Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurship is the development of a business from the ground up — coming up with an idea and turning it into a profitable business.

"An entrepreneur is someone who can take any idea, whether it be a product and/or service, and have the skill set, will and courage to take extreme risk to do whatever it takes to turn that concept into reality and not only bring it to market, but make it a viable product and/or service that people want or need," Gottlieb said"

"Entrepreneurship is the journey of opportunity exploration and risk management to create value for profit and/or social good," said Ajay Bam, a lecturer at the Lester Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business"

Although there are no specific traits all entrepreneurs share, there are certain characteristics that most successful entrepreneurs possess, according to the University of Illinois Center for Economic and Financial Education:

• Ability to plan: Entrepreneurs must be able to develop business plans to meet goals in a variety of areas, including finance, marketing, production, sales and personnel.
• Communication skills: Entrepreneurs should be able to explain, discuss, sell and market their goods or services.
• Marketing skills: Good marketing skills, which result in people wanting to buy goods or services, are critical to entrepreneurial success.
• Interpersonal skills: The ability to establish and maintain positive relationships with customers and clients, employees, financial lenders, investors, lawyers and accountants, among others, is crucial to the success of the entrepreneur's business venture.
• Basic management skills: Even if entrepreneurs hire others to deal with the day-to-day tasks of the business, entrepreneurs need to know whether their company has the correct resources.
• Leadership skills: The ability to develop a vision for the company and to inspire employees to pursue it is imperative for success.