Following our MindSet Series of The Brand Strategist, we are bringing the attention here toward the entrepreneurial mindset.

Indeed, there are endless reasons for anyone involved in the brand management, marketing and branding processes to have an entrepreneurial mindset and/or background, to execute their plans and strategies effectively and efficiently. Yet, we are going to provide you with a quick summary that you could keep in mind as an elite entrepreneur and marketer.

To start with, can entrepreneurship be learned?

The simplest answer is already provided by the father of the modern management …

Most of what you hear about entrepreneurship is all wrong. It’s not magic; it’s not mysterious; and it has nothing to do with genes. It’s a discipline and, like any discipline, it can be learned.

Peter. F. Drucker, Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Even though, no single definition of entrepreneur exists and no single profile could symbolise today’s entrepreneurs. A brief recap of the roots, definitions and characteristics of entrepreneurship is beneficial for all of us.

The word entrepreneur is derived from the French “entreprendre”, meaning “to undertake.” Some researchers went and stated “We use the French word in English because unfortunately undertaker is already used by another profession!” Indeed, the entrepreneur is one who undertakes to organise, manage, and assume the risks of a business. The definition is broadened so that today an entrepreneur is considered to be an innovator or developer who recognises and seizes opportunities; converts those opportunities into workable and marketable ideas; adds value through time, effort, money, or skills; assumes the risks of the competitive marketplace to implement these ideas; and realises the rewards from these efforts.

“Once upon a time, just 63 years back!”  

An Early Definition of Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is doing things that are not generally done in the ordinary course of business routine; it is essentially a phenomenon that comes under the wider aspect of leadership.

Schumpeter (1951)

“Fast forward to our era”

A Modern Definition of Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is a dynamic process of vision, change and creation. It requires an application of energy and passion towards the creation and implementation of new ideas and creative solutions.

Kuratko and Hodgetts (2004)

Deeper Modern Definitions of the Entrepreneurial Discipline

Entrepreneurship is: the practice of starting new organisations, particularly new businesses. The process of innovation and new-venture creation. The commercialisation of innovation

An Entrepreneur is:

1. “An innovator or developer who recognises and seizes opportunities; converts these opportunities into workable/marketable ideas; adds value through time, effort, money, or skills; assumes the risks of the competitive marketplace to implement these ideas; and realises the rewards from these efforts.”

2. “An individual who organises and manages labour, capital and natural resources to produces goods and services to earn a profit, but who also runs the risk of failure.”

Entrepreneurial Leadership: an entrepreneur’s ability to anticipate, envision, maintain flexibility, think strategically and work with others to initiate changes that will create a viable future for the organisation.

Entrepreneurial Marketing: the proactive identification and exploitation of opportunities for acquiring and retaining profitable customers through innovative approaches to risk management, resource leveraging and value creation.

Entrepreneurial Marketing Plan: part of the firm’s overall strategic effort, this plan promotes the restless pursuit of opportunity and obsession with customer and a focus on sales and creating values above all else.

Entrepreneurs, what do they do today?

Entrepreneurs are individuals who recognise opportunities where others see chaos or confusion. They are aggressive catalysts for change within the marketplace. Sometimes, they have been equated to Olympic athletes challenging themselves to break new records, to long-distance runners dealing with the pain of the kilometres, to symphony orchestra conductors who harmonise and balance different skills and sounds in the orchestra into a cohesive whole.

Entrepreneurs are the heroes of today’s business world. They establish companies and create new jobs at a breathtaking pace. Economies globally have been revitalised because of the entrepreneurs.

There is no doubt that the passion and energy of the entrepreneurial mindset has advanced the world of business to the future!!

Our recipe for today…