An article by Dr. Stavroula Kalogeras, MBA Program Director for Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University Dubai 

Entrepreneurship is the process of developing and starting a new business venture to make a profit. A new venture begins with the vision and direction of the startup business, which involves developing innovative ideas, risk tolerance, and managing all aspects of the business project. Being an entrepreneur is challenging and rewarding and requires a combination of skills, knowledge, and determination. Successful entrepreneurs are flexible, adaptable, and able to pivot, responding to changes in the marketplace. The key to entrepreneurship is to take advantage of new opportunities and to improve and innovate as new information becomes available. 

Before delving into the specifics of entrepreneurship, an entrepreneur must have a certain mindset. Entrepreneurs must be resilient, and building a resilient and growth mindset is essential in navigating the difficulties of the startup ecosystem. Setbacks and self-doubt are inevitable for startups, and responding positively is imperative. A positive mindset will help overcome obstacles. An effective way to stay resilient is to focus on solutions instead of problems. Remember that failures are tentative on a trajectory to success. Understand that every successful entrepreneur has faced failures. Take time to reflect on setbacks and identify where improvement can be made. These experiences can fuel motivation and be used as growth opportunities. Staying resilient and persistent is crucial for entrepreneurs to overcome challenges and setbacks on their startup journey. Likewise, connecting with like-minded individuals who understand the startup ecosystem and can provide mentorship and where one can learn from each other’s successes and failures is helpful. Entrepreneurs can join communities and attend networking events where experiences are shared with fellow entrepreneurs.

Having the characteristics and mindset of entrepreneurship is only the beginning. When starting a business, some actions can be taken to become successful. Firstly, identify a business opportunity such as a problem that needs to be solved, a gap in the market, or produce an all-new category or concept that can become a profitable business. Secondly, create a detailed business plan that clarifies goals, strategies, and resources. The business plan should include information about the target market, competition, sales and marketing strategies, and financial projections. The most challenging part is funding, raising capital, and securing a loan from a financial institution. Individual investors or firms fund startups in exchange for equity or other types of ownership. The key investors may be angel investors who provide initial seed money for startup businesses, usually in exchange for ownership equity in the company. A venture capitalist is often expected to bring managerial and technical expertise, as well as capital, to their investments. The strategic partnership option is a legal arrangement that allows two or more people to share responsibility for a business. Partners share the ownership and profits, but they also share the work and any losses.

There are investors, incubators, and startