Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Entrepreneur
AtaGlance
Entrepreneursorganizeandrunnewbusinesses.
MichiganCareerPathways
Business,Management,Marketing&Technology
Earnings
EarningsRange:20K100K
LevelofEducation
HighSchool
2YearCollegeorTechnicalTraining
4YearCollegeorUniversity
CoreTasks
Developneworimprovedbusiness,product,orserviceideas
Presentbusinessproposalstopotentialinvestors
Purchaseequipmentandfacilities
Markettheproductorservice
Overseeactivitiesrelatedtobusinessownership,suchasmanagingemployees
Attributes&Abilities
Selfmotivated
Timemanagementskills
Communicationskills
Creative
Workplace
Selfemployed
Entrepreneurswithanestablishedbusinessmaywork9to10hoursaday
Thosewhoarejuststartingtheirbusinessoftenworklongerhours
JobDescription
Anentrepreneurisapersonwhostartsandrunsanewbusiness.Whatunitesentrepreneursofallkindsisthe
factthattheyseeanopportunitytosuccessfullymarketaproductorserviceandactonit.Theproductitselfcan
beanythingfromautopartstocourierservicesorcomputersoftware.
Someideasareoriginal.Theentrepreneurswhofirstdevelopedpersonalcomputers,forexample,werewell
aheadoftheirtime.Otherentrepreneurstakeanexistingproductorserviceandeitherimproveitorprovideit
moreefficiently.
Entrepreneursstartbyconductingmarketresearch.Inadditiontolearningabouttheproducttheyplanto
provide,theymustalsofindoutwhoislikelytobuytheproductorservice,andwhotheircompetitorsare.
Thenextstepistosetuptheproposedbusiness.Inmanycases,thisdemandsasignificantfinancial
investment.Someonewhowantstostartarestaurant,forexample,mustrentorbuyspaceandexpensive
kitchenequipment.
Finally,entrepreneursmustactuallymarkettheirproductorservicethatis,findpeoplewhoarewillingtopay
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forit.Becausemostentrepreneurslackestablishedclients,thiscanbethemostdifficultpartofthestartup
process.
Ofcourse,entrepreneursresponsibilitiesdontstopafterthebusinessissetup.Theymustmanage
employees,dealwithclientsandsuppliers,overseethecompanysdaytodayoperations,planoutitsfuture
goalsanddirections,andensurethatbookkeepingandaccountingdutiesareperformed.Ifevertherewasa
professionthatrequiredapersontobeaJackorJillofalltrades,thisisit.
Entrepreneurshipcanberisky.Mostbusinessesfailwithintheirfirstfewyears,andtheentrepreneurswhostart
themfrequentlyloseagreatdealoftheirownmoney.Someevenendupbankrupt.Furthermore,most
entrepreneurshavetoworkveryhardformanyyearsbeforerealizingasignificantprofit.
Ontheotherhand,therewardscanbeenormous.Entrepreneursaretheirownbosses,answeringonlyto
themselves.Ifthebusinessissuccessful,theymaygetrich.Andperhapsmostimportantly,entrepreneurshave
thesatisfactionofknowingthattheyhavecreatedsomethingnew:acompanyandproductorservicethat
wouldneverhaveexistedwithouttheirvisionandenergy.
WorkingConditions
Entrepreneursworkverylonghours,especiallywhentheyarejuststartingout.A14to15hourworkdayand80
to90hourworkweekisnotuncommonforambitiousanddedicatedentrepreneurs.
Therearetworeasonsforthelonghours.First,entrepreneurstendtohaveawidevarietyofdutieseverything
fromsweepingfloorstostrategicfinancialplanning.Second,theybearultimateresponsibilityforthesuccessor
failureoftheircompanies.Iftheircompaniesdobadly,entrepreneursmaylosenotonlytheirjobs,butalsoall
themoneythattheyinvested.Therefore,theymustputinasmuchtimeasittakestogetalltheirtasksdone,
andtokeepgeneratingnewbusiness.
Oncethebusinessisestablished,theymayhiremanagerstorunmanyofthedaytodayoperations.Even
then,however,entrepreneursarelikelytospendatleast9or10hoursadayatwork.
