ways to add value to the market.
Risk-taking and Resilience : Entrepreneurs are willing to take calculated risks and step out of their comfort zones. They understand that failure is a part of the journey and are resilient enough to bounce back from setbacks and learn from their mistakes.
Adaptability and Flexibility : The business landscape is ever-evolving, and successful entrepreneurs are adaptable and flexible. They embrace change, pivot when necessary, and stay ahead of market trends and customer demands.
Leadership and Vision : Entrepreneurs are visionaries who can inspire and lead their teams. They have a clear vision of what they want to achieve and possess the ability to communicate and align their goals with others, turning their vision into reality.

Key Steps in the Entrepreneurial Journey

Identifying Opportunities : Successful entrepreneurs have a keen eye for identifying market gaps, unsolved problems, and emerging trends. They conduct thorough market research to understand customer needs and assess the viability of their ideas.
Business Planning : Once an opportunity is identified, entrepreneurs develop a comprehensive business plan. This includes defining their target market, analyzing competitors, outlining their value proposition, and formulating a strategic roadmap.
Securing Funding : Entrepreneurs often require financial resources to launch and grow their ventures. They explore different funding options such as bootstrapping, seeking loans, attracting investors, or crowdfunding to secure the necessary capital.
Building a Team : Entrepreneurship is rarely a solo journey. Successful entrepreneurs build a team of skilled individuals who complement their strengths and contribute towards achieving the company’s goals. They understand the importance of delegation and collaboration.
Execution and Iteration : Entrepreneurs turn their ideas into action by executing their plans and continuously iterating their products or services based on customer feedback. They are agile and adaptable, making changes and improvements as they learn from the market.
Scaling and Growth : As the venture gains traction, entrepreneurs focus on scaling their operations. They explore opportunities for expansion, enter new markets, and invest in resources to support growth while maintaining a strong customer-centric approach.

Entrepreneurship fuels innovation, drives economic growth, and creates opportunities for individuals and societies. Successful entrepreneurs possess a unique combination of passion, creativity, resilience, and leadership skills. By identifying opportunities, taking risks, and executing their ideas, entrepreneurs contribute to the development of a thriving business ecosystem. It is through their entrepreneurial endeavors that new products, services, and solutions emerge, shaping the world we live in.

Q1: How does entrepreneurship contribute to economic growth? A1: Entrepreneurship drives economic growth by creating new businesses, products, and services. It fosters competition, encourages innovation, and increases productivity and efficiency in the economy.

Q2: What is the role of entrepreneurs in job creation? A2: Entrepreneurs are job creators as they not only create jobs for themselves but also generate employment opportunities for others. Startups and small businesses are significant contributors to job creation, especially in developing economies.

Q3: How do entrepreneurs contribute to innovation and technology? A3: Entrepreneurs are at the forefront of innovation and technological advancements. They challenge the status quo, introduce new ideas, products, and processes, and drive progress in various industries.

Q4: What societal impact does entrepreneurship have? A4: Entrepreneurship has a positive societal impact by addressing social problems and meeting unmet needs. Social entrepreneurs focus on creating ventures that tackle issues like poverty, education, healthcare, and environmental sustainability.

Skills and Behaviors that Make Entrepreneurs Successful

What makes a successful entrepreneurial leader?

Is it the technical brilliance of Bill Gates? The obsessive focus on user experience of Steve Jobs? The vision, passion, and strong execution of Care.com’s Sheila Lirio Marcelo? Or maybe it’s about previous experience, education, or life circumstances that increase confidence in a person’s entrepreneurial abilities.

Like the conviction of Marla Malcolm Beck and husband Barry Beck that high-end beauty retail stores and spas, tightly coupled with online stores, was the business model of the future, while other entrepreneurs—and the investors who financed them—declared such brick-and-mortar businesses were dinosaurs on their way to extinction. The success of Bluemercury proved the critics wrong.

“We’ve always had a hard time being able to identify the skills and behaviors of entrepreneurial leaders”

Despite much research into explaining what makes entrepreneurial leaders tick, the answers are far from clear. In fact, most studies present conflicting findings. Entrepreneurs, it seems, are still very much a black box waiting to be opened.

A Harvard Business School research team is hoping that a new approach will enable better understanding of the entrepreneurial leader. The program combines self-assessments of their skills and behaviors by entrepreneurs themselves with evaluations of them by peers, friends, and employees.

Along the way the data is also allowing scholars to study attributes of entrepreneurs by gender, as well compare serial entrepreneurs versus first-time founders.

“We’ve always had a hard time being able to identify the skills and behaviors of entrepreneurial leaders,” says HBS Professor Lynda Applegate, who has spent 20 years studying leadership approaches and behaviors of successful entrepreneurs. “Part of the problem is that people usually focus on an entrepreneurial ‘personality’ rather than identifying the unique skills and behaviors of entrepreneurs who launch and grow their own firms.”

Complicating this understanding are the many types of entrepreneurial ventures that exist, says Applegate. These can include small “lifestyle” businesses, multi-generational family businesses, high-growth, venture funded technology businesses, and new ventures designed to commercialize breakthrough discoveries in life sciences, clean tech, and other scientific fields.

“These types of ventures seem to both appeal to and require different types of entrepreneurial leaders and we are hoping that our research will help us understand those differences—if they exist,” says Applegate, the Sarofim-Rock Professor of Business Administration at HBS and Chair of the HBS Executive Education Portfolio for Business Owners & Entrepreneurs.

The answers are already starting to come in, thanks to initial results from a pilot test of “The Entrepreneurial Leader: Self Assessment” survey taken by 1,300 HBS alumni. Results allowed the researchers to refine the self-assessment and to create a second survey, “The Entrepreneurial Leader: Peer Assessment.” Both are being prepared for launch in summer 2016.

The team included Applegate; Janet Kraus , entrepreneur-in-residence; and Tim Butler, Senior Fellow and Senior Advisor to Career and Professional Development at HBS and Chief Scientist and co-founder of Career Leader.

Dimensions of entrepreneurial leadership

A literature review combined with interviews of successful entrepreneurs helped the team define key factors that formed the foundation for the self-assessment. These dimensions were further refined based on statistical analysis of the pilot test responses to create a new survey instrument that defines 11 factors and associated survey questions that will be used to understand the level of comfort and self-confidence that founders and non-founders have with various dimensions of entrepreneurial leadership.

These 11 dimensions are:

Identification of Opportunities. Measures skills and behaviors associated with the ability to identify and seek out high-potential business opportunities.
Vision and Influence. Measures skills and behaviors associated with the ability to influence all internal and external stakeholders that must work together to execute a business vision and strategy.
Comfort with Uncertainty. Measures skills and behaviors associated with being able to move a business agenda forward in the face of uncertain and ambiguous circumstances.
Assembling and Motivating a Business Team. Measures skills and behaviors required to select the right members of a team and motivate that team to accomplish business goals.
Efficient Decision Making. Measures skills and behaviors associated with the ability to make effective and efficient business decisions, even in the face of insufficient information.
Building Networks. Measures skills and behaviors associated with the ability to assemble necessary resources and to create the professional and business networks necessary for establishing and growing a business venture.
Collaboration and Team Orientation. Measures skills and behaviors associated with being a strong team player who is able to subordinate a personal agenda to ensure the success of the business.
Management of Operations. Measures skills and behaviors associated with the ability to successfully manage the ongoing operations of a business.
Finance and Financial Management. Measures skills and behaviors associated with the successful management of all financial aspects of a business venture.
Sales. Measures skills and behaviors needed to build an effective sales organization and sales channel that can successfully acquire, retain, and serve customers, while promoting strong customer relationships and engagement.
Preference for Established Structure. Measures preference for operating in more established and structured business environments rather than a preference for building new ventures where the structure must adapt to an uncertain and rapidly changing business context and strategy.

While the 11 factors provided some level of discrimination between founders and non-founders, five factors showed statistically significant differences. For example, founders scored significantly higher than non-founders on “comfort with uncertainty,” “identification of opportunities,” “vision and influence,” “building networks,” and “finance and financial management.” Founders also had significantly lower ratings on their “preference for established structure” dimension.

Entrepreneurial leadership differences between founders and non-founders

	Founders	Non-founder
Identification of opportunities	Significantly higher
Vision and influence	Significantly higher
Comfort with uncertainty	Significantly higher
Assembling and motivating a team	No significant difference	No significant difference
Efficient decision making	No significant difference	No significant difference
Building networks	Significantly higher
Collaboration and team orientation	No significant difference	No significant difference
Management of operations	No significant difference	No significant difference
Finance and financial management	Significantly higher
Sales	No significant difference	No significant difference
Preference for established structure	Significantly lower

Although some of the factors—like comfort with uncertainty and the ability to identify opportunities—seemed like obvious markers for entrepreneurial success, the study built a statistically reliable and valid tool that can be used to deepen understanding, not only of founders versus non-founders, but also of differences and similarities among founders who start and grow different types of businesses, between male and female founders, serial founders and first-time founders and founders from different countries.

In addition, a deeper examination of the individual questions that make up each factor provides richer descriptions of specific behaviors and skills that account for the differences in the profile of entrepreneurs who are launching different types of ventures and from many different backgrounds.

Take vision and influence, for example. Although it is a long-standing belief that great leaders have vision and influence, the researchers found that entrepreneurial leaders have more confidence of their abilities than the average leader on this dimension—and that leaders working within established firms actually rated themselves much lower.

Financial management and governance turned out to be another non-obvious differentiator.

“Financial management is a skill that all of our HBS alumni should feel confident in applying,” Kraus says. “Yet among the alumni surveyed in the pilot, those who had chosen to be founders rated themselves as much more confident in their financial management skills—especially those related to managing cash flow, raising capital, and board governance—than did non-founder alumni.”

Self-confidence in financial management and raising capital was especially strong for male entrepreneurs, she says. “Our future research will broaden our sample beyond HBS alumni to enable us to differentiate between those who graduated with and without an MBA, and to assess confidence in raising capital and financial management and a wide variety of other skills by different types of founders and non-founders.”

Efficient management of operations was another crucial, yet less obvious, factor. “While we often think that employees within established organizations would be more confident in their ability to efficiently manage operations, we were surprised to see that it is a distinguishing and differentiating attribute of entrepreneurs,” says Kraus. “All entrepreneurs know that they must do more with less—which means that they must work faster and with fewer resources.”

Differentiating male and female entrepreneurs

The pilot study allowed researchers to examine gender differences. While men and women rated themselves similarly on many dimensions, women were more confident in their ability to “efficiently manage operations” and in their “vision and influence,” while men expressed greater confidence in their “comfort with uncertainty” and “finance and financial management."

Entrepreneurial leadership differences between male and female founders

	Female	Male
Identification of opportunities	No significant difference	No significant difference
Vision and influence	Significantly higher
Comfort with uncertainty		Significantly higher
Assembling and motivating a team	No significant difference	No significant difference
Efficient decision making	No significant difference	No significant difference
Building networks	No significant difference	No significant difference
Collaboration and team orientation	No significant difference	No significant difference
Management of operations	Significantly higher
Finance and financial management		Significantly higher
Sales	No significant difference	No significant difference
Preference for established structure	No significant difference	No significant difference

These differences rang true for Kraus, herself a serial entrepreneur who founded and grew three successful entrepreneurial ventures.

“Successful women entrepreneurs that I know have lots of great ideas, and are super skilled at creating a compelling vision that moves people to action,” she says. “They are also extremely capable of getting lots done with very little resources so are great at efficient management of operations. That said, these same women are often more conservative when forecasting financial goals and with raising significant rounds of capital. And, even if they have a big vision, they are less confident in declaring at the outset that their goal is to become a billion-dollar business.”

Indeed, research confirms observations that women start more companies than men, but rarely grow them as large.

Based on his earlier research, these results also resonated with Tim Butler: “When it comes to self-rating on finance skills, women are more likely than men to rate themselves lower than ratings given them by objective observers. There are definitely implications for educators when lower self-confidence in skills associated with entrepreneurial careers becomes a significant obstacle for talented would-be entrepreneurs.”

The researchers hope to deepen their understanding of male and female entrepreneurial leaders as they collect more data.

Differentiating serial founders and first-time founders

Not all founders are cut from the same cloth, the study underscores. Analysis of the pilot data also revealed important differences between first-time founders and serial founders—those who launch and grow a number of new ventures, such as Elon Musk (PayPal, Tesla Motors, SpaceX) and research team member Kraus (Circles, Spire; peach).

One key difference the research team discovered: serial founders appear more comfortable with managing uncertainty and risk. That doesn’t mean they enjoy taking risks, Kraus says, “but they appear to be confident that they are adept and capable of knowing how to ‘de-risk’ their venture and manage uncertainty from the very beginning."

Entrepreneurial leadership differences between serial founders and non-serial founders

	Serial founders	Non-serial founders
Identification of opportunities	Significantly higher on all items
Vision and influence	No significant difference	No significant difference
Comfort with uncertainty	Significantly higher on all items
Assembling and motivating a team	Significantly higher on some items
Efficient decision making	No significant difference	No significant difference
Building networks	Significantly higher on some items
Collaboration and team orientation	No significant difference	No significant difference
Management of operations	No significant difference	No significant difference
Finance and financial management	Significantly higher on all items
Sales	Significantly higher on some items
Preference for established structure	No difference at all	No difference at all

While the data are not yet robust enough to say so with certainty, Kraus believes that serial entrepreneurs often enjoy launching businesses where the risk is highest because of confidence in their ability to manage uncertainty, and perhaps because they enjoy the process of creating clarity from uncertainty.

