Startup a Home Business
By admin in Basic Fundamentals on November 4th, 2009
A glance at the definition of an entrepreneur reveals a person who ‘assumes the financial risk of the initiation, operation and management of a business’. So among the many aspects that go into entrepreneurship, a key aspect is taking risks. But then what is it that drives a person to take risks?
There are several factors which could be attributed to taking risks in entrepreneurship but the one which lies at their base is motivation. So, one could say that the motivation to ameliorate and succeed initiates a person to take risks.
Taking risks
Millionaires such as Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie and Bill Gates began with small scale businesses and grew to billions. And one look at the traits of these individuals indicates that one thing is common to all of them. That is the underlying burning motivation to excel and achieve greater heights which drove them to take risks. Today in the United States alone there are some 16 million businesses of which nearly 12 million are operated as sole proprietorships which suggests the willingness in people to take risks.
Urge to excel
More often than not people who begin with small businesses become successful millionaires by taking small risks and graduate to bigger risks as time goes by. This is a gradual climb and one learns it as the business grows with an appetite to succeed and excel. In other words, greater the appetite to struggle and grow, greater would be your motivation and appetite to take bigger risks.
Reasons to grow
There are numerous reasons which could be attributed to a person taking up risks in entrepreneurship. It could range from a strong urge to create something ingenuous, doing something one believes in to earning money in a big way. All these factors could serve as motivation which eventually leads to a person taking risks in his business. For example, the greater is the urge in a person to become rich, greater would his efforts be concerted in that direction and in the process greater would be his chances to take risks. Apart from this the need could come from the urge to being a boss and handling different roles of a business ranging from financial, executive to PR and marketing
Realistic risks
Being motivated to take risks alone does not matter. In fact, at times it may prove to be fatal. What matters is taking calculated risks after evaluating the situation carefully. Experience, facts, shrewd planning and some amount of foresight of the outcome could be a few factors which should go into measuring the risk.
Thus, motivation to take risks matters to a great extent and as Napoleon Bonaparte said, “Victory belongs to the most persevering”. Thus you should be driven by the motivation to succeed which would eventually reflect in the risks you take to scale greater heights. The challenge is deciding which risk to take. If you’re working for a larger company, you’re liable to be their “shining star”, one of their few employees that could easily climb the corporate ladder. Some risks an entrepreneur might take are for example, hiring an employee whom you can only afford if sales increase as you plan.