Majority of us will be quick to refer to ourselves as entrepreneurs without knowing what it actually means to be one. What you are about to learn today will enlighten you better as to where you belong. This write-up will be short and straight-to-the-point, so as not to confuse you . Happy reading.

The word entrepreneur is of French origin. It was coined from the French word, entreprendre – meaning to undertake. That is to say that an entrepreneur is a risk taker or an adventurer. The first set of people to be referred to as entrepreneurs were so called because they identified inefficient use of resources and capital and deployed them into areas with better productivity and higher yield. In other words, entrepreneurs seek opportunities for profit and by so doing, create new markets and fresh opportunities.

How is an entrepreneur different from a regular businessman? They both have the same objective – to make a profit, but they go about it differently. A businessman buys and sells goods or renders services just like everyone else. He does not differentiate his offerings from that of his competitors. Better put as “without innovation” or “innovationless”. If there is any word like that. Businesses in the past have operated successfully on this model, but that is not the case in this 21st century.

Like I said earlier, an entrepreneur is a risk taker. He doesn’t take just any risk but calculated risks. And unlike the businessman, he differentiates his business from that of his competitors by creating what the business gurus refer to as a unique selling point or unique selling proposition – that is the only reason customers will patronize you instead of your competitors. An entrepreneur is an inventor. He invents better ways of doing the same thing. Another quality of an entrepreneur is that he scans his environment for business opportunities. What are these opportunities? Human problems that can be solved or improvement in existing goods or services.

The reason most people fail in business is that they create a product and start looking for a market. An entrepreneur does not do that. Instead, he searches his environment for problems. Then, he proceeds to creating a product (good or service) capable of solving the identified problem. In that case, he doesn’t have to struggle to sell his products. All that he needs to do thereafter is to introduce the product to the market (people or businesses experiencing the problem) by advertising, and they will be more than willing to exchange money for a solution.

I believe at this point, you have sufficient information to decide the camp you belong. So, which are you? An entrepreneur or a businessman?

Nice Piece. It Is A Norm In Nigeria That Nigerians Ride On Fads Even When They Only Have Shallow Understanding Of What It Is All About. Entrepreneur Was A Word People Started Throwing About As A Fad

Eggcelent:
Nice Piece. It Is A Norm In Nigeria That Nigerians Ride On Fads Even When They Only Have Shallow Understanding Of What It Is All About. Entrepreneur Was A Word People Started Throwing About As A Fad

It's universal, not a Nigerian trend.

Nice one. A businessman sees opportunity and invest in it. If the business is good he takes the profit. If the business turns bad he sells what's remaining and looks for another venture. But an enterpreneur is persevere. He's determined and possess problem solving ability. An enterpreneur is a businessman but not all businessmen can be regarded as an enterpreneur. Thank you.