Other factors that set serial entrepreneurs apart from one-timers include confidence in their skills at building networks, securing financing and financial management, and generating creative ways to identify and meet market opportunities.

FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES

As more people take the assessment and HBS develops a richer data set, scholars, educators, entrepreneurs and those who support them will be able to develop insights that will have a number of payoffs.

“The entrepreneurial leaders we know are constantly searching for tools that can help them become more self-aware so they can be more effective,” Kraus explains. “This tool is going to be uniquely useful in that it was specifically developed to help entrepreneurs gain a deeper understanding of the skills and behaviors that they need to be successful.”

In addition, researchers will be able to examine the data by age, gender, country, industry, size of company, pace of growth, and type of venture “to understand the full range of entrepreneurial leadership skills and behaviors, and how different types of entrepreneurs are similar and different,” Applegate says. “These insights will enable us to do a better job of educating entrepreneurs, designing apprenticeships and providing the mentorship needed.”

The data will also be useful in identifying skills and behaviors needed to jumpstart entrepreneurial leadership in established firms, and in understanding how an entrepreneurial leader continues to lead innovation throughout the lifecycle of a business—from startup through scale-up.

“Today, I often see that the creativity and innovation that was so prevalent in the early days of an entrepreneurial venture gets squeezed out as the company grows and starts to scale,” says Applegate. “But, rather than replace entrepreneurs with professional managers, we need to ensure that we have entrepreneurial leadership and creativity in all organizations and at levels in organizations. We hope that our research will help clarify the behavior and skills needed and, over time, will help us track the entrepreneurial leadership behaviors and skills of companies of all size, in all industries, and around the world.”

Given the critical importance of entrepreneurial leaders in driving the economy and improving society, shockingly little is understood about them. The data and analysis emerging from HBS will provide important insights that can help answer the questions, “What makes a successful entrepreneurial leader and how can I become a successful entrepreneurial leader?”

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Entrepreneurship

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What is entrepreneurship.

What does “entrepreneurship” make you think of? Innovation? Business savvy? Perseverance?

Here, we’ll help you learn more about what entrepreneurship is, the different forms it can take, and the various challenges that many entrepreneurs face.

To develop a more comprehensive understanding of what it takes to become an entrepreneur, consider enrolling in Stanford’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Program .

At its most basic level, entrepreneurship refers to an individual or a small group of partners who strike out on an original path to create a new business. An aspiring entrepreneur actively seeks a particular business venture and it is the entrepreneur who assumes the greatest amount of risk associated with the project. As such, this person also stands to benefit most if the project is a success.

Entrepreneurial pursuits often involve innovation. Large enterprises may seek to emulate this element by cultivating what’s known as “intrapreneurship.” Employees are encouraged to think like entrepreneurs, cultivating an original perspective that may result in a new idea for the company. These workers may be given extra latitude, but the enterprise still holds authority over the project and absorbs any risk associated with it. Entrepreneurs benefit every sector, from large corporations to small businesses.

What industries do small business entrepreneurs work in?

A recent small business owner survey from Guidant Financial found that the top three industries for small business startups are:

Food and restaurant operations
Business services

Other leading industries included health and fitness, finance, insurance, and law. No matter what type of venture a small business entrepreneur is involved in, it’s vital that they prioritize innovation and perseverance.

Characteristics of an entrepreneur

The entrepreneurial mindset combines several different skills that require careful development for the successful achievement of a business idea. For example, an entrepreneur must be able to balance an understanding of how business works — including from a financial and operational perspective — with a drive for innovation. Entrepreneurship means understanding when you have an opening in the marketplace that no other provider is meeting and having the business sense to know how to go after this new opportunity at the right time.

A successful entrepreneur will possess many abilities and characteristics, including the ability to be:

Flexible and adaptable
Passionate
Willing to learn
A visionary

Entrepreneurial drive stems from qualities like these, just as an entrepreneur's ability to succeed will depend on developing these abilities.

What types of entrepreneurs are there?

From social entrepreneurship to scalable startup entrepreneurship to intrapreneurs, there is no limit to the kinds of entrepreneurs currently operating within businesses.

An intrapreneur may be considered a type of entrepreneur, though this individual will likely have a bit less freedom and much lower financial risk than an entrepreneur who is truly embarking on a new, independent journey. While intrapreneurs may need to manage expectations and budgets provided by their sponsoring organization, they don’t have the same concerns as independent entrepreneurs when it comes to investor relations, venture capital, and overall business management.

Entrepreneurs may also be motivated primarily by their desire to make a positive impact on the world by creating a new business. This type of leader is known as a social entrepreneur. They see a problem facing their communities, or the world at large, and they strive to create and implement new solutions that drive change.

Another important distinction among the different entrepreneurial categories is the scale of the entrepreneur’s ambition: Are they trying to launch a small business or to create a growth-oriented startup?

What is the difference between a startup and a small business?

The term startup refers to a company in the first stages of operations. Startups are founded by one or more entrepreneurs who want to develop a product or service for which they believe there is demand and expect to grow the business. The vision for the business is usually different from a small business owner’s.

For example, a food service worker who’s interested in entrepreneurship might choose to go into business for themselves, opening up a new restaurant. Eventually, this venture may succeed and grow to the point where opening up a second location or franchising the brand could be viable options. However, this does not necessarily mean that the restaurant is a startup, especially if the founder’s initial goal wasn’t to significantly expand the business.

A better example of a startup entrepreneur might be a food service worker who has an original idea about how to transform restaurant operations on a larger scale. This person might be interested in creating a new technological solution, reimagining distribution and logistics, or something else. The key difference here is that the startup is small in the beginning, but its success relies on using an innovative idea to respond to a large-scale opportunity. Right away, many startups, companies that are just beginning operations, have big ambitions.

From idea to startup

To visualize the journey of a startup entrepreneur, consider Kevin Plank’s story . As the founder of Under Armour his company, which is now known for its moisture-wicking clothing, a revolutionary idea at the time, took Plank into about $40,000 of credit card debt . His idea didn’t catch on until he made his first sale to Georgia Tech and the appeal of his product took off.

Plank’s entrepreneurial spirit took an idea based on the dryness of his compression shorts and turned it into a highly visible and wildly popular company through persistence, vision, motivation, and a determined sales strategy.

Obstacles to successful entrepreneurship

A smart venture and the right opportunity don’t guarantee success in the world of entrepreneurship. A rising entrepreneur may face many hurdles on the road to founding a business.

Recent research from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation reported that the leading concern among “aspiring entrepreneurs” was difficulty acquiring funds to launch or expand the organization. Finding the proper mentorship was another major obstacle.

Speaking in a recent webinar, our faculty and guests explored similar topics as they described common mistakes and pitfalls that startups face, from assessing the competitive landscape to figuring out how to scale.

If you’re looking for ways to turn your innovative idea into a successful business, our experts and educators can help. Consider enrolling in the Entrepreneurial Leadership Program today.

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How you can benefit from an entrepreneurial mindset

It’s easy to admire the characteristics and success of entrepreneurs. And the good news is that what makes them great can make you great too. Use National Self-Improvement Month to your advantage, and learn how to think like an entrepreneur with Scott Livengood, assistant professor in Arizona State University’s W.P Carey School of Business.

When we imagine an entrepreneur, we often think of a visionary with savvy business smarts destined to be a big success. On the contrary, what sets successful entrepreneurs apart isn’t just their business plan. Oftentimes, it’s the characteristics of the entrepreneur themselves. Research shows that successful entrepreneurs have a unique way of approaching problems. This is the entrepreneurial mindset . This mindset shapes how successful entrepreneurs act and view the world around them. It’s also essential to their creativity and success.

The entrepreneurial mindset

The entrepreneurial mindset includes a variety of admirable traits including the ability to take initiative, adapt to change, find creative solutions and be comfortable with risk. People who have adopted this mindset see challenges as opportunities. They view failure as a chance to learn and let vision, not perfectionism, drive their actions. “With this mindset, learners are able to recognize potentially profitable opportunities, generate creative solutions to important problems, assess and minimize risk, gather critical resources, and present solutions to interested stakeholders,” said Scott Livengood, instructor of ASU Continuing and Professional Education entrepreneurship courses and assistant professor in the W.P. Carey School of Business. This way of thinking helps successful entrepreneurs make smart decisions and innovate in the face of challenges. “These learners are also able to analyze the challenges and opportunities with creating new ventures and can act to increase the likelihood of success in their own entrepreneurial endeavors,” Livengood said.

The benefits

The benefits of this mindset extend well beyond entrepreneurship. The ability to learn from failure, think creatively and identify opportunities can foster success in all parts of your life, even if you never plan to start your own business. “To me, the entrepreneurial process and entrepreneurial mindset do not just need to be confined to business situations in general, and new ventures specifically,” Livengood said. This entrepreneurial way of thinking can help you start a side hustle , lead innovative ventures at your current job and be a better problem solver in your personal life. Just as important, the entrepreneurial mindset can make you more adaptable to the rapid changes in today’s job market. “Those who are able to identify problems or opportunities and then work to generate creative solutions to those issues can also improve situations in their personal lives,” Livengood said. “This can benefit the lives of those around them as well.”

Changing your mindset

To develop an entrepreneurial mindset, you’ll probably need to change some of your current thought processes. Start by identifying which parts of your current mindset need to improve. Then come up with a plan to make those changes. This may involve changing your habits or developing the self-awareness to catch yourself when you fall back into your old mindset. For example, if you want to be more innovative, make time each day for creative exercises and reading. Or if you want to be more resilient, reframe your mindset to view each mistake as a chance to learn. Another key part of the entrepreneurial mindset is to never stop learning. So, try taking entrepreneurship classes to further boost your entrepreneurial thinking. “For our entrepreneurship courses, we are focused on providing learners with a fundamental understanding of the entrepreneurial process and on cultivating the entrepreneurial mindset,” Livengood said. By creating a vision and acting upon it, you’re already one step closer to thinking like an entrepreneur.

Change your mindset with an entrepreneurship certificate from Arizona State University

Develop the skills to succeed at every career stage..

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Entrepreneurial Mindset: 20 Ways to Think Like an Entrepreneur

It took me a long time to develop an entrepreneurial mindset.

Honestly, I feel like I spent most of my early 20s trying to undo the mindset I was taught in school—you know, “Get good grades, fall into line, get a good job …”

But what about entrepreneurship ?

Looking back, it frustrates me how my teachers were so concerned with students getting good jobs, but never even mentioned that we could start our own business instead.

This is even more frustrating when you consider where most jobs come from: People who decide to carve their own path, start a business , and employ others.

What gives?

After a few years of trying—and many failed businesses —I finally learned how to think like an entrepreneur.

The payoff? Good money, fun work, constant travel , and freedom. Not bad, right?

If you want to learn how to develop an entrepreneurial mindset so you can build a successful business , you’re in the right place. In this article, we’ll explore 20 essential entrepreneurial mindset characteristics.

But first, what does it mean to have an entrepreneurial mindset, and why is it important?

What is an entrepreneurial mindset?

An entrepreneurial mindset is a set of beliefs, thought processes, and ways of viewing the world that drives entrepreneurial behavior. Typically, entrepreneurs firmly believe it’s possible to improve their life situation and live life on their own terms. They also believe in their ability to learn, grow, adapt, and succeed.

The mindset of successful entrepreneurs is different from the mindset of traditional workers in many ways.

For example, if a traditional worker needs to earn more money , they’ll often brush up their résumé and look for a better paid job. However, someone with an entrepreneurial spirit would look for ways to earn money by starting or growing a business.

Here’s the thing: Anyone can develop the mindset of a successful entrepreneur. As the founder of Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford, once said, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t—you’re right.”

Entrepreneurial Mindset: Henry Ford Quote

The importance of an entrepreneurial mindset

The power of an entrepreneurial mindset is obvious when you think about it. Entrepreneurs succeed like they do because they think, act, and view the world differently from most people.

There are so many reasons why an entrepreneurial mindset matters. For example, developing an entrepreneurial mindset can help to reduce doubt, fear, and anxiety. It can also help to drive action, focus, and growth.

In short, an entrepreneurial mentality is the foundation of business success. Now, let’s explore how entrepreneurs think.

How to think like an entrepreneur: 20 entrepreneurial mindset characteristics

If you want to learn how to build an entrepreneurial mindset, you need to know how successful entrepreneurs think. So, let’s take a closer look at 20 essential entrepreneurial mindset characteristics.

1. Independent

This is one of the most important aspects of the entrepreneurial mindset.

Entrepreneurs don’t follow the crowd or look to others to be given instructions. Instead, they listen to their gut and carve their own path.

As Apple’s founder, Steve Jobs, said, “Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.”

Entrepreneurial Mindset: Steve Jobs Quote

2. Responsible

The independent mindset of successful entrepreneurs stems from taking full responsibility.

