Understanding Entrepreneurship: Functions, Goals, Concepts, and Business Ideas

The term entrepreneurship must have become something familiar to you, especially if you are a business activist. Even so, there are still many of you who don't know for sure what entrepreneurship is. In general, entrepreneurship will be closely related to business.

With the knowledge of entrepreneurship, the business process in a business will be easier. Entrepreneurship can also be found as a subject or subject.

Do you want to know more about entrepreneurship? The following is a discussion about entrepreneurship that you deserve to know. 

Definition of Entrepreneurship

According to the Big Indonesian Dictionary (KBBI), entrepreneurship is defined as matters relating to entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurs according to the KBBI themselves are people who have the ingenuity in recognizing new product innovations, new production methods, operational aspects for new products, and managing the marketing and funding of these products.

That way, entrepreneurship can be interpreted as an activity in managing the business process of a new product, both in terms of the production process, marketing, to funding. In English, the word entrepreneurship has the same meaning as the word "entrepreneurship".

Kata entrepreneurship is a word that comes from the French entrepreneur which means adventurer, creator, and business manager. It can be concluded that entrepreneurship is actually an activity of managing resources – for example natural resources, human Resources, capital, technology and many other resources– to achieve a particular purpose or goal. 

Understanding Entrepreneurship According to Experts

Well, previously you may have learned about the general understanding of entrepreneurship. However, does entrepreneurship only cover the running of business activities? Of course not.

The following are some definitions of entrepreneurship according to experts that can add to your understanding of entrepreneurship.

Thomas W Zimmerer

According to Thomas W. Zimmerer, entrepreneurship is an application of innovation and creative thinking to find solutions to opportunities that arise.

Richard Cantillon (1775)

Richard Cantillon (1775) described his view on entrepreneurship, that entrepreneurship is an act of someone who is willing to take risks and face uncertainty. An example of the case that Richard describes is that there is a businessman who purchases goods at this time and then sells these goods in the future at an uncertain price.

Norman M. Scarborough and Thomas W. Zimmerer (1996)

According to Zimmerer, T., and Scarborough, NM (1996), entrepreneurship is a process to create different things by devoting time, energy, thought as well as taking risks – be it financial, social, or psychological – and then getting rewarded in doing business. form of money and/or personal satisfaction.

That way, we can conclude that entrepreneurship is not only focused on how to open a new business. However, entrepreneurship also underlines that an entrepreneur is someone who dares to take risks, is good at taking advantage of opportunities, a sense of responsibility, and many other entrepreneurial traits.

Entrepreneurship Benefits

Someone who has an entrepreneurial nature can get various benefits that will have an impact on that person personally and for the wider community. Well, these are some of the benefits of entrepreneurship.

Opening of Jobs

With the development of entrepreneurship within oneself or a group, new businesses will be present in the community. A business will of course need Human Resources to be able to run. The emergence of this business will create a need for workers so that jobs will be opened.

Helping the Country's Economic Growth

Entrepreneurship will encourage the creation of new businesses so as to increase state income. In addition, the absorption of workers through new businesses will help the community's economy

Can Develop Ideals and Preferred Business

Through entrepreneurial nature, you can develop a business according to the field that you like and are interested in. With the presence of a business that you like, you will also be happy to run the business.

Can See Various Profitable Opportunities 

When doing business and entrepreneurship, you are strongly advised to do research on what the market is interested in. Why is that? Market research will make you know better about what is trending in society. One of the characteristics that stand out from an entrepreneur is being able to take advantage of opportunities well.

WellAfter knowing the trends that are developing in the community, entrepreneurs can make decisions in accordance with the demands and those in the community. 

Entrepreneurship Concepts

In entrepreneurship there are theories about several concepts that exist in entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship has 5 concepts, namely agility, endurance, speed, flexibility, and strength. The following is an explanation of the 5 concepts of entrepreneurship.

Strength (Strength)

The concept of strength in entrepreneurship can be interpreted as an aspect of physical condition that is able to support entrepreneurial activities. This element of strength is considered an important concept because with physical strength, other entrepreneurial concepts – such as agility, speed, and so on – can be increased.

Speed(Speed)

The concept of speed is another aspect that is no less important in entrepreneurship. Speed ​​is the ability of a person to be able to move or make a transfer in the shortest possible time. Even so, this aspect of speed is not only focused on the aspect of physical movement.

A person with high entrepreneurial nature will need the speed of thinking to be able to develop innovation and compete with competitors.

