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Are Entrepreneurs Born or Made?This is an issue of debate and has been for a long time. Do successful entrepreneurs share characteristics that are independent of training or upbringing or can anyone become a business owner? According to an interview with Herb Kelleher, founder of Southwest Airlines, by Babson Executive Education, successful entrepreneurs must have the "basic internal capacity" to carry the individual through the many challenges that are faced during a startup. He considers the right attitude to be critical and one that cannot be trained. On the other hand, he says that there are several "teachable" skills that can enhance chances of success such as listening and the ability to set goals. Another school of thought represented by the Atlantic Canada Opportunity Agency is that "Learning the skills necessary to operate a business is no different from learning the skills needed to be an engineer, bookkeeper or salesperson. Any career choice can be learned if taken seriously; entrepreneurship is no different." Today we see high schools, business schools and private schools offering programs to train the entrepreneur. Many universities have entrepreneurship centers and incubators in addition to full fledged training programs for students who want to start their own businesses. "In 2000, the University of Maryland at College Park launched a program to teach juniors and seniors the art of launching a startup venture. The college offers seminars on small-business basics, and the program is housed in a remodelled dorm complete with a high-tech work space." Programs like this are springing up all over the world. In Saskatoon specifically there are several training programs at
the school-age level including Junior Achievement that helps high school
students get involved in enterprise development; Women Entrepreneurs that
introduces girls in public and high school to entrepreneurship; and universities
that have entrepreneurship classes. SaskTel sponsors a business plan competition
for the U of R, U of S and SIFC. For adults, there are training programs to
start businesses as well. So – the debate continues. Do successful entrepreneurs have an innate set of characteristics that are required or can they obtain the necessary skills or traits by training and education? Or both? Tell us what you think and we will post your responses.
Sources: http://www.acoa.ca/e/business/info_guide/entreopt.shtml http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/oct2000/sb20001010_202.htm http://www.janorthsaskatchewan.org/ http://www.womenentrepreneurs.sk.ca/programs/networking/youth.html http://www.commerce.usask.ca/programs/ http://www.sasktel.com/about_sasktel/community/links_to_learning/venture_management_competition/
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