Entrepreneurs don’t blame others for their life situation—they empower themselves by taking responsibility for improving it.

Failure, success, life circumstances—it doesn’t matter what it is. Even if something isn’t your fault, by taking responsibility for it, you’re empowered to improve it.

3. Abundant

A key to entrepreneurial success is abundance.

Successful entrepreneurs know they can improve a situation, make more money , and create new opportunities.

The sky is always the limit.

As a result, entrepreneurs don’t hoard money or knowledge. They’re open, generous, and understand that “you get what you give.”

The author and entrepreneur Robert Kiyosaki once wrote, “I have never met a rich person who has never lost any money. But I have met a lot of poor people who have never lost a dime.”

4. Goal-oriented

Entrepreneurial thinking is goal-orientated.

In other words, successful entrepreneurs don’t have wishes and dreams—they have goals and plans.

So, when creating an entrepreneurial mindset, set SMART goals —goals that are:

Time sensitive

5. Not afraid of failure

When learning how to think like an entrepreneur, you need to look at failure differently than most people.

Entrepreneurs don’t fear failure—they appreciate it.

Each “failure” is simply a stepping stone to learn from, helping move you closer to success. As the famous inventor Thomas Edison said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

Failing at something certainly doesn’t mean that you’re a failure —just that something didn’t work out as you’d hoped, and you need to try again.

Entrepreneurial Mindset: Thomas Edison Quote

6. Growth-oriented

Stanford University psychologist Dr. Carol Dweck studied failure and said, “For 20 years, my research has shown that the view you adopt for yourself profoundly affects the way you lead your life.”

Specifically, she found that there are two main types of mindset: fixed and growth.

Someone with a fixed mindset believes that who they are is relatively permanent and they can’t change very much.

The entrepreneur mindset is growth-oriented.

Entrepreneurs believe they can grow as people, learn new things, and develop new skills. They believe that—with some consistent effort—they can shape themselves into whomever they want to be.

The bestselling author and entrepreneur Hal Elrod said, “Your level of success will rarely exceed your level of personal development, because success is something you attract by the person you become.”

In other words, personal growth tends to create success. So, keep trying to improve yourself .

Entrepreneurial Thinking: Hal Elrod Quote

7. Feedback-seeking

The most successful entrepreneurs aren’t worried about looking cool—they just want to succeed, and they know that learning from feedback will help speed up the process.

Dweck said, “Why waste time proving over and over how great you are, when you could be getting better?”

In short, don’t look for validation, seek feedback.

8. Learning-oriented

Most people spend their spare time seeking entertainment, whether it’s through social media, Netflix, gaming, reading novels, or hanging with friends.

However, entrepreneurial thinking is more concerned with learning and development. For example:

Instead of watching TV, entrepreneurs may take an online course to help them move toward their goals.
Instead of gaming, entrepreneurs will often spend hours tweaking their sales funnel .
And instead of scrolling through social media, entrepreneurs are more likely to listen to motivational podcasts or read business books .

As the entrepreneur and speaker Jim Rohn said, “Formal education will make you a living; self education will make you a fortune.”

9. Forward-thinking

If you want to learn how to think like an entrepreneur, you need to think long term.

The famous billionaire investor Warren Buffett said, “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”

Successful entrepreneurs know that big goals take a long time to achieve. So, they start with their goal and work backward, reverse-engineering every step of the way. In other words, “If I want this, I need to do that. But to do that, I need to do this,” and so on.

They keep working and are patient when it comes to rewards—they know that the tortoise always beats the hare.

Entrepreneurial Mindset: Warren Buffet Quote

10. Self-accepting

Many people struggle with self-acceptance. When you don’t like something about yourself, it’s easy to devalue or even hate yourself.

But if you develop a growth mindset, you know you can always change and improve.

So, successful entrepreneurs accept themselves as they are, warts and all. They know who they are is transient, and they’re working on becoming the person they want to be.

11. Self-aware

Entrepreneurs know that the only thing holding us back is ourselves (because they take full responsibility, remember!).

As a result, they practice self-awareness .

They pay close attention to their strengths and weaknesses, which allows them to improve faster and play to their strengths.

12. Collaborative

Great businesses require teamwork—after all, Jeff Bezos didn’t build Amazon alone. So, if you want to think like an entrepreneur, you need to think in terms of “we” instead of “I.”

There’s an African proverb that says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

As a result, successful entrepreneurs think collaboratively and practice their leadership skills.

Entrepreneurial Mindset: African Proverb

13. Courageous

It’s not easy to become a business owner.

As the famous management consultant Peter Drucker said, “Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.”

But this doesn’t mean entrepreneurs don’t have self-doubt.

Nelson Mandela, the activist and former president of South Africa, explained, “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.”

14. Comfortable with discomfort

Courage leads to an essential entrepreneurial mindset characteristic: learning to be comfortable with discomfort.

Growth and expansion require you to move beyond your comfort zone. So, when developing an entrepreneurial mindset, practice leaning into uncomfortable situations, such as rejection.

For example, after realizing his fear of rejection was holding him back, the entrepreneur and keynote speaker Jia Jiang spent 100 days getting rejected on purpose.

15. Adaptable

Entrepreneurs have big goals, and they know it’s impossible to see the entire staircase before climbing. But they climb anyway, safe in the knowledge that they can always adapt to new developments.

For example, if your first product fails , try another one. And if your Facebook ads still don’t generate sales, hone your skills.

16. Problem-solving

Entrepreneurs develop critical thinking and try to solve problems.

If you think about it, this is the essence of every business. For instance, plumbers fix broken pipes, Netflix cures boredom, and car manufacturers help people get around.

Brian Chesky, the co-founder of Airbnb, said, “If we tried to think of a good idea, we wouldn’t have been able to think of a good idea. You just have to find the solution for a problem in your own life.”

17. Driven and tenacious

Drive is an essential part of the entrepreneurial mind. Entrepreneurs are self-motivated and driven to achieve their goals. They work hard and enjoy the ride, knowing that they’ll reap the rewards down the line.

The entrepreneur Mark Cuban said, “It’s not about money or connections. It’s the willingness to outwork and outlearn everyone when it comes to your business.”

Similarly, entrepreneurs set out to achieve their goals come hell or high water. When the going gets tough, they stick with it—they don’t give up.

As Henry Ford said, “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.”

Entrepreneurial Thinking: Mark Cuban Quote

18. Focused

Successful entrepreneurs are focused on achieving their goals, never procrastinate , and always prioritize the most important tasks.

To do this, ask yourself, “Will this help me to achieve my long-term goals?” If the answer is yes, then ask, “Is this the most important thing to do right now?”

19. Action-oriented

“Wantrepreneurs” like to read books, watch videos, and make plans, but they never actually get down to business and work.

Aspiring entrepreneurs have a bias for action. They know that knowledge without action is meaningless. As the animator and entrepreneur Walt Disney said, “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”

20. Decisive

The entrepreneurial mind is decisive.

Entrepreneurs must confront problems and make many decisions every day—often with inadequate information to help.

Successful entrepreneurs decide and then get back to work. They know that “you can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page,” as the author Jodi Picoult said.

So practice decisiveness—for example, next time you’re in a restaurant, look at the menu once, decide, and order with confidence.

Entrepreneurial mindset = lifelong growth

Having an entrepreneurial mindset will allow you to think, act, and perceive the world differently from the average worker, setting the foundation for success .

Now, you can’t develop an entrepreneurial mindset overnight.

But, by understanding some key entrepreneurial skills and traits, you can watch your behavior and learn how to think like an entrepreneur. In summary, here are 20 entrepreneurial mindset characteristics:

Independent
Responsible
Goal-oriented
Not afraid of failure
Growth-oriented
Feedback-seeking
Learning-oriented
Forward-thinking
Self-accepting
Collaborative
Comfortable with discomfort
Problem-solving
Driven and tenacious
Action-oriented

Do you share the entrepreneurial mentality? Do you have ideas on how to practice these mindset characteristics? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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Information Literacy Through Entrepreneurial Thinking: Activities for Teaching Across the Disciplines

Information literacy through entrepreneurial thinking: our purpose.

Teaching Activities
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Information Literacy through Entrepreneurial Thinking (PDF)

Subject Librarian

These learning activities are intended to support students in developing their information literacy and research skills through entrepreneurial thinking. Information literacy involves the complex skills and understandings needed when seeking, evaluating, selecting, and using information for a particular purpose. Information literacy is essential to virtually all aspects of research and inquiry.[1]

Entrepreneurial thinking draws on divergent thinking, as individuals explore, experiment, and consider problems and possible solutions from many angles, including those of individuals and groups that are likely to be invested in the problem or question at hand. An entrepreneurial mindset can help students embrace a creative, goal-driven approach to problem solving and find new and better solutions to global, local, and personal challenges.

Information literacy is key to entrepreneurial thinking and innovation across subject areas and professional fields. Whether working individually or collaboratively, learners use information sources to formulate and ask questions, to search for meaning, to evaluate and solve problems, and to generate new ideas. Information literacy is one of the most important skills needed by today's job seekers.[2] It very often involves creative problem solving and complex analysis based on information which is already available, however imperfect. Our activities will help students practice information literacy skills, increase their comfort with steps involved in source-based inquiry and research, and enhance their entrepreneurial mindsets by providing opportunities for them to consider new ways of thinking about research tasks.

Both entrepreneurial thinking and information literacy frequently require mindsets like persistence, creativity, curiosity, flexibility, and openness. Both also involve processes like critical thinking, experimentation, brainstorming, identifying relationships and patterns, problem posing, problem solving, framing problems and deploying solutions, deconstructing aspects of a problem or issue, uncovering hidden assumptions, perspective-taking, meaning making, and storytelling. With experience and practice, students will be able to approach a task which requires multiple processes with a mindset that helps them optimize their approach for success.

The activities in this resource involve mindsets and processes like those described above. This resource includes discussion prompts and interactive components that transfer across academic disciplines and programs, while also applying to everyday life contexts. The activities are designed to draw out and build on students' previous experiences and knowledge; to introduce new ways of approaching inquiry and source-based research; and to encourage engagement and shared skill development, ideally making research fun, interesting, and meaningful.

We hope you will use these ideas with your students and modify them for your own purposes as needed. If you find them useful, please let us know !

Michelle Kowalsky: [email protected]

Andrea Baer: [email protected]

[1] The Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL, 2016) defines information literacy as “the set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued, and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning.” ( ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, Introduction )

[2] See Forster, Marc, ed. Information Literacy in the Workplace . London: Facet, 2017. [ abstract ] or Head, Alison J., Michele Van Hoeck, Jordan Eschler, and Sean Fullerton. " What information competencies matter in today’s workplace ?" Library and Information Research 37 , no. 114 (2013): 74-104.

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Last Updated: Jul 1, 2024 11:26 AM
URL: https://libguides.rowan.edu/infolit_entrepreneur

The entrepreneurial diary – a reflective learning activity to enhance the judgmental abilities of student entrepreneurs

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research

ISSN : 1355-2554

Article publication date: 4 May 2021

Issue publication date: 23 July 2021

Design/methodology/approach

The paper builds on a synthesized conceptualization of three main literature strands, reflective thinking, cognitive-load theory and experiential entrepreneurship education. In addition to the synthesized conceptualization, it builds on some empirical insights derived from a venture creation master programme in which the learning activity has been developed and refined for the last seven years.

The main finding from the paper is the theoretical justification for why reflective thinking deserves an important place in the educational process and how the entrepreneurial diary as a learning activity can create a bridge between theory and practice in venture creation programmes that take an experience-based pedagogical approach. Furthermore, the study also provides some empirical insights of how students create self-awareness of their learning through the method and the metareflection reports. Self-awareness is foundational for developing conditional knowledge on why and when to make entrepreneurial decisions to balance the often action-oriented processes seen in venture creation programmes.

Originality/value

The paper provides both a practical learning activity to be used in the entrepreneurial classroom and a theoretical contribution on how entrepreneurial experience is transformed into entrepreneurial knowledge to enhance students' judgmental abilities to make entrepreneurial decisions in future entrepreneurial endeavours.

Experiential entrepreneurship education
Entrepreneurial diary
Reflective thinking
Cognitive load theory

Hägg, G. (2021), "The entrepreneurial diary – a reflective learning activity to enhance the judgmental abilities of student entrepreneurs", International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research , Vol. 27 No. 5, pp. 1142-1165. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-07-2020-0496

Emerald Publishing Limited

Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode

Introduction

When it comes to teaching methods and underlying theories of learning, entrepreneurial education has seen a tremendous growth and development ( Hägg and Gabrielsson, 2019 ). In a contemporary entrepreneurial classroom, experiential and student-centred learning approaches originating in progressive and constructivist views on how to learn have become the norm. The norm has been pushed from both a policy perspective ( Ball, 1989 ; Commission, 2013 ) and an empirical perspective on how entrepreneurs learn ( Johannisson, 1991 ; Neck and Greene, 2011 ; Sexton and Bowman-Upton, 1987 , 1988 ), as well as from an educational perspective that has shifted from an objectivist view on learning towards a constructivist one ( Macht and Ball, 2016 ; Robinson et al. , 2016 ).

