What is an entrepreneur? The word can encompass many things. Originally, the word entrepreneur has a french language origin, as the french word “entreprise” translates as “business” or “undertaking”, which is a more literal translation. From this point of view, one could state that an entrepreneur is a business initiator and that entrepreneurship is about the qualities business initiators are able to consistently demonstrate.

In the sense that we are looking at today, it has relevance to a certain profile, or a person who has business in his blood. Usually, an entrepreneur epitomizes a number of values. He will be at the core of many initiatives which other people will generally avoid.

Many of our modern daily comforts have come to be because individuals took the initiative to create and market them. If it was not for Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, computers might still be in their infancy stages of development and if it was not for Henry Ford, cars would not be as cheap or as ubiquitous as they are today.

An entrepreneur is a person who is driven by a goal, a desire to create or materialize an object or a service in order to make it available to the general population, and secure his own material wealth in the process. For this, he is willing to go to great lengths and spare neither time or effort. In most cases, entrepreneurs have a very specific detailed idea about that which they want to accomplish.

This allows them to focus and easily concentrate their effort on piecing together the puzzle of their plan. Entrepreneurs are ambitious and are not afraid to think big. They are willing to take calculated risks in orders of magnitude that would frighten most away. They are willing to “bet the farm” if need be.

Luckily, most entrepreneurs learn quickly from their mistakes, which shows they are flexible and nimble. They are very good at people skills and communication and they can sell as second to none. When an entrepreneur sets his mind to reaching a goal, he will be methodic and ruthless in eliminating obstacles that will slow him down or block his path.

It seems that entrepreneurship needs a concentration of many abilities. In fact, the man or woman who takes on this kind of responsibility has to be a little more than a jack of all trades, he or she will have to be the expert of all trades as the success of their ventures will depend on their ability to make the right decisions all of the time.

From an idea to a business plan, to executing the business plan and hiring the right people to advance the cause; from office or factory to phone, fax and business card; from design, packaging and marketing to insuring and negotiations with the banker, the entrepreneur will orchestrate it all by taking on the role of chief catalyst and initiative taker.

And if it all fails, he is willing to take the losses, although it would seem that entrepreneurship qualities dictate that failure is yet but another opportunity to start all over again.

By: Theo Steward

About the Author:

Kansieo.com

Starting a business is hard work. So if you’ve got that far, you should give yourself a pat on the back. Some say however, that marketing a small business is even harder. So, the good news is is that there are some great free marketing ideas for small businesses. Here are my top 3.

1. Free Marketing Ideas for Small Businesses Online.

Get a website and promote it. If you’re not already online you need to be, whatever your business. Now, getting a website isn’t exactly free but it’s a great deal cheaper than it used to be and simple enough for absolutely anyone to do it. Once you have website you can drive free traffic to it with article marketing which is a great, effective and simple way to get customers to your site and is one of the best free marketing ideas for small businesses.

Join forums. Forums are filled with people who need a solution to their problem. If you have it, tell them and add your site to the resource box.

2. Free Marketing Ideas for Small Businesses Offline.

Free marketing ideas for small businesses work offline too but are often neglected. Offline marketing techniques are great for businesses offer services in a particular region. Promote with flyers by dropping door to door or asking local stores to keep some on the counter for you.

Reward Existing Customers: Contact your customer base with a special offer or discount for existing customers only. It will make them feel special and nudge them into thinking about whether they need anything from you. Chances are they do and they needed reminding. They should also be encouraged to refer other customers. Offer a discount when they use you next.

Treat New Customers: Offer new customers a good introductory discount or a free gift for giving you a try. They can also benefit from referring friends.

3. Get out more.

I once asked a successful small business owner what the key to his incredible success was. Know what he said? Golf. He’d never played but joined a club that was full of his target audience and made so many contacts that his order books were jammed within months. I’m not suggesting you join a golf club but getting to know people in your community will be invaluable for your success.

In conclusion, my top 3 free marketing ideas for small businesses are just the beginning. Marketing is hard work but done properly will bring amazing results. One final thought: Training so that you are doing things right first time will save you thousands of dollars and make you thousands of dollars. Good luck.

By: Kerry Jarman

About the Author:

Website content