The world around us is changing rapidly, what seemed impossible yesterday is taken for granted tomorrow. Change can bring misfortune but it also gives entrepreneurs new opportunities.
Technology is advancing at such a pace that it is hard to distinguish between science fiction and fact, world politics has reached a stage that you don’t know if you should laugh or cry. And consequently the economy is adapting to these changes. Old, established brands practically disappear over night and new “economies” pop up out of thin air. The traditional path of job in big company-career-retirement doesn’t work for most people anymore, the big company of today can be bankrupt tomorrow, what seems like a promising industry today can be obsolete tomorrow.
entrepreneur
ˌɒntrəprəˈnəː/
noun
a person who sets up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit.
For many an alternative to the classical career ladder is entrepreneurship. An entrepreneur is not someone who has lots of followers or likes on a social media platform, it is also not only the CEO of a big dotcom company. An entrepreneur is a person who is willing to invest time, energy and money in an idea or product with the intention of making money.
A simple example is a lemonade stand, you have to buy lemons and sugar, organize a table, glasses, pitcher and ice cubes, find the right recipe, squeeze the lemons and mix the lemonade, find the right price and sales strategy and hope that you will find enough customers who are willing to pay the price for your product so you make a profit.
Nearly all of us have taken a shot at entrepreneurship at some time or another, most probably without even noticing it, for some more profitable than others. There are a thousand ways to become an entrepreneur and loads of books and guides that want to help you on your journey (I always love the “for Dummies” books) and even if when evaluating your situation you do not feel very confident, remember that a wise person once said
“The difference between stumbling blocks and stepping stones is how you use them.”
Although the concept of entrepreneurship is simple, you do need a specific set of skills and talents to be successful. I found a pair of infographics on globalmessaging.co.uk that kind of sums it up, maybe you will recognize the entrpreneur in yourself and take the risk.