Since the early phases of entrepreneurship in higher education in the 1980s [1] , the subject-domain of how to teach and how student entrepreneurs could learn has been an exploratory journey ( Béchard and Toulouse, 1991 ; Fayolle, 2013 ; Gabrielsson et al. , 2020 ; Jones, 2019 ), largely influenced by adult education literature and constructivist ideas ( Kassean et al. , 2015 ; Löbler, 2006 ; Pittaway and Cope, 2007 ; Scott et al. , 2016 ). An on-going argument in this search to find some common ground has been the need for experiential learning theories when teaching students, such as problem-based learning and action learning ( Fayolle, 2013 ; Mandel and Noyes, 2016 ).

When tracing the inclusion and development of experiential learning in entrepreneurial education, there has been a somewhat skewed focus on implementing action ( Hägg, 2017 ), which if one follows the early thoughts on progressive education would only tell half the story of how to learn through experience ( Dewey, 1938 , 1946 ). A main thought that guided early theorizing about learning through experience is based on the interplay between knowing and doing ( McLellan and Dewey, 1889 ), which is synthesized through the process of reflective thinking ( Boud et al. , 1985 ; Dewey, 1910 ; Rodgers, 2002 ). Despite an abundance of research discussing the importance of reflection in entrepreneurial education ( Deacon and Harris, 2011 ; Jones, 2019 ; Lindh and Thorgren, 2016 ; Lundmark et al. , 2019 ; Neck and Greene, 2011 ; Williams Middleton and Donnellon, 2014 ), there is scant research that discusses the origins and learning activities for developing reflective thinking among students when engaging in learning entrepreneurship through experience (see, e.g. Hägg, 2018 ; Jones, 2009 ). Drawing from reflective thinking, cognitive load theory and experiential education, the questions that guided this paper are: what are the theoretical foundations when developing reflective thinking in experiential entrepreneurship education? and how might the entrepreneurial diary as a reflective learning activity stimulate self-regulation?

To address the above questions, the present paper discusses the usefulness of the entrepreneurial diary as a tripartite learning activity when students learn through experience ( Boud et al. , 1985 ; Dyment and O'Connell, 2010 ; Gray, 2007 ). The entrepreneurial diary is intended to increase students' judgmental abilities to engage in intelligent entrepreneurial action (e.g. Dewey, 1946 ; Hägg, 2018 ) by means of developing self-regulation ( Zimmerman, 2002 ). The learning activity is based on an individual level as it has been argued that construction of knowledge is a highly individual undertaking ( Schunk, 2012 ), where the working of the mind takes different paths depending on the pre-knowledge and pre-experiences that each individual utilizes when reflecting on learning experiences.

The purpose of the paper is to theorize how to develop student entrepreneurs' ability to reflect by means of a learning activity called the entrepreneurial diary, which seeks to develop self-regulated learners capable of intelligent entrepreneurial action. The learning activity has been developed and theoretically refined within a venture creation master programme. The entrepreneurial diary consists of three parts: the first is a reflective journal that students write and hand in every second week throughout a full year of study, the second is a mid-term metareflection report that gives the students an opportunity to reflect back on their first semester of studies, while the third part is a final metareflection report that allows the students an opportunity to reflect on their entire year of study and the interaction between theory and practice. The entrepreneurial diary with its focus on developing reflective thinking is a key to becoming a self-regulated learner (see Dewey, 1910 ; Ertmer and Newby, 1996 ; Zimmerman, 2002 ) that balances the action orientation in entrepreneurship. This is important as entrepreneurs engage in highly action-oriented activities that are closely linked to making judgments under conditions of uncertainty (see Knight, 1921 ; Sarasvathy, 2008 ). However, the entrepreneurial diary is just one part of an experiential educational process that depends on the other learning activities to function, such as employing effectual reasoning or the use of lean start-up methods and the creation of real-life entrepreneurial projects. As Roberts (2015) and Itin (1999) argue, the experiential education process consists of different transactions between the individual learner and the context, between peers in different social settings and between the learner and the facilitator. In this respect, the entrepreneurial diary is a learning activity that forms one sub-process, which together with the other learning activities creates a whole in a venture creation programme.

The paper is structured as follows. First, there is a section addressing entrepreneurship education and different forms of knowledge that provide a foundation for why reflective thinking and the entrepreneurial diary are important for developing different types of knowledge. This is followed by a discussion on the role of experience in learning, leading into a discussion on why reflective thinking is essential for the development of knowing, which includes two forms of thinking: empirical and experimental. Following the discussion on the important role of reflective thinking, the three parts of the entrepreneurial diary as a learning activity and the context for its development are discussed. Next the theoretical grounding for the entrepreneurial diary is addressed beyond the foundational role of reflective thinking, which concludes with a model of the interplay between the theoretical streams and a discussion on how to start researching and evaluating the process of developing reflective thinking. The paper ends with a concluding section and the contributions that we believe the entrepreneurial diary brings to the ongoing research discussion on learning in entrepreneurial education.

Entrepreneurship education and different forms of knowledge

Entrepreneurs learn from and through experience ( Deakins and Freel, 1998 ; Minniti and Bygrave, 2001 ), both from successes or failures ( Politis and Gabrielsson, 2009 ; Shepherd, 2004 ). They engage in various entrepreneurial activities that enhance their declarative and procedural knowledge in order to decrease the uncertainty bound to the entrepreneurial process ( Politis, 2005a ). However, when thinking about how to transfer these entrepreneurial activities into the educational setting, the main focus has been on including more experiential activities that engage student entrepreneurs in various procedural forms of knowledge accumulation ( Johannisson et al. , 1998 ; Kassean et al. , 2015 ; Sexton and Bowman-Upton, 1988 ). It has been argued by both educators and practitioners that the aspect of including knowledge of how to conduct various entrepreneurial tasks bound to the process of starting a business is important, highlighting the inclusion of action in the learning process ( Gielnik et al. , 2015 ; Pittaway et al. , 2009 ).

However, an issue that has been less addressed is how the included action transforms into entrepreneurial knowledge ( Hägg and Kurczewska, 2020 ), which in this study relates to the definition of domain knowledge, including declarative (know what), procedural (know-how, skills) and conditional knowledge (know when and why) ( Alexander, 1992 ). Domain knowledge relates to entrepreneurship as a phenomenon, which has been argued to be teachable ( Fayolle, 2008 ; Henry et al. , 2005 ). The three components of domain knowledge are all associated with the current focus on experiential learning and the underlying conceptualization of how to learn through experience in the educational setting. In order to learn through experience both declarative (know-what, facts) and procedural (know-how, skills) knowledge is needed, whilst conditional knowledge (knowing why and when to use one's declarative and procedural knowledge) is developed through reflective thinking intended to enhance the student's judgmental ability. This is also known as attempting to develop the ability to self-regulate ( Zimmerman, 2008 ).

In the educational setting, research on entrepreneurship has largely focused on the development of declarative and procedural knowledge ( Fiet, 2001a , b ; Mwasalwiba, 2010 ), arguing for a movement from declarative towards procedural ( Johannisson, 1991 ; Kassean et al. , 2015 ; Rasmussen and Sørheim, 2006 ; Ronstadt, 1985 ), but in the literature, less attention has been devoted to emphasizing the role of conditional knowledge (e.g. Hägg, 2017 ; Williams Middleton and Donnellon, 2014 ). Although reflection has been highlighted as an important component in the learning process ( Deacon and Harris, 2011 ; Neck and Greene, 2011 ), and the use of reflective journals is reported in the scholarly discussion ( Jones, 2019 ; Kubberød and Pettersen, 2018 ; Kurczewska et al. , 2018 ; Lundmark et al. , 2019 ), there are less theoretically and methodologically strong arguments for justifying how and why reflective journals and reflective thinking are important when developing entrepreneurial knowledge. But also, how reflective thinking as a systematic process aids in the development of judgmental ability (conditional knowledge), which could be argued to be essential in entrepreneurial contexts where uncertainty prevails ( Knight, 1921 ; Sarasvathy, 2008 ).

The importance of experience for learning

The role of experience has been central in entrepreneurial education since the 1980s, but its role in learning in general can be traced far back in time. A main idea regarding experience and its relation to learning addressed by Dewey was the interplay between mind and body that several other scholars had addressed prior to his claims (such as Aristotle as well as Jean-Jacques Rousseau). The idea of balance between the body and mind in learning has presently been revitalized and is a highly discussed element in learning from and through experience (e.g. Hickman, 1992 ; Hägg and Kurczewska, 2016 ; Jay, 2005 ; Kuk and Holst, 2018 ; Lackéus et al. , 2016 ). Experience, especially related to progressive ideas in education, is an active and future-oriented concept consisting of primary and secondary experience ( Jay, 2005 ). Whereas primary experience is the actual doing (concrete experience in the ideas of Kolb) that includes peer interaction and other social contacts important for learning, secondary experience consists of reflective thinking being a systematic process that transforms experience into knowing (e.g. Rodgers, 2002 ). The influence of experiential learning and experiential education research in entrepreneurial education and more specifically in venture creation programmes has a long history ( Haneberg and Aadland, 2020 ; Kuratko, 1989 ; Rasmussen and Sørheim, 2006 ), where learning experientially has been closely linked to how practicing entrepreneurs and small business owners learn ( Deakins and Freel, 1998 ; Politis, 2005b ; Wang and Chugh, 2014 ). However, the role of experience and how it is infused into the context of education could be argued to vary from the context of practicing entrepreneurs and small business owners due to the difference between a novice learner undergoing an education and a more proficient practitioner ( Cohen et al. , 2020 ; Hägg and Kurczewska, 2020 ). Whilst the practitioner employs gut feeling ( Garavan and O'Cinneide, 1994 ; Gibb, 1987 ) or reflects in action ( Schön, 1983 ) based on prior knowledge and experience of similar situations, the novice learner needs tools that aid in dealing with primary (concrete) experiences ( Garrison, 1995 ). This is where reflective thinking as a systematic process comes in, serving as a way to grasp and turn concrete experience into secondary experience leading towards entrepreneurial knowledge.

Reflective thinking – a learning activity that supports the development of knowing

It has been argued that the action-orientation to implement experiential and constructivist approaches when teaching entrepreneurship has raced ahead of the theoretical foundations ( Fayolle et al. , 2016 ; Rideout and Gray, 2013 ) to justify the methods and learning activities implemented in the educational setting. The importance of reflective thinking when teaching entrepreneurship has been extensively discussed ( Deacon and Harris, 2011 ; Lindh and Thorgren, 2016 ; Neck and Greene, 2011 ; Neck et al. , 2014 ), but its underlying theoretical roots demands more scrutiny to both guide and justify how it balances action-orientation when student entrepreneurs are to learn through entrepreneurial experience ( Hägg and Kurczewska, 2020 ), as well as how it fosters the development of judgmental ability to engage in intelligent (moral) action ( Dewey, 1891 ) when facing entrepreneurial uncertainty (Knightian uncertainty).

The legacy of Dewey is undeniably a key starting point when discussing reflective thinking in the educational context (see, e.g. Kuk and Holst, 2018 ; Pepin, 2012 ; Rodgers, 2002 ; Schön, 1992 ). In this study, reflective thinking is viewed both as an activity that needs to be learnt and an ability that bridges knowing and doing. A sign of reflective thinking is that it is “always more or less troublesome because it involves overcoming the inertia that inclines one to accept suggestions at their face value; it involves willingness to endure a condition of mental unrest and disturbance… in short, it means judgment suspended during further inquiry” ( Dewey, 1910 , p. 13). Hence, the study follows the definition set by Dewey (1910 , p. 6), where reflective thinking is an “active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it and the conclusions to which it tends”.

Based on the above, reflective thinking is here seen as an individual mental process that synthesizes declarative knowledge about a subject (often addressed as theories in use) and procedural knowledge of how to conduct different tasks (in the context of venture creation it relates to activities bound to the start-up process). Hence, there is an interplay between doing and knowing, where reflective thinking is the systematic process of turning experiences into knowing, a pragmatic developmental view of knowledge that is not static ( Peirce, 1992 ). Dewey's main ideas around reflective thinking can be found in How We Think (1910), where he accounts for two kinds of experiential processes: lower-order trial and error and the higher level of reflection ( Biesta, 2007 ), but he also first makes a distinction between two kinds of thinking: empirical and experimental, which will be discussed next.

Empirical thinking

Empirical thinking is dependent upon past habits, and although many empirical conclusions are correct and sufficiently accurate to be of great help in real-life situations, they are unable to discriminate between the right and wrong conclusion ( Dewey, 1910 , p. 147). The issue with empirical thinking is that it makes people less open to novelty and leads to laziness, presumption and dogmatism as empirical thinking rejects things that do not fit into established norms ( Dewey, 1910 , pp. 147–149). An example of this could be the discovery that the Earth is round and not flat, which was seen as preposterous at the time that Copernicus developed his thoughts around the heliocentric world and later when Galileo claimed that the Earth was orbiting around the sun and not the centre of the universe as argued by Aristotle.

Experimental thinking

To progress learning, Dewey argued for a specific version of the scientific method, also called the experimental method of thinking, which he divided into two methods.

