Week 2 Reading Reflection

On this post, I will talk about a chapter of a book I read, called "Entrepreneurship: Evolutionary Development – Revolutionary Impact". To start with, entrepreneurs, in this text, are presented as the "heroes of today's marketplace" or in other words, the heroes of the economy. That is, because entrepreneurs act and serve other people in need. Of course, they get into becoming entrepreneurs, due to a challenge they face, an external motive or an innate will to make change.
What I liked in this text was the distinction between small business owners and entrepreneurs. These two are quite different from each other. Entrepreneurs initiate a business plan, in which more than one people cooperate into making the business successful. So, in addition to working in the business, they also work on the business. As a result, we got many different people, with different skills and talents (entrepreneur, manager, technician), but with the same goal and mind-set, which is to successfully make a business work. All of these entrepreneurs that work for a business are working in terms of basic entrepreneurial principles, such as innovation, profitability and constant growth. In contrast, small business owners are not characterized by such principles. They are ,therefore, less aggressive and more settled in what they already have, since their businesses are already bought as established businesses or franchises. These people are not risk-takers and just expect stable sales and profit. They work in the business serving others. As mentioned in the reading, small business owners are just managers or technicians who create a job to serve their own needs, without contributing into economic growth. This distinction made me understand more about what it means to be an entrepreneur and how important he/she is within a working environment.
Another part that surprised me was that there are too many situations in life that can lead one to become an entrepreneur. These can be considered as fortunate or unfortunate opportunities that appear from mostly external factors. These factors can be either positive or negative.The author separates them into "Environmental School of Thought" and the "Displacement School of Thought" respectively. On the one side, the work and direct social environment is a major contributor in a potential entrepreneur's career. The freedom and support to develop ideas, initiate contracts, create or institute new methods, provide a new entrepreneur the motive to change things. In addition to that, the support from family and friends is also important to a new entrepreneur. On the other hand, when one feels psychologically or is physically displaced from their own group, they are prevented a lot of times from many activities. In order to find a solution to their problem, these individuals find a way to stand on their feet again by putting all their energy in creating something new. They are somehow forced to think in a way that no one has thought of before, leading them to "open windows". The only thing I would change in the text is just incorporate every factor, positive or negative, into one category, because they are basically formed by external factors. I would differentiate the displacement factor only from the others. The difference would be the inner force that drives the entrepreneur to pursuit an entrepreneurship career. Finally, the part that confused me was the "Strategic Formulation School of Thought". How can a company survive when combining unique elements? I wouldn't think that would be sufficient for a company to be successful. Using, however, these resources properly is certainly important.