Earnings
Earningsforentrepreneursvarywidely,dependingonthesuccessoftheirbusinesses.Intheirfirstfewyearsin
business,entrepreneursmayearnaslittleas$20,000ayear,orevenless.Ifbusinessispoor,theymight
actuallylosemoney.
Oncethebusinessisestablished,however,earningscanincreasesignificantly.Entrepreneurswithsuccessful
smallbusinessesmaymakebetween$30,000and$75,000annually.Thosewhoareverysuccessfulcanearn
wellover$100,000ayear.
Entrepreneursalsoreceivecompensationintheformofequity,ortheincreaseinvalueofthebusinessover
time.Asbusinessowners,entrepreneursbenefitnotonlybyreceivingasalary,butalsofromthegrowthand
successofthebusiness.Manyselltheirbusinessesforalotofmoneyothersmayturnthebusinessoverto
theirchildrenwhentheyretire.
MichiganWages
Earningsandoutlookinformationisnotavailableforthisoccupation.
Education
Whileinhighschool,takeasmanybusinessandaccountingcoursesaspossible.Also,seeifthereareany
organizationsofferingtrainingandassistancetostartupsummerorparttimebusinessesinyourarea.Seethe
OtherResourcessectionforinformationonorganizationsthatmaybeabletoassistyou.
Thoughmostentrepreneurssaythatthereisnosubstituteforreallifeexperience,abusinessdegreewilltrain
youinareassuchasmarketing,management,businesscommunications,andaccounting.Being
knowledgeableintheseareasisamust,sinceentrepreneurswillhavetobalancetheirbudgets,communicate
withclientseffectively,andgenerallyruntheirbusinessessuccessfully.Someschoolsofferprogramsand
coursesspecificallyinentrepreneurship.
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Entrepreneurscanalsobenefitfromtrainingintheareainwhichtheyplantostartabusiness.Someonewho
wantstosetupacomputersoftwarecompany,forinstance,shouldhavesomeeducationorexperiencein
computerprogramming.Similarly,apersonwhowantstoopenaclothingstoreshouldknowsomethingabout
fashionmerchandising.
RelatedCollegePrograms
Entrepreneurship/EntrepreneurialStudies
SmallBusinessAdministration/Management
Business/Commerce,General
BusinessAdministrationandManagement,General
OtherSuggestedQualifications
Entrepreneursmustbeselfmotivatedandabletomanagetheirtimewisely,becausetherearenobossesto
makesuretheyareworkinghardatalltimes.Goodcommunicationskillsareessentialforpromotingtheir
businessesorproducts.Ofcourse,imaginationiscrucial.Theyneedtocomeupwithsoundbusinessideasto
makesurethemoneykeepscomingin.
SuggestedHighSchoolSubjects
Grade9 Grade10
English
Mathematics English
Science Mathematics
SocialStudiesGeography Science
CreativeArts SocialStudiesHistory
Business Business
Computers Computers
Health&PhysicalEducation
Grade11 Grade12
English English
Journalism&Communication Journalism&Communication
Mathematics Mathematics
Science Economics
Economics Law&Government
Law&Government Accounting
Accounting Business&Management
Business&Management Marketing
Marketing SmallBusinessManagement
Computers Computers
Important
Checkwithyouradvisortomakesurethatyourcourseselectionssatisfyyourgraduationrequirements.
Coursesavailablemayvaryfromschooltoschool.
SampleCareerPath
Peopletakedifferentpathwaysthroughtheircareers,butnoonestartsatthetop.Thisisanexampleofhowthe
earnings,educationandexperiencerequirements,andresponsibilitiesmightprogressforsomeoneinthis
occupation.
Level1
SampleTitle EntrepreneuratStartUpStage
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Level1
Earnings $10,000to$25,000ayear
Highschooldiplomaandpreferablysomepostsecondaryeducation
Knowledgeoftheproductorserviceyouwanttosell
Requirements Basicaccountingandmarketingskills
Awillingnesstolearn
Somestartupcapital
Marketingaproductorserviceattractingnewclientskeepingfinancialaccounts
Responsibilities doingstrategicplanningperformingadministrativedutiesdoingeverythingelse
necessarytorunabusiness.