The first is an extension of empirical thinking termed the empirical method of observation . The empirical method of observation consists of carefully comparing the result of many observations that have occurred under accidently different conditions ( Dewey, 1910 , pp. 150–151). The method is, however, rather limited as it can do nothing until presented with a certain number of diversified cases, and it is also considered a passive method dependent upon external accidents ( Dewey, 1910 , p. 151). The empirical method is evident in Knight (1921) and his discussion on calculated risk, something that insurance companies rely on when deciding on the cost of insurances. The empirical method of observation is problematic in the context of entrepreneurship, especially in relation to entrepreneurial opportunities as the uniqueness tied to opportunities creates a barrier for comparing multiple observations. However, it might be valuable in long-term decision-making based on re-occurring habitual action (e.g. Kember, 1999 ; Mezirow, 1991 ) that entrepreneurs engage with in their everyday practice ( Blenker et al. , 2012 ). The empirical method might also be beneficial in certain situations, where a more experienced entrepreneur can draw on years of empirical experience when engaging in new opportunities (e.g. Sarasvathy, 2008 ). Hence, the abundant research on entrepreneurial learning arguing that entrepreneurs learn from experience reflects the empirical method of observation when drawing conclusions on, for example, habitual and serial entrepreneurs and that entrepreneurs learn from failure by often being more successful in their second or third venture than in their first (e.g. Deakins and Freel, 1998 ; Minniti and Bygrave, 2001 ; Politis and Gabrielsson, 2009 ). Due to the increased number of observations amassed by the more experienced entrepreneur, a pattern of thinking emerges that increases the likelihood of making sound judgments in upcoming entrepreneurial decisions. This is, however, problematic when discussing how to learn through experience in an educational setting, where the average student possesses limited entrepreneurial experience as well as limited previous work experience ( Cohen et al. , 2020 ; Hägg and Kurczewska, 2019 ), two important factors found in successful entrepreneurs ( Baron, 2006 ; Politis and Gabrielsson, 2009 ).

This brings us to the second method, which Dewey (1910) labels the experimental method of thinking where even a small number of observations could suggest an explanation, hypothesis or even a theory. This method, which bears similarities to the scientific method, is basically a conjoint process of analysis and synthesis, or less technically addressed, the process of discrimination and assimilation or identification ( Dewey, 1910 , p. 152). It is also in this discussion that Dewey actually addresses the aspect of past and future in relation to experience. Past experience is something connected to empirical thinking, while future experience is linked to the experimental method of thinking, which is further addressed in “Logic – the theory of inquiry” (see Dewey, 1938 ; Schön, 1992 ). The emphasis on the experimental method of thinking suits the context of novices, such as students, as it does not rely heavily on prior knowledge or experience, but instead adds the dimension of conceptual theories that academia can assist with (e.g. Dewey, 1930 ). In relation to the experimental method of thinking, one could also argue that entrepreneurial learning situated within academia is more accustomed to experimental- and future-oriented acts of thinking and consequently suitable for reflective practice, both in and on action (see, e.g. Schön, 1983 ).

To summarize, reflective thinking is a means for turning experience into knowing ( Dewey, 1916 ), but it is built on an interplay between knowing and doing ( McLellan and Dewey, 1889 ), which considers the learner's level of proficiency ( Rodgers, 2002 ), where prior knowledge and previous experiences in specific knowledge-domains (e.g. entrepreneurship) are beneficial for the ability to reflect and accumulate knowledge ( Dewey, 1910 ). However, to compensate for the shortage of prior knowledge, conceptual theories that provide perspectives on the experience undertaken can serve as a substitute ( Dewey, 1930 ). The effort required to develop reflective thinking ability is demanding and requires a highly rigorous systematic process, which is both challenging and rewarding for the learner as well as for the teacher.

The structure and context of the entrepreneurial diary

As outlined in the previous section, to develop the ability to reflect and become a self-regulated learner requires effort investment, both from the learner and from the facilitator. It is a process that builds on continuous feedback and the abilities to find trigger points in each individual learner to push her/him beyond the surface and into the deep structures of thinking. A potential comprehensive learning activity for doing so is the entrepreneurial diary, consisting of three parts: (1) a reflective journal written throughout the year of study, (2) a mid-term metareflection report creating a first insight on individual development and (3) a final metareflection report that is intended to engage the students in developing insights and an ability to self-regulate ( Zimmerman, 1990 , 2002 ). In the next section, the context for developing the learning activity is addressed, followed by the three parts that make up the entrepreneurial diary, ending with conditions for the learning activity.

Context in which the entrepreneurial diary has been developed

The entire structure of the entrepreneurial diary has been derived from a one-year venture creation master programme ( Lackéus and Williams Middleton, 2015 ) built around experiential learning ( Kolb and Kolb, 2009 ; Kolb, 1984 ). The programme engages student entrepreneurs in start-up activities using a real-life entrepreneurial project as the main learning vessel ( Lackéus and Williams Middleton, 2015 ; Rasmussen and Sørheim, 2006 ). To assist the students in their learning process, they participate in various courses covering aspects associated with starting and managing a new venture. The entrepreneurial diary has been developed as a counterbalance to the action-oriented learning activities.

In the current one-year programme format the students hand in 16 journal entries over the year, submitting them every second week from September to May. Each journal entry is between 500 and 1,000 words. In addition, they hand in the 1,000–1,500 word mid-term metareflection report after the Christmas break, in which they synthesize their learning based on the first eight journal entries. The entrepreneurial diary is finalized at the end of the programme by a metareflection report of around 3,000 words, where the students use their journal entries as empirical material to discuss their learning over the programme in relation to relevant theory they have engaged with through their coursework and beyond. By using the journals as empirical material, the students gain access to experiences undertaken during the programme, and the hindsight bias of human memory is reduced (see, e.g. Cox, 2005 ). To provide some empirical insights into how the students develop their thinking, several excerpts have been included in the following sections, and there is also a full journal entry in Appendix .

Part one: the reflective journal

The reflective journal is basically structured around five different developmental questions and statements that seek to create a continuous flow in a learning process (see Table 1 ). The basic idea is built around the interval-contingent journal format that asks questions related to what, how, when and why, as well as having a timely logic in terms of when to report in a continuous interval ( Bolger et al. , 2003 ). To complement this structured format of daily event recording, the reflective journal also builds on the experimental scientific method as discussed by Dewey (1910) by having a clearly stated progression in the different guiding questions and statements. Together, the experimental scientific method and the interval-contingent diary format create the foundation for recording real life experiences in a systematic way, which connects to self-observation in the reasoning of Zimmerman (2002) towards becoming a self-regulated learner. The students also receive an example of a journal from previous students to gain an initial idea of what they are to develop in the journal entries.

The idea behind the reflective journal is to move from a surface level in question one and address the initial experiences faced, asking “ what have I done and whom have I met? ” Question one seeks to engage the journal writing student in descriptively capturing experiences undertaken over a pre-determined period of time.

The writing associated with question one then leads to another layer of thinking in question two, where the student entrepreneur engages in discussing “ Why did I do what I did? ” The second question of the journal involves the students in discussing the rationale and reasons why they met certain people and why the different experiences have been selected.

The rationale behind the different experiences is then further elaborated upon in statement three, which asks them to present their “ Observations and reflections with regard to points 1 and 2 ”. Here the student entrepreneur elaborates about the experiences undertaken on a personal level by describing thoughts, emotions and feelings related to the main experiences.

The descriptions of how the various entrepreneurial experiences impacted them on a personal level are then further scrutinized and analysed in relation to different streams of theoretical knowledge (book knowledge, personal theories from past learning and additional input from peers and others) in question four: “Can you please reflect on (entrepreneurial) theory and link it with point 3? ” It is in this part that the actual connection to the experimental scientific method ( Dewey, 1910 ) becomes apparent and where the ideas of finding the balance between doing and knowing are heightened. The student entrepreneur is asked to engage in hypothetical development and abstract the empirical insights gained from the experiences undertaken by synthesizing them with theoretical knowledge that aids in developing new understandings of the experiences undertaken. It is in this act that the primary experience develops into secondary experience, and the individual can start to argue that they have actually engaged in learning through experience and developed new knowledge or modified existing knowledge (see Boud et al. , 1985 ; Dewey, 1910 ; Rodgers, 2002 ).

Reflection involves not simply a sequence of ideas, but a consequence – a consecutive ordering in such a way that each determines the next as its proper outcome, while each in turn leans back on its predecessors. The successive portions of the reflective thought grow out of one another and support one another; they do not come and go in a medley. Each phase is a step from something to something – technically speaking, it is a term of thought. Each term leaves a deposit which is utilized in the next term. The stream or flow becomes a train, chain, or thread.

An example of a journal entry addressing the continuity aspect and how each part of the journal is built up systematically can be seen in Appendix .

Parts two and three: building continuity in learning and self-awareness

To compliment and further develop student entrepreneurs' abilities to become self-regulated learners ( Zimmerman, 1990 ), the entrepreneurial diary also includes two reports that seek to synthesize and develop self-awareness about the learning process among students. The idea behind the two reports is to create a holistic view of the self and the learning process that the student is facing. In essence, the two reports are connected to the development of metacognition ( Flavell, 1979 ), being able to monitor one's learning and develop the ability to self-regulate ( Zimmerman, 2002 ).

Mid-term metareflection report

Looking back … I realise that the learning journals allowed me to understand and analyse my learnings made throughout this Master programme. The first impression I have while reading through them is the switch from profound academic learning and excitement from a new life stage towards more decision making thinking and mature/professional behaviour mainly in regards of the project (2019).

The report is a first introduction to the final metareflection report and is only around 1,000 words. But as with the reflective journal, the students obtain a worked example of how to develop some initial thoughts on structure for the mid-term report. The students are also advised to include the reflective journal entries as empirical material when writing up their mid-term metareflection report to give life to the report. After they have handed in the report, they receive constructive feedback on how to think when writing their final report at the end of the programme.

The mid-term metareflection report has also been seen as important for giving the students a sense of purpose when writing their reflective journal entries. When they go back and re-read all the journal entries from the first semester, they become aware of their learning process and the value of writing the journals for themselves and not just as an academic task that has to be completed. The sense of purpose is reflected in the following quotation from Joe: “Reflecting on the last semester I feel a great sense of accomplishment and growth” (2019). But the mid-term report is also a good start for thinking ahead to the upcoming semester and the learning process that is to come, which is discussed by Erica: “… my studies here have been an eye-opening experience and a self-exploration journey. My goals for the rest of the programme are to continue stepping out of my comfort zone, deepen the knowledge I have acquired and become more assertive and confident in my approaches” (2019).

Final metareflection report

The final metareflection report is the last piece of the puzzle in the entrepreneurial diary, the purpose of which is to reflect back on one's own earlier reflections made over the course of the programme. The metareflection report serves to engage student entrepreneurs in thinking about their thinking ( Dinsmore et al. , 2008 ).

When it comes to instructions, the report follows the same logic as the reflective journal and the mid-term metareflection report. The student entrepreneurs receive a worked example as guidance to gain insights on how to deal with the technical writing process that frees up time to engage in developing their own insights about their learning over the programme. The final report comprises about 3,000 words, and the emphasis is on integrating the reflective journal entries as empirical material and literature studied during the programme and beyond. The rationale is to create a report that involves interplay between theory and practice, where the final synthesis is the conclusions that the students draw based on their current state of knowledge after having gone through the entire programme.

The final report is entitled “From Student to Entrepreneur” and gives the students the opportunity to critically reflect on their learning throughout the year but also their future, either as entrepreneurs or contributing citizens. An example of concluding thoughts is seen in the case of Simon, who outlined his future aspirations: “The different sets of toolkits, models and particularly the way of thinking we learnt during the programme have made me a person with a strong sense of alertness to identify problems in daily lives and gaps in existing structures, and also respond to opportunities in a much more systematic, effective and sustainable way” (2015). Both the mid-term and final metareflection reports are guided by means of clear instructions and worked examples (e.g. Sweller et al. , 2011 ) as due to being the first time that the students engage with this type of learning activity the threshold for understanding the purpose is quite high. The main aim, which is visible in the above quotation, is to develop an ability to self-regulate in order to make sounder judgments when engaging in decision-making throughout the entrepreneurial process. Following the ideas of Dewey and more recently Zimmerman (2008) regarding the importance of self-reflection ability for regulating decisions and actions, the final report provides a steppingstone for students to develop self-awareness when heading into their careers.

Conditions for the learning activity

The entrepreneurial diary is a task that demands a great deal of effort where students receive two and a half hours of individual feedback, spread over six-seven written feedback sessions. This requires a good educational infrastructure and the realisation that the move from a behaviouristic to a constructivist view on learning ( Brown, 2003 ) also creates a different demand for contact and meeting each individual at her/his own level ( Williams Middleton and Donnellon, 2014 ). However, if there is a shortage of teaching hours dedicated to components that enable reflective thinking then focus might best be used to set the structure early and emphasizing thorough feedback in the beginning ( Kirschner et al. , 2006 ). That would create clarity for the students on the reason for the learning activity and facilitate the transition of responsibility from teacher to student, which is essential when adopting an experiential pedagogical approach ( Kolb and Kolb, 2005 ; Roberts, 2015 ). Another valuable aspect is a lecture on the purpose of the entrepreneurial diary and the different parts, which also creates an early understanding of why the activity is of importance and how it complements the entire experience-based pedagogical process.

