Entrepreneurs
* North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is an agreement that came into effect in January 1994 between the US, Canada, and Mexico to remove barriers to trade between the three countries over a ten-year period. * Entrepreneur is a risk take in the private enterprise system a person who seeks a profitable opportunity and takes the necessary risks to set up and operate a business. * Entrepreneurs differ from many small-business owners. What makes entrepreneurs different is their overwhelming desire to make their business grow. * Entrepreneurs also differ from managers. * Entrepreneurs may also perform a managerial role, but their overriding responsibility is to use the resource of their organizations. * Social Entrepreneurs - are pioneers of innovations that benefit humanity. * More than 12 percent of Americans, about one of every eight people run their own business * The past two decades have witnessed a heightened interest in entrepreneurs such as Michael Dell. * People become Entrepreneurs: * Some people are motivated by dissatisfaction with the traditional work world, and decide to become an entrepreneur. * Desire for job security * Desire for an improvement quality of life * Desire to succeed financially * Desire to be one’s own boss * Entrepreneurs are wealth creators. * Many start their venues with the specific goal of creating a profitable business and reaping its financial rewards. * While entrepreneurs comprise less than 9 percent of U.S households, they hold 39percent of the wealth. * One third of newly started small firms are out of business within two years.
* Over the past 10 years, large companies sought efficiency by downsizing and actually eliminated more jobs than they created. * U.S Small Business Administration has found that most newly created jobs come from small businesses. * Entrepreneurship is an attractive career option for people seeking to improve their quality of life. * A lifestyle entrepreneur is a person who starts a business to reduce work hours and create a more relaxed life. * An entrepreneur can see an improvement in lifestyle whether it be less travel, more control over hours worked, freedom from having a “boss”. * Online ventures can be attractive to lifestyle entrepreneurs because they have more control over their time. * Entrepreneurs looking for a more relaxed lifestyle often find that pursuing a new venture is in their blood. * Entrepreneurs began moving towards the business and other high-tech entrepreneurs gained national attention by going public. * Factors supporting and expanding opportunities for entrepreneurs. * Globalization * Education * Demographic & Economic Trends * Information technology * Growth in entrepreneurship is a worldwide phenomenon. * The role of entrepreneurs is growing in most industrialized and newly industrialized nations, as well as in the emerging free market countries in central and Eastern Europe. * Five in ten small-business owners say they would not start a new company because of the heavy burden of government regulation. * The past two decades have brought tremendous growth in the number of educational opportunities for would-be entrepreneurs. * More than 100 U.S universities offer full-fledged majors in entrepreneurship, dozens of other offer an emphasis in entrepreneurship, and hundred more offer one or two courses in how to start a business. * Besides school, many organizations have sprouted up in recent years to teach entrepreneurship to young people. * The internet and the web have also created opportunities for entrepreneurs. * Entrepreneurs are also using other networking sites to target customers. * Entrepreneurs take advantage of such trends to offer everything from retirement homes to grocery delivery services. *