Introduction
"Entrepreneurs are born not made"
There are two sides to every debate, and the "what makes an entrepreneur" argument has raged for decades with neither side able to conclusively prove their case. There are many who believe that an entrepreneur must possess personality traits such as vision, passion and drive that are innate and cannot be taught. Others argue that the skills of evaluating opportunities, motivating people and operating a business are easily passed on to eager students looking to be entrepreneurs. The truth is that both sides are right and it's time for a compromise: Entrepreneurs are born and made. Some people may be natural entrepreneurs and immediately open a business, others will have studied and trained long and hard before doing so, and while each may enjoy some success, neither will be as successful as the person who possesses the inherent qualities and has spent the time to get and education and experience the business world.
Defining the Entrepreneur
Even before the debate as to how people become entrepreneurs has begun, the argument as to what an entrepreneur is starts. Originally from the French words entre, meaning "between", and prendre, meaning "to take", the French verb, entreprendre means "to undertake". It has evolved into a variety of definitions:
"a person who habitually creates and innovates to build something of recognizable value around perceived opportunities" (Bolton and Thompson, 2000)
"an individual who creates something of value at a time and place where there was no such thing before" (Blawatt, 1998)
"someone who undertakes to organize, manage and assume the risks of a business" (Frederick, et al ...