The entrepreneurial diary – theoretical grounding

The entrepreneurial diary is useful when engaging student entrepreneurs in introspection and synthesis of both theoretical knowledge gained through education and practical insights derived from educative entrepreneurial experience ( Hägg and Kurczewska, 2020 ). It is a learning activity specifically developed when building courses or programmes from an experience-based pedagogical approach ( Roberts, 2012 , 2015 ) and more specifically within the context of venture creation programmes. The learning outcome of the entrepreneurial diary is the development of the student entrepreneur's judgmental ability when engaging in entrepreneurial decision-making. The entrepreneurial diary has a theoretical grounding that looks back on history, thus meeting some of the claims made by Rideout and Gray (2013) that the field has raced ahead of the theoretical and philosophical grounding in the educational literature taking its point of departure in the logic of inquiry ( Dewey, 1910 ; Schön, 1992 ) that addresses reflective thinking as a transformative means for generating new or modified knowledge based on experience ( Jordi, 2011 ; Kuk and Holst, 2018 ). But it also seeks to respond to contemporary ideas in which knowledge and learning have changed course from an objectivist towards a constructivist standpoint, where the learner needs to understand her/his learning process to develop knowledge, in essence becoming self-regulated ( Ertmer and Newby, 1996 ). In this sense, the entrepreneurial diary responds to current arguments on the importance of self-regulation and the ability to develop metacognitive awareness (i.e. thinking about one's thinking) as a means to face the ever-increasing stocks of knowledge and information on which our society is based. The current insights from educational psychology and instructional science pertaining to how we store, organize and transfer information between the short- and long-term memory are also related to this.

Taking the above into consideration, the theoretical background of the entrepreneurial diary consists of Dewey's view on reflective thinking (as discussed in the experimental method of thinking section), insights from cognitive load theory on the importance of explicit instructions, worked examples and the expertise reversal effect in learning ( Sweller et al. , 2011 ) but also insights on the role of timely feedback ( Epp, 2008 ; Moon, 2006 ) and finally research on metacognition ( Flavell, 1979 ; Kolb and Kolb, 2009 ) and its importance for developing the ability to self-regulate ( Dinsmore et al. , 2008 ; Zimmerman, 1990 ). In the following sections, the theoretical grounding will be discussed with the exception of the view on reflective thinking, which has been previously addressed in the paper.

Explicit instructions and the reversal effect in learning

A main mechanism that was less evident in the explanation of reflective thinking by Dewey (1910) is the importance of explicit instructions and timely feedback. In the entrepreneurial diary, the main input regarding how to think about instructions and feedback relates to recent insights from cognitive load theory ( Sweller et al. , 2011 ) and evolutionary educational psychology ( Geary, 2002 ; Sweller, 2016 ), as well as from research on journal writing ( Epp, 2008 ; Phan, 2007 , 2009 ). Although the importance of instructions and feedback is evident in much educational literature ( Sweller, 2015 , 2016 ), the discussion that has been ongoing since the 1980s in cognitive load theory compliments the claim how to learn through experience by means of reflective thinking ( Dewey, 1938 ; Mezirow, 1991 ; Moon, 2006 ; Rodgers, 2002 ) from an instructional and guiding perspective in education.

In the literature on learning from experience, the argument has been that in order to learn from experience, reflection must be made an active component in the learning process ( Boud et al. , 1985 ; Boud and Walker, 1990 ), as otherwise it remains an unconscious activity ( Boyd and Fales, 1983 ; Dewey, 1910 ) and few claims on knowledge development can be made. Cognitive load theory together with evolutionary educational psychology aid this process by arguing for the provision of explicit instructions before engaging students in a new learning activity in order to frame it but also through the use of templates and worked examples ( Kalyuga et al. , 2003 ; Sweller et al. , 2011 ).

An important assumption behind evolutionary educational psychology is that what is learnt in academia mainly consists of biologically secondary knowledge ( Geary, 2007 ), which is a human artefact developed over a long period of time in human history. We might epigenetically learn to speak a language, but we need clear instructions to read and write because our mimicking of speaking is biologically primary knowledge, whilst learning to read and write is secondary knowledge ( Geary, 2002 ; Sweller, 2015 ). The division between primary and secondary knowledge also relates to domain knowledge ( Alexander, 1992 ), which is what we mainly teach in education ( Sweller, 2016 ). Although human thinking is primary knowledge that almost everyone is capable of doing, the act of reflective thinking based on the experimental method ( Dewey, 1910 ) is a form of secondary knowledge that requires explicit instructions and timely feedback to learn.

From cognitive load theory, the main insights that are integrated into the entrepreneurial diary are the use of worked examples and the expertise reversal effect in learning ( Kalyuga et al. , 2003 ; Kirschner et al. , 2006 ). A worked example is provided to give the students a clear understanding of how to perform the learning activity. To decrease the cognitive load the first time that the students engage with the reflective journal they receive a sample journal entry from a former student. This decreases the entry barriers in terms of what the students can expect to produce and also changes the focus from the end product (the journal entry) to the process of writing the entry. In accordance with early ideas in cognitive load theory, the use of worked examples aids in focusing the student's attention to the learning process instead of the end product ( Sweller, 1988 ). The use of examples also increases transparency about what can be expected and facilitates feedback.

In addition to the worked example, the expertise reversal effect from cognitive load theory is also an influencing factor ( Kalyuga et al. , 2003 ). The expertise reversal effect builds on a transition of ownership related to the learning process that students go through. A main part is the shift in responsibility in the learning process that moves from the teacher to the student. As a student gains increased knowledge about how to perform and develop reflective thinking ability through the reflective journal, the level of explicit instructions and feedback decreases. The expertise reversal effect builds on research demonstrating that when a student has grasped a learning activity, there is a fine line between the point at which explicit instructions and examples continue to foster learning and where they start to decrease the learning effect on the individual student ( Sweller et al. , 2011 ). A main takeaway from the expertise reversal effect is that the teacher has a guiding role, where knowing the students' level of proficiency is of the essence when giving timely feedback throughout the reflective journal process.

Timely feedback – why, how much and what

A main influence when it comes to structuring the feedback has been built on a synthesis between the importance of explicit instructions, the reversal effect and providing personal and timely feedback. The literature on journal writing and especially on the use of reflective journals in education acknowledges the importance of personal and timely feedback ( Epp, 2008 ; Moon, 2006 ). The issue is one of time in a dual sense. Timely feedback is important for aiding students in their individual learning process, but teachers often lack sufficient time to provide extensive feedback. However, if the feedback is institutionalized and platonic as opposed to being timely and personal, the student's motivation to continue investing effort might decrease.

The amount of individualized feedback provided to each student is partly dependent on the number of students in the class but also on how much feedback each student needs. In the present context, each student receives approximately two and a half hours of feedback spread over six-seven written feedback sessions. The length and depth of feedback are unbalanced, meaning that the first two feedback sessions are more detailed, so that the students gain a clear understanding of the learning activity and ideas about how to develop their thoughts. However, as a rule of thumb, each written feedback session only includes a maximum of three points to think about. The reason for this restriction is to not overload the cognitive ability to take in feedback at one given point in time ( Sweller, 2016 ). Instead, the following written feedback session will address further issues based on how the students have dealt with previous feedback, thus providing continuity in the individual student's learning process when developing their reflective thinking ability (see, e.g. Dewey, 1916 , 1938 , 1946 ). The aim of the unbalanced feedback over a one-year period is to shift responsibility from the teacher towards the student as she/he becomes more and more proficient in the learning activity.

Making the invisible, visible, which simply means paying careful attention to how you frame the learning activity or educational process by making your learning outcomes and your educational purposes intentional and overt to your students, both at the beginning and throughout ( Roberts, 2015 , p. 92).

Making the invisible visible connects well with the three main ideas discussed in this section as it contributes insights into the importance of tailoring guidance throughout the learning process when adopting an experiential learning approach. The process perspective also relates back to the importance of continuity, advocated by Dewey (1910) when engaging in reflective thinking as continuity is the key that connects one experience to another in the learning process.

Metacognition and developing self-regulation ability to handle uncertainty

The final theoretical grounding of the entrepreneurial diary is related to metacognition and the importance of developing abilities to self-regulate, two aspects that have been argued to be essential for entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial behaviour ( Harms, 2015 ; Haynie et al. , 2010 ; Kyrö and Tapani, 2007 ). To deal with uncertainty, one has to be able to regulate one's own thoughts ( Dewey, 1910 ; Dinsmore et al. , 2008 ; Flavell, 1979 ). However, to be able to monitor and regulate oneself, there has to be learning activities that open up for understanding and taking an objective view of one's own learning. Zimmerman (2002) presents a three-stage model including a forethought phase, a performance phase and a self-reflection phase. The final phase of self-reflection facilitates self-observation, where learners observe and compare their own prior performance and the performance of others to form a self-judgment ( Zimmerman, 2002 ).

A theoretical map of the building blocks for developing reflective thinking

To summarize the above discussion, model one provides a graphical overview of the interplay between the theoretical streams and an emerging analytical tool to research reflective thinking as a learning process to make the invisible visible ( Roberts, 2015 ). Making the move from invisible to visible is an important part of the discussion on learning through and from experience, where the idea of reflection needs to become a conscious process ( Boud et al. , 1985 ) ( Figure 1 ).

The model seeks to illustrate how the different theoretical streams and concepts create an interplay to explain how instructions, examples and different parts of knowledge interact in the process of developing reflective thinking based on the experimental method of thinking ( Dewey, 1910 ) assisted by more contemporary ideas of cognitive load theory ( Sweller et al. , 2011 ), reflective journal writing in higher education (e.g. Kember, 1999 ; Moon, 2006 ; Phan, 2009 ) and the transactive process put forward in experiential education research (see Itin, 1999 ; Roberts, 2015 ). The entrepreneurial diary with its different phases of progression aimed at developing self-awareness ( Zimmerman, 2002 ) provides a systematized process of reflective thinking and how to become a self-regulated learner. It is a learning activity that complements other more action-oriented activities that are normally employed in entrepreneurship education and in particular venture creation programmes by focusing on the accumulation of knowledge that is implicitly developed when learning through various forms of entrepreneurial experience (see, e.g. Hägg and Kurczewska, 2020 ).

The pre-phase sets the scene of the learning activity and provides students with an understanding of why reflective thinking is important and enables them to take the first step to unmask the invisible and implicitness associated with reflection. The pre-phase also serves to reduce the cognitive load of the learning activity through explicit instructions and discussing the template and what is expected from the students.

Phase-1a, the first part of the reflective journal process, provides the student entrepreneurs with an initial understanding of Dewey's experimental method through the journal structure and the worked example (see Appendix ). This gives the students guidance on the process, and they also receive thorough formative feedback in a timely manner.

In Phase-2, the student entrepreneurs engage in looking back on their individual learning process for the first time by means of the mid-term metareflection report. This phase provides the students with an explicit understanding of the development in their learning process and a more visible view of their learning.

In Phase-1b, the students gain greater independence in their journal writing and feedback is used to push them further in their thinking processes. It is also in this phase that the level of responsibility is moved further and further onto the students, also known as the reversal effect in learning when instructional feedback no longer provides benefits for developing and extending one's knowledge.

Finally, in Phase-3, the students have an opportunity to look back on the entire learning process and the various experiences they have undertaken as well as the different decisions they have made and how they have iterated or made various pivots in their processes. This final phase provides ample opportunities for introspection and fully visualizing the invisible learning process that is often undertaken unconsciously (see, e.g. Boud et al. , 1985 ). It provides the students with a final opportunity to think about their thinking and look back on what they have achieved, how they have addressed various opportunities and relations over the year and where they are heading when taking the leap of faith into the future.

The entrepreneurial diary as a learning activity is a process for the students to develop self-awareness (i.e. metacognitive abilities to regulate one's learning and thinking). The learning activity provides the student entrepreneurs with opportunities for mental training in dealing with the uncertainty ( Haynie et al. , 2010 ) that they face when engaging in learning from and through entrepreneurial experince. It is a learning activity that seeks to prepare the students to handle uncertainty, which is a natural state for entrepreneurs when acting entrepreneurially ( Knight, 1921 ), both in a start-up context ( Sarasvathy, 2008 ) and in an intrapreneurial context when developing new projects or business ideas ( Kuratko and Morris, 2018 ).

The self-regulation profile of novices is very distinctive from that of experts. Novices fail to engage in high-quality forethought and instead attempt to self-regulate their learning reactively. That is, they fail to set specific goals or to self-monitor systematically, and as a result, they tend to rely on comparisons with the performance of others to judge their learning effectiveness… In contrast, the self-regulation profile of experts reveals they display high levels of self-motivation and set hierarchical goals for themselves with process goals leading to outcome goals in succession.

The above quotation from Zimmerman shows clear similarities to the ideas put forward by Dewey a century before and related to cognitive load theory's ideas on clarity when facing new learning activities, which the entrepreneurial diary seeks to meet.

