People ask, ‘Are entrepreneurs born, or are they made?’ I think it’s a combination of both.

-Robert Herjavec

In the realm of the professional world, two groups of people can be found. Some people mould their lives in the shape of fixed salaried job employees whereas the others dedicate their lives to set up their own companies. We call the people of the latter camp as entrepreneurs. But no matter how enthralling and exciting it sounds to have one’s own company, driving the business and making money out of it is not at all a cakewalk. A lot of things are usually at stake if one aspires to become not just an entrepreneur but a successful entrepreneur. But what does it take to become a successful entrepreneur like Mark Zuckerberg, people who set up and run their own companies which lead to huge revenues? The question in hand is, are successful entrepreneurs born or made? Which means, whether entrepreneurs are born with the required attributes and skills, or they are to be trained in that way?

However, while having an argument if entrepreneurs are born or made, few points are to be looked into. First and foremost what we need to think is what makes a person “an entrepreneur”? How does an entrepreneur’s objectives, skills, challenges, tasks etc. differ from that of a fixed salaried employee? What all does it take to run one’s own business? The core meaning of being an entrepreneur is to undertake. An entrepreneur undertakes a business that has a great idea at its core. And the main responsibility of the entrepreneur is to carry that idea and find ways to turn that idea into a successful profitable business. Along this journey, the person will have to go through a lot of hurdles and challenges which she/he has to overcome tactfully and the sole aim of an entrepreneur is to generate revenue out of that idea. On the other hand the person has to be confident, innovative, creative, a visionary, determined and has to have that motivation to turn the dream seed into a full grown and full bloomed reality.   

To know whether entrepreneurs are born or made, one has to think in both ways, i.e. one has to think about both the “born” factors and also the “made” factors. All entrepreneurship starts with is the very basic yet extraordinary idea revolving around which the business grows. And to possess that idea, the person has to be creative and visionary which can never be a taught attribute. Creativity is something that is inborn. There is no teachable lesson or course for that. Also, an entrepreneur must have the initiative to do the needful in order to take the business to the peak of success and the desire to take the risks in order to cherish the taste of the reward, i.e. the business revenue. Sometimes, it may so happen that a person is born in an entrepreneurial family and in the future, she/he doesn’t think of anything else rather than being an entrepreneur. It is as if she/he bears an entrepreneurial gene. All of these cannot be taught to anybody. These have to be inherent qualities within a person. So these traits can fall under the “born” factors.  

Image credits: http://blog.megafounder.com/

On the other hand, the basic idea is not enough. One has to nurture that idea in a proper method. And for that an entrepreneur must acquire knowledge regarding the idea and do extensive research on it. Again the capacity to overcome day-to-day challenges in the business such as marketing the product in a proper way, managing operating costs, revenues etc., all over organizing the business etc. need proper strategies and techniques which undoubtedly calls for education and training. And not only proper theoretical or practical education, the environment in which an entrepreneur works in, that also has immense influence and shape her/his ideas and decisions and make her/him the entrepreneur she/he is. Therefore, there are certainly the “made” factors as well.  

Although inborn traits or heredity is extremely important, the importance of teaching and shaping an entrepreneur cannot be overlooked. In fact, these two factors combined make the entrepreneur do business in the best possible way. There can be many instances when a person doesn’t belong to an entrepreneurial family. Does it mean that person can never become an entrepreneur? This is when the ‘made’ factors become important along with the other inborn qualities such as creativity, confidence, vision etc. But whatever it is, all entrepreneurs have two things in common— an idea and a dream to turn it into a reality! 

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