Durability (Endurance) 

Endurance is a condition that focuses on work capacity that occurs continuously. This concept is considered important in an entrepreneurship because with the existence of endurance, the company will survive from all attacks due to changes in situations and conditions that may occur.

For example, there are currently many businesses that have been forced to close due to the pandemic. With the aspect of resilience, entrepreneurs are expected to be able to anticipate uncontrollable changes and be able to maintain their business.

Agility (Agility)

The agility aspect is a person's ability to be able to change the direction of movement quickly and precisely without losing balance. Through this concept of agility, entrepreneurs can always adapt to be able to see the potential for new things that might cause disruption.

For example, Kodak, a very successful film camera brand of its time, the name brandit's getting dimmer after the rise of digital cameras. This happens if Kodak is less agile in adapting to new findings that exist in society.

Flexibility (Flexibility) 

Flexibility is when a person can adjust to whatever happens in his life. This aspect of flexibility will also determine the ability of an entrepreneur to adapt to an unexpected business environment.

Nature and Characteristics of Entrepreneurship

An entrepreneur has certain characteristics so that the business developed by the entrepreneur can always grow. McClelland, an expert in the field of economics, suggests that there are several important characteristics and traits in entrepreneurship. The following is the nature of entrepreneurship according to McClelland.

Desire to Achieve Achievement

Someone who has an entrepreneurial nature must have a desire to be able to achieve high goals or achievements. With this trait, entrepreneurs will be able to set appropriate goals for their business and have a high desire to achieve these goals.

Anticipate Risk

Risk can be interpreted as an opportunity for something to happen that is not in accordance with our wishes. Well, an entrepreneur must be able to predict the possibilities that are not according to the plan.

For example, you have a business that has been affected by a pandemic. You must be able to mitigate the risks that may occur from this pandemic.

High Optimism and Confidence

The next important entrepreneurial trait is high optimism. A high level of optimism will make the entrepreneur more enthusiastic to achieve the ideals and goals that he has been dreaming of. With this high self-confidence, entrepreneurs will create products that have good quality.

Have High Spirit

High enthusiasm will be very good in entrepreneurship because with high enthusiasm an entrepreneur will carry out business processes well. In addition, with an energetic body, entrepreneurs will be able to provide fresh and innovative ideas according to consumer demand.

Accept Criticism Well

A good attitude towards criticism is also an important aspect of entrepreneurship. An entrepreneur will respond to criticism well and make this criticism as an evaluation material for further entrepreneurial actions.

Future Orientation

Entrepreneurship will be closely related to sustainability of the business we build. To be able to make a business survive in the long term, entrepreneurs need to be oriented far into the future. An entrepreneur needs to take into account the future conditions of the company so that it can adapt, innovate, and mitigate risks properly.

Have Skills in Managing Resources

Entrepreneurship is an activity in managing natural resources, human resources, and capital resources. Of course, the nature and characteristics of managing resources well is one of the important entrepreneurial traits. 

Good Financial Management

Management Good finances and attitudes towards money are traits or characters that entrepreneurs need to have. This aspect does not only include how one manages money for a business (for example, calculating profits, forecasting, and other operational aspects).

However, it is also related to money management related to moral values. Do not let financial funds be misused for something that is not good.

High Desire for Responsibility

In entrepreneurship, you must have a high sense of commitment and responsibility. A business must be run with a full sense of responsibility so that it can run well. Responsibilities are not only about task responsibilities but also resource responsibilities and the management of the results of these resources.

Business Ideas for Entrepreneurship

You want to start a business and develop an entrepreneurial nature but are confused about what business idea to start and how? Here are some ideas for types of service businesses that you might want to use as your reference material!

• Culinary business
• Goods and service sector business
• Environmental business and business
• business idea reseller
• Creative Service Business
• Creative Business
• Freelance Service Business
• Youth Business

There are still a lot of entrepreneurial business ideas that you can apply if you want to start a business.  Well, that was a discussion about entrepreneurship in terms of understanding, benefits, nature, and business ideas.

Do you intend to develop entrepreneurial characteristics in yourself? Don't worry because entrepreneurial traits can be trained and implemented for a better entrepreneurial life!

Reference:

Zimmerer, T., & Scarborough, NM (1996). Entrepreneurship and new venture formation. Prentice Hall. 

Cantillon, R. (1775). The circulation and exchange of goods and merchandise. Essai sur la Nature du Commerce en General.