In the context of entrepreneurial education, the role and importance of reflection can be found in Lundmark et al. (2019) , who acknowledge that students who developed their reflective ability also increased their perceived behavioral control, whilst in a study by Hägg (2018) , an increased reflective thinking ability correlated with higher average grades (development of entrepreneurial knowledge) during a venture creation programme. Furthermore, in the study by Wraae et al. (2020) , the use of reflective video clips aided in understanding tacit assumptions and reframing experiences, something that comes close to the argument by Boud et al. (1985) that to learn from experience one has to make reflection a conscious process, which is evident in the example in Appendix , where a student in a systematic process develops her/his thoughts about the different experiences encountered over a two week period.

The main questions that guided the present study were: what are the theoretical foundations when developing reflective thinking in experiential entrepreneurship education? and how might the entrepreneurial diary as a reflective learning activity stimulate self-regulation?

From a theoretical perspective, the study provides both theoretical advancements of the interplay between action and reflection when engaging student entrepreneurs in highly experiential forms of entrepreneurship education and in demonstrating how students can develop self-awareness about their learning for making judgmental decisions in future situations. The study also contributes to the theoretical anchoring of reflective thinking in entrepreneurial education research ( Jones, 2009 ; Lundmark et al. , 2019 ; Pepin, 2012 ; Williams Middleton and Donnellon, 2014 ), describing it as a highly systematic process (see Dewey, 1910 ), which has not been sufficiently covered in previous discussions. It also contributes to our understanding of how to develop balanced learning processes in venture creation programmes. In particular, the structure of the entrepreneurial diary with two synthesizing tasks, a mid-term and final meta-reflection, provides a theoretical advancement on how to make the invisible visible ( Roberts, 2015 ) when it comes to the outcomes of journal writing and the importance of reflective thinking when engaging in entrepreneurial activities. This is something that has not been fully addressed in previous entrepreneurship education research, especially in the experiential learning process where venture creation programmes are positioned.

Another contribution is that reflective thinking has been continuously argued to be essential when engaging students in learning entrepreneurship to promote an understanding of why they act as they do ( Kassean et al. , 2015 ; Neck and Greene, 2011 ; Williams Middleton and Donnellon, 2014 ), but there has been little research on the underlying prerequisites for how to firstly develop reflective thinking ability and secondly, making the value of that ability explicit to the students when they go through the learning process. The present study has provided at least one brick for closing that gap, both theoretically what reflective thinking implies based on Dewey but also by describing how to structure a learning process to enhance the ability to reflect for developing knowledge from entrepreneurial experience, as well as providing some empirical insights of the entrepreneurial diary from students who participated in the one-year programme.

Finally, a main contribution is the response to the critical voices that have been raised that the scholarship of teaching and learning in entrepreneurship education has raced ahead of theoretical underpinnings of the learning theories employed and recommended when teaching entrepreneurship to students in higher education ( Fayolle et al. , 2016 ; Rideout and Gray, 2013 ; Scott et al. , 2016 ). Despite the fact that the study employs a theoretical frame that is over a hundred years old ( Dewey, 1910 ), it is still a valid theoretical frame due to the linkage with contemporary sources in educational literature that re-visit the thoughts of Dewey. But to compliment and add to our understanding, the paper also combines current insights from cognitive load theory (Sweller and associates), as well as insights on feedback (see Epp, 2008 ; Moon, 2006 ) and finally the arguments for developing the ability to self-regulate ( Harms, 2015 ), which builds on the importance of preparing student entrepreneurs to deal with uncertainty when they engage in entrepreneurial action. Hence, the final contribution is the synthesis of various theoretical streams that together build the entrepreneurial diary.

The entrepreneurial diary – a stage model

The structure of the reflective journal

Level	Question/statement	Explanation
Surface	1. What have I done and whom have I met?	Highly descriptive, an opening question that triggers memory of the key events and persons that the student entrepreneur have met during the time that has passed since the last entry
Surface	2. Why did I do what I did?	Still on a descriptive level, but this question opens up for describing nuances in the experiences and persons that the student entrepreneur has met during the time since the last entry
Deep	3. Observations and reflections with regard to points 1 and 2	A first move towards a deeper level where the main emphasis is on elaborating thoughts, feelings and emotions related to the different experiences and persons encountered during the time that have passed since the last entry
Deep	4. Can you please reflect on (entrepreneurial) theory and link it with point 3?	The deepest level of the entrepreneurial diary. Here the student adds the layer of theory that could aid in making a synthesis of what has been experienced and the conceptual knowledge that could help withdrawing new insights for future entrepreneurial experiences
Surface (future looking)	5. What are my goals for the next week?	The final question moves back to a surface level and engages the student in looking ahead and setting goals for the future learning activities that are upcoming; this also create an initial bridge between the diary entries

Example of a reflective journal

Q1: What have I done and who have I met?
In the last two weeks, I met a lot of inspiring people and I got to bond more with my fellow classmates. In terms of activities there were three main events happening: the “business failure workshop”, the “future in mind workshop” and the “pitching workshop”

Q2: Why did I do what I did?
The business failure workshop was something I anticipated and looked forward to from the beginning of this course. Unfortunately, I had to witness two company closures in my previous start-up experiences and ever since I was reflecting about “business failing” a lot. Before this course started, I of course tried to understand the reasons why those two ventures did not succeed but since I was “just an employee” in both start-ups I had difficulties to understand the whole picture. Therefore, I was more than happy when XX told his story and painted a whole picture, why his business failed. He gave me (us) some real insights and with some decision-making exercises in between, he managed to illustrate that business failure usually does not happen due to one mistake but is characterized by uncertainty and complexity

Since there generally was less time in the last two weeks to actually form larger groups for “idea-brainstorming-sessions”, I made sure that I arranged some lunch and dinner meetings with two classmates in particular. All meetings were a lot of fun and I felt like we bonded a lot over the last couple of weeks. Therefore, it was a no-brainer for the three of us to form a team in the “pitching workshop” to work on an idea together. Interestingly all three of us had already have one idea in mind for the final project, but we all decided to come up with a new idea together

Q3: Observations and reflections with regard to points 1 and 2
As previously stated in journal #1 all of my fellow students are very friendly and working with a variety of them on different projects has been a pleasure so far. Feeling that I am starting to bond more with a fair amount of them also helps me when presenting in front of the class. While presentations in the first two weeks were still a bit nerve-wrecking, in the last two weeks they have been a lot of fun and I tried to put myself forward to present as often as I can since my classmates are usually very good at giving constructive feedback and I still very much enjoy improving my presentation still. Learning about the N.A.B.C pitching technique and getting useful tips from such a talented pitcher like XX was also very exciting. In regard to the new business idea, I found two like-minded people with whom working on a new idea was super fun and rewarding. All of us put the same amount of effort into the development and it did not feel like there was a “stormy phase” at all, and I am curious to find out if this is just because we did not leave the “honeymoon phase” or if it's because we are actually a great match. Nevertheless, I truly feel like our great team efforts paid off when we were presenting our concept

Q4: Can you please reflect on (entrepreneurial) theory and link it with point 3?
I have been reflecting a lot about the business failure workshop. In my opinion, he was a real impersonation of positive attitude towards failure. Even though I worked in several (five) start-ups before I used to have a rather negative attitude towards failure, which goes against proposal that one develops a positive attitude towards failure through start-up experiences. However, learning about his company closure and his overcoming of grief ( ) in such a personal and relatable manner, I can truly understand how this can affect someone's attitude towards failure and even though I have not experienced a closure as a founder myself

The pitching workshop on the other hand showed me that the IMOI model by (2005) is very applicable to team projects and we found ourselves referring back to it, especially in regard to the functioning stage (bonding, adapting and learning), to increase our efficiency as a team. Structuring our workload according to our strengths really helped the whole project to go smoothly and at the same time we made sure that we were teaching one another so that there was also a learning process involved

Lastly, I was trying to improve my entrepreneurial alertness by broaden my knowledge in different areas, meaning reading different articles on tech and finance news websites (tech crunch and financial times). Despite the fact that I just started with the plan to develop my general knowledge, I felt like it was already rewarding since I came up with the business idea for the pitching workshop challenge by connecting the dots of unrelated trends and topics, about which I had previously hardly any knowledge ( ). Therefore, I am going to continue with my plan and hope that this will further sharpen my alertness and help me in upcoming entrepreneurial activities

Q5: What are my goals for next week?

I consider the 1980s as the take-off phase, despite being aware that entrepreneurship has been taught in courses since the mid 20th century, where the first course was taught at Kobe University, Japan, in 1938 by Shigeru Fijii (see, e.g. Dana, 1992 ; Falkäng and Alberti, 2000 ) and the more acknowledged course at Harvard emerged in 1945.

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Acknowledgements

This paper forms part of a special section “Students creating ventures in higher education – nascent entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship students”, guest edited by Lise Aaboen, Roger Sørheim, Dag Håkon Haneberg and Torgeir Aadland.

The author would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments for developing this work. The author is also grateful for valuable comments and suggestions on earlier drafts from Associate Professor Colin Jones and Associate Professor Agnieszka Kurczewska, as well as comments from a paper development workshop in 2019 hosted by Professor Gry A. Alsos and Professor Diamanto Politis at Lund University.

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FARLEY CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION McCORMICK SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

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Vanessa streng (wcas ’22), a farley alum and former northwestern student-athlete, leverages lessons from entrepreneurship and tennis in her role at microsoft..

Entrepreneurship and tennis might seem worlds apart, but for Vanessa Streng (WCAS ‘22), the lessons from the sport and the Farley classroom are tightly linked, shaping her into who she is today.

As a student-athlete on Northwestern’s women’s tennis team, Streng balanced the rigorous demands of sports and studies, majoring in sociology and communications, with a minor in entrepreneurship from the Farley Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and a certificate in integrated marketing.

Now, as a data and AI specialist at Microsoft, Streng leverages the multifaceted experiences she gained at Northwestern. The discipline from her athletic training and the strategic thinking from her entrepreneurship studies converge in her current role, helping her stay resilient and flexible.

Below, Streng shares how her passion for tennis and entrepreneurship shaped her path, the impact of her education at the Farley Center, and the lessons she learned along the way.

What motivated you to study entrepreneurship? 

The reason I went to Northwestern was first and foremost because of tennis. I also knew I wanted to work in business after college. I pieced together a sales and business education by studying sociology, communications, entrepreneurship, and marketing.

My dad is also an entrepreneur. He immigrated from the Netherlands and started a flower wholesale company. My mom worked for him, and the roof over our heads was because of entrepreneurship. I liked the idea that entrepreneurship is a perfect balance of learning how to grow personally, sell an idea (or yourself), and communicate with people, and that there’s no one “right” answer. You can do anything with it; it opens a realm of possibilities.

What was it like taking classes at the Farley Center?

The Farley professors cared about students well beyond the classroom. They all had a bigger vision for us than just getting a good grade. They put into perspective that the lessons we learned in class were preparing us for life and work after school, and it helped us feel more receptive to learning. It made learning feel more approachable knowing that my professors were there to help me grow as a person. It felt more like a community that way.

How did being a student-athlete influence your academic and personal life at Northwestern? 

Being a student athlete taught me what I’m capable of physically and mentally. There were times when I did homework on a plane, flying overnight from Seattle to make it to a midterm in Evanston. My daily schedule was intense: lifting weights, attending class, practicing, grabbing a quick lunch, having a private lesson, attending another class, and then doing homework — all on repeat. Having that kind of schedule showed me that I can do it, and if I can’t do it, how to ask for help or reprioritize.

What skills did you gain at the Farley Center, and how do they apply to your role at Microsoft?

In ENREP 331: Entrepreneurial Sales and Marketing, I worked in a team to brainstorm a medical device idea and then pitch it to Harvard and UCLA professors. It made us all uncomfortable because it was new, but we quickly figured out how to persuade someone to talk to us and explain the benefits they’d get and the benefits we’d get. I use this skill in my sales work as a data and AI specialist at Microsoft. I talk with government customers about how Microsoft’s analytics or data storage solutions can help them.

What does entrepreneurial thinking mean to you?

Entrepreneurial thinking is about knowing your goal. As someone who works as a specialist, maybe it’s that I have customer projects. As a tennis player, maybe it’s that I want to win this tournament. Knowing your goal helps you put focus on what’s needed to get there. It’s also about being flexible. In life, things don’t go according to plan. You have to rely on so many different muscles in order to adapt. You have to have confidence in yourself and have grace with others. Just like in tennis, which is a predominantly solo sport, there’s no hiding. You can’t be subbed out. It’s all you out there.

What message would you like to share with current Farley Center students?

Be genuine with yourself and to others. Whether that’s saying “I don’t know” to a question, asking someone for help, or asking someone if they want help, being genuine gives you a really strong sense of who you are, what your values are, and where you’d like to be. People gravitate toward people who want to help and be helped. You don’t have to be perfect. Be open, genuine, and transparent, and it’ll go a long way in life and in your career.

Entrepreneurship: Opportunity and Design Thinking

Checked : T. M. H. , Iris E.

Latest Update 20 Jan, 2024

Table of content

Recognizing opportunity

Design thinking.

There are many different approaches to what entrepreneurship is and what it is not. In many instances, it highly depends on what one thinks of it to be and not what others do.

