BusinessWeek Inside the Mind of an Entrepreneur

""I coded 39 different personality characteristics," he writes. "The personality characteristics were further coded depending on whether they were specifically related to entrepreneurship (e.g. need for achievement, risk-taking propensity, tolerance for ambiguity) or not related to entrepreneurship (e.g. extraversion, rule conformity)." These characteristics were assessed against such factors as business performance and personal satisfaction of entrepreneurs.

His conclusion? That "personality characteristics do have a significant and positive effect on entrepreneurship and business success.""

redux [06.06.03]
Knowledge@Emory Exploring the Pressures and Joys of Entrepreneurship

"Are entrepreneurs born, or made? Since the dawn of humankind, enterprising individuals have used blood, sweat, toil, and tears to start and make their businesses successful--often risking everything they own. From the mom and pop food carts of old China to today's dotcoms and dog-walking ventures, entrepreneurship has always been the very heart of commerce."

"But whether you're born into a family business or are motivated by a new idea, the demands of entrepreneurship should not be taken lightly."

redux [10.19.02]
Forbes The Psychology Of Success

"Nor, says Shaver, do the entrepreneurs seem to be devil-may-care risk takers. Only a subtle difference in the way they appreciate risk emerged. The entrepreneurs are worse at coming up with reasons they might fail. "Being able to generate more unpleasant possibilities might be making non-entrepreneurs more afraid," Shaver says, but we don't know that.

So far there is one other big difference between those who go into business for themselves and those who don't, Shaver says. Entrepreneurs don't care what other people think about them. "They really don't care as much," Shaver says. "They're just happy to go ahead and do what they're doing."

Statistically speaking, then, Simplot and Gates would seem to have two things in common: They have trouble imagining failure, and they don't care what you think."

redux [08.30.02]
Startup Journal Why It Can Be Wise To Work by Moonlight

"At any given time, about 7.8 million or 6.2% of American workers moonlight at a second job in addition to a primary job, according to a 1997 report by the U.S. Census Bureau. Given that more than one-fourth are self-employed in their secondary occupation, according to the Census study, Dr. Buchanan has around 2 million moonlighters for company.

Self-employed moonlighters are doing more than picking up a few extra dollars and, like Dr. Buchanan, having a good time in their after-hours occupations. They're increasing the likelihood that their ventures will succeed, according to Ron Mitchell, a business professor at the University of Victoria in British Columbia. Most businesses fail because the owners run out of cash before mastering the skills necessary to generate self-sustaining profits, Dr. Mitchell says. The small-business incubators that many universities operate increase survival rates, in part, by sheltering and protecting young enterprises during the learning period of no or low profits, he says."

redux [05.20.02]
The New York Times Entrepreneurship Is Fun. Then There's the Day Job.
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"A growing number of people are poised to take that chance. Last year, roughly 8 percent of working-age Americans, or 13.5 million people, started businesses, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, an index of entrepreneurial activity in 40 countries that is compiled by Babson College in Wellesley, Mass., and the London School of Business. In 1993, about 4.5 percent of working-age Americans started businesses, according to Paul D. Reynolds, a professor of entrepreneurship at the two institutions and coordinator of the project, which last year surveyed 3,000 Americans ages 20 to 64.

During the start-up stage, about 65 percent of entrepreneurs have full- or part-time jobs, Mr. Reynolds said."

Seattle PI A prof delves into the mind of the entrepreneur

""It was very clear in my mind that entrepreneurs think differently," said Sarasvathy. "Anybody who has worked with entrepreneurs to any extent knows that there is something different or funny about them. So I started with that premise.""

"After analysis of transcripts from each individual, a common theme appeared. Entrepreneurs were not goal-oriented, rather they used the materials at hand to create opportunities. Sarasvathy compares this to a chef, who instead of working from a set recipe, combs the cupboards looking for ingredients in hopes that something tasty can be created."

Saras D. Sarasvathy What makes entrepreneurs entrepreneurial?

"Entrepreneurs are entrepreneurial, as differentiated from managerial or strategic, because they think effectually; they believe in a yet-to-be-made future that can substantially be shaped by human action; and they realize that to the extent that this human action can control the future, they need not expend energies trying to predict it.".