Level2
SampleTitle EstablishedSmallBusinessOwner
Earnings $30,000to$70,000ayear
Severalyearsofexperiencerunningyourowncompany
Requirements
Possiblyfurthertraininginmanagementandfinance
Marketingaproductorserviceattractingnewclientskeepingfinancialaccounts
Responsibilities doingstrategicplanninghiring,firing,andtrainingstaffoverseeingtheactivitiesof
employees.
Level3
SampleTitle Medium/LargeBusinessOwner
Earnings $50,000to$500,000ayear
Manyyearsofexperiencerunningacompany
Requirements
Possiblyfurthertraininginmanagementandfinance
Managingseniorlevelemployeesdoingstrategicplanningoverseeingallactivities
Responsibilities
withinacompany.
RelatedCareers
Herearesomeotheroccupationsthatyoumightbeinterestedin.Clickonanoccupationnametolearnmore.
AssociationManager
ArtsAdministrator
ClothingManufacturer
EconomicDevelopmentOfficer
ConstructionManager
Inventor
MultimediaDeveloper
Producer
Publisher
VentureCapitalist
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VideoGameDeveloper
NationalEmploymentbyIndustry
Industry %Employed
SelfEmployed
ManagementofCompaniesandEnterprises
Source:O*NetOnline,BrowsebyIndustry,USDepartmentofLabor
http://online.onetcenter.org/find/industry
OtherResources
NationalFederationofIndependentBusinesses(NFIB)
Anadvocacygroupforsmallbusinesses.BesuretocheckouttheinformationintheResourcessection,or
scrolloverFoundationsandclickonYoungEntrepreneurFoundationtolearnaboutthiseducational
program.
http://www.nfib.com
JuniorAchievement
JuniorAchievementisanonprofitorganizationthatdeliversbusinesseducationprogramstoyoung
peopleacrossthecountry.ClickonStudentandthenonStudentCenterforvaluableresources.
http://www.ja.org
BrooklynPublicLibraryMyOwnBiz
ThisBrooklynPublicLibrarywebsiteprovidesgreatresourcestohelpyougetontherighttrackto
successfulentrepreneurship.
http://myownbiz.brooklynpubliclibrary.org
MyOwnBusiness
Thisnonprofitorganizationoffersafreeonlinecourseforaspiringentrepreneurs.
http://www.myownbusiness.org
Entrepreneurship.Org
Anonlineresourceforsmallbusinessowners.TheResourcessectionhastonsofgreatinformation.
http://www.entrepreneurship.org
Entrepreneur
Thisonlinemagazinehasgreatinformationandresourcesforanyonewhowantstolearnaboutbecoming
asuccessfulentrepreneur.
http://www.entrepreneur.com
Findoutmoreaboutthequalitiesofsuccessfulentrepreneurs:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/200730
Under30CEO10QualitiesofaSuccessfulEntrepreneur
Findoutwhatittakestoachievesuccessasanentrepreneur!
http://www.under30ceo.com/10qualitiesofasuccessfulentrepreneur
OliverEmbertonTheultimateguidetobecominganentrepreneur
Thisblogpostoffersexcellentadviceforanyonewhowouldliketobecomeanentrepreneur.
http://www.oliveremberton.com/2013/howtobecomeanentrepreneur
BusinessInsider12WaysYouCanBecomeAnEntrepreneurStartingToday
Hereyoucanfindsomegreatsuggestionsaboutdifferentpathwaystobecominganentrepreneur.
http://www.businessinsider.com/howtogetstartedasanentrepreneur20138
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HuffingtonPost8SkillsEveryEntrepreneurShouldHave
Readaboutskillsyouwillneedtobecomesuccessful.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nealjenson/entrepreneurshipskills_b_3228479.html
WallStreetJournalSmallBusinessMarketing
InformationforsmallbusinessownersfromtheWallStreetJournal.Browsethroughthesitetolearnmore
aboutbeinganentrepreneur.
http://online.wsj.com/public/page/smallbusiness.html
Herearesometipstokeepinmindwhenthinkingofagreatbusinessidea:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324445904578283792526004684.html
EuropeanSchoolofEconomics10UsefulTipsonStartingaBusiness(UK)
Ahelpfulguideforanyoneinterestedinstartingupabusiness.
http://magazine.eselondon.ac.uk/howtobeanentrepreneur10usefultipsonstartingabusiness
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