Blackburn, 2011, p. xiii states that “Whilst there is no universally accepted definition of entrepreneurship, it is far to say it is multidirectional. It involves analyzing people and their actions together with the ways in which they interact with the environment, be these social, economic or political, and the institutional, policy and legal frameworks that help define legitimate human activities.” This means entrepreneurship is such a broad subject understanding it from a single perspective may not be possible. It requires a lot of different sets of thoughts and human activities.

According to Lichtenstein (2011, p.472), entrepreneurship encompasses many “activities and levels of analysis that no single definition is definitive. Here again, we see entrepreneurship as a field of many related activities. This statement agrees that it is ok to have different interpretations, as long as they related to specific events. The definition of entrepreneurship is a world of confusion and unlikely thoughts. There is no taking what definite write or wrong is. “It is complex, complex, and lacks any notion of linearity”- Neck and Greene (2011, p.55). Neck and Greene further add educators have to lead their students to a path of discovery, and they must learn to reasons and implement different skills that will enable them to succeed in uncertain situations. This, of the essence, means students should be exposed to different approaches of entrepreneurship to challenge them to think big.

Entrepreneurship can be an act of starting a business. It involves creating a product, process, or service to make a profit. We can also call it an idea and activity of starting a business. Entrepreneurship is a creative activity. For one to start a business, they need to perceive everything as a chance and do whatever is necessary to exploit the opportunity. An entrepreneur is, therefore, biased at times in their decision and steps to achieve success.

An entrepreneur is someone who comes up with an idea, creates a way around it, and makes it a success according to their needs. He/she designs a new plan and business process according to market needs.

No matter your definition, it is vital for you to recognize potential business opportunities. This may begin understanding the concept of design thinking in detail. In this article, you will improve your ability to apply inspiration, ideation, and implementation.

There several entrepreneurship theorists and Practitioners who have developed the concept of knowing opportunities. Below are tools you can apply for different purposes, but they are most importantly useful in identifying new business opportunities. But first, what is opportunity recognitions:

It is “ the active process through with individuals conclude that they have identified the potential to create something new that has the potential to generate economic value and that is not currently being exploited or developed and is viewed as desirable in the society in which it occurs.” (Baron, 2004)

Baron suggests that opportunity recognition is a cognitive process. As such, people can educate themselves to be more effective at seeing new opportunities, one by changing their thoughts about opportunities, and two, how they recognize them.

Drucker introduces us to “seven sources for innovative opportunities” (Drucker, 1895) for systematic innovation. The first to the fourth ones involves the business or industry internally. They encompass what is seen in an organization or a sector. The last three deal with whatever affects a company or the industry externally.

Internal sources
The unexpected ( including success, failure, and some outside activities)
The mismatch between reality ( what reality is and what it perceived to be)
The process needs leading to innovations
Unexpected industrial or market structure changes
External focused sources include
Demographics
Changes in thoughts, mood, and understanding
New ideas in science and other fields.

In his New Venture Template, Mitchell (2000) raises a concern about whether the opportunity of studying represents a new combination. He offers a solution to determine this by presenting two groups of entrepreneurial discoveries, scientific discovery, and circumstances. He also talks about the second set of variation for consideration as market imperfections which build profit opportunities. They include excess demand and excess supply. We, therefore, get four categories or discoveries in entrepreneurship: invention I, observation, invention II and coordination.

Other theorists in this section include Schumpeter (1934), Murphy (2011), and Vesper (1996), who all had different approaches to entrepreneurial discoveries but which have links to each other.

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Tim Brown, President, and CEO (IDEO, 2015), defines design thinking as a human-centered approach to innovation that comes from the toolkit of the designer to integrate people’s needs, technological possibilities, and what is required to succeed in business. He says that design thinking is a process that comes from the deepest part of the human mind. It reaches into the abilities that every human being possesses but is over-looked for by more important problem-solving approached. To achieve design thinking, one must be intuitive and able to recognize patterns and contract ideas that have emotional functionality and meaning. Besides, one must be able to express themselves through ways beyond words and symbols. Well, we all want to take feeling, intuition, and inspiration out of our business way, but relying on the rational and analytical too much can be a considerable risk.

Design thinking is a fundamental process in entrepreneurship. It can be seen as a system of intermingling spaces, more than a sequence of orderly steps. It involves inspiration, ideation, and implementation. First, we get inspiration about what is happening around us. Then an entrepreneur will generate, develop, and test the ideas in the idealization stage. Finally, he/she will implement the idea to create an impact in people’s lives.

Entrepreneurship is a tricky subject, much as it seems easy. It takes a lot to become an entrepreneur, but through learning and practices, success is imminent.

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‘One of the Truly Awful and Self-Indulgent Performances of Our Time’: The Best and Worst Moments From Night 4 of the Convention

A photo illustration of Donald Trump in black and white, with colored circles around him.

By New York Times Opinion

Did the night help Trump?

Welcome to Opinion’s commentary for Night 4 of the Republican National Convention. In this special feature, Times Opinion writers rate the evening on a scale of 0 to 10: 0 means the night was a disaster for Donald Trump; 10 means it could lead to a big polling bump. Here’s what our columnists and contributors thought of the event, which culminated in Trump’s acceptance speech.

Best Moment

Kristen Soltis Anderson, contributing Opinion writer Donald Trump gave a compelling and moving description of what it was like to be under fire and pledged to represent all of America, not just half of America. That may be easier said than done.

David Brooks, Times columnist The first 20 minutes of the Trump speech. If he’d done the story about the assassination attempt and then added 15 minutes of policy, he would be cruising toward victory. He could have plausibly argued that he is a changed man.

Jane Coaston, contributing Opinion writer Hulk Hogan’s speech was his best performance since he beat Macho Man Randy Savage at WrestleMania V.

Matthew Continetti, fellow at the American Enterprise Institute Trump’s account of the attempt on his life was gripping. He displayed a vulnerability and humility that most people had never seen before. And when he kissed the fireman’s helmet of Corey Comperatore, the husband and father who was killed during last weekend’s shooting, Trump created yet another indelible image. It won’t be soon forgotten.

David French, Times columnist Trump’s tribute to Comperatore was touching and appropriate. Placing his uniform on the stage was a powerful visual reminder of the loss.

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Aspects of Entrepreneurial Thinking
For example, entrepreneurial thinking is the ability to derive value from any situation, even the worst for the entrepreneur. It is also the ability to quickly find the right connections, resources, and opportunities at any stage of one's business. Another misconception I had was that to have an entrepreneurial mindset, one has to be very ...
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These ideas resulted from having an entrepreneurial mindset, an awareness and focus on identifying an opportunity through solving a problem, and a willingness to move forward to advance that idea.The entrepreneurial mindset is the lens through which the entrepreneur views the world, where everything is considered in light of the entrepreneurial business.
Entrepreneurial Thinking
Entrepreneurial thinking skills refer to the ability to identify marketplace opportunities and discover the most appropriate ways and time to capitalize on them. Sometimes, it is simply referred to as the ability to find and pursue the problem-solution fits. Entrepreneurial thinking is the ability to see things differently than the rest of the world but, it is not necessarily an inherent trait ...
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An entrepreneurial skill set isn't something you are born with or inherit. I don't think anyone gets "the appropriate mindset" by default. People can hone the traits that make them better ...
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6. Communicate with Students Regularly to Establish New Ways of Thinking. Professor Neck realized that to nurture the entrepreneurial mindset in her students, she needed to provide them with opportunities to do so outside of class. She now encourages her students to establish a daily, reflective practice.
What Is Entrepreneurial Thinking
Entrepreneurial thinking in this sense becomes thinking that embraces responsibility and rejects denial. Thesis 4: Entrepreneurial Thinking Is Action-Oriented and Team-Oriented; It Has a Multiplier Effect. It starts from a need to act on something - a problem, an idea, an opportunity. And it brings people together around a project.
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400 samples. In the course of your studies for management, marketing, or finance degree, you can be asked to write an entrepreneurship essay. Those who tried it know how challenging it is to compose a convincing and fact-based paper about business. An entrepreneurship essay requires you to carry out thorough research.
Entrepreneurial Mindset: How to Think Like an Entrepreneur
Here are the five characteristics of an entrepreneurial mindset. 1. Decisiveness. To succeed as an entrepreneur, you must learn to look at a problem or situation, digest all available data (at that point in time), and make a confident decision to move forward. Your decision-making ability will make or break your future successes.
PDF What Is Entrepreneurial Thinking
In this essay, I build on these two papers to discuss entrepreneurial thinking not exclusively - or even primarily - as an attribute of business entrepreneurs, nor do I ... Entrepreneurial thinking is different from management thinking and from the thin-king that has pervaded traditional business education, in which an undercurrent of ...
What Lies Beneath? The Experiential Essence of Entrepreneurial Thinking
Cognitive developmental psychology and constructivism offer possibilities for the future of. entrepreneurial cognition research to explore: (1) deeply seated beliefs and belief structures. that ...
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Entrepreneurship is the cornerstone of innovation, economic growth, and societal progress. Entrepreneurship embodies risk-taking, innovation, and determination as entrepreneurs actively identify, create, and pursue opportunities to build and scale ventures. From the inception of small startups to the expansion of multinational corporations ...
Entrepreneurial mindset: what is it & how to think like an entrepreneur
Bouncing back and moving forward despite challenges and adversity will help you grow, learn, and build your problem-solving skill set. 5. Willingness to experiment. Playing it safe, though a solid option, only takes you so far. People with an entrepreneurial mindset don't shy away from failure.
Essay on entrepreneurship (100, 200, 300, & 500 Words)
Essay on Entrepreneurship (200 Words) Entrepreneurship is the act of starting and running a business. Many people dream of being entrepreneurs because they want to be their own bosses and make something new. It can be a shop, a tech company, or even a small home-based business. Being an entrepreneur is exciting but also challenging.
Skills and Behaviors that Make Entrepreneurs Successful
Collaboration and Team Orientation. Measures skills and behaviors associated with being a strong team player who is able to subordinate a personal agenda to ensure the success of the business. Management of Operations. Measures skills and behaviors associated with the ability to successfully manage the ongoing operations of a business.
What is entrepreneurship?
At its most basic level, entrepreneurship refers to an individual or a small group of partners who strike out on an original path to create a new business. An aspiring entrepreneur actively seeks a particular business venture and it is the entrepreneur who assumes the greatest amount of risk associated with the project.
Benefits of Entrepreneurial Thinking
The entrepreneurial mindset includes a variety of admirable traits including the ability to take initiative, adapt to change, find creative solutions and be comfortable with risk. People who have adopted this mindset see challenges as opportunities. They view failure as a chance to learn and let vision, not perfectionism, drive their actions.
Entrepreneurial Mindset: 20 Ways to Think Like an Entrepreneur
The author and entrepreneur Robert Kiyosaki once wrote, "I have never met a rich person who has never lost any money. But I have met a lot of poor people who have never lost a dime." 4. Goal-oriented. Entrepreneurial thinking is goal-orientated. In other words, successful entrepreneurs don't have wishes and dreams—they have goals and plans.
What Lies Beneath? The Experiential Essence of Entrepreneurial Thinking
Abstract. Cognitive developmental psychology and constructivism offer possibilities for the future of entrepreneurial cognition research to explore: (1) deeply seated beliefs and belief structures that ultimately anchor entrepreneurial thinking and (2) how they change as entrepreneurs move toward a more professional, expert mind-set.
Introduction
Entrepreneurial thinking draws on divergent thinking, as individuals explore, experiment, and consider problems and possible solutions from many angles, including those of individuals and groups that are likely to be invested in the problem or question at hand. An entrepreneurial mindset can help students embrace a creative, goal-driven ...
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Such entrepreneurial thinking and opportunity development are reinforced by social interactions related to the venture offering (Dimov, 2007a, 2007b; Hoyte et al, 2019; Snihur et al., 2017), which is a specific empirical translation of the performative idea in actual markets. There is, however, a need to unpack the process further.
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Although it cannot be suggested that arguments towards entrepreneurs born or made in the present context provide an explicit guideline for future research, the essay opens a pathway in the South Asian context to understand the process of becoming a 'successful entrepreneur' in a crisis environment through a combination of practical thinking ...
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What does entrepreneurial thinking mean to you? Entrepreneurial thinking is about knowing your goal. As someone who works as a specialist, maybe it's that I have customer projects. As a tennis player, maybe it's that I want to win this tournament. Knowing your goal helps you put focus on what's needed to get there.
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Then an entrepreneur will generate, develop, and test the ideas in the idealization stage. Finally, he/she will implement the idea to create an impact in people's lives. Entrepreneurship is a tricky subject, much as it seems easy. It takes a lot to become an entrepreneur, but through learning and practices, success is imminent.
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The choice of Mr. Vance was a pointed rebuke of top Republican donors, including the hedge-fund titan Kenneth Griffin, who opposed the senator's nomination right up until the hours before Mr ...
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I keep thinking back to a phrase he used again and again in his interview on July 5 with George Stephanopoulos of ABC News. "I'm the guy," he said. "I'm the guy."
Opinion
Times Opinion writers assess Night 4 of the Republican convention, which included speeches from Hulk Hogan, Mike Pompeo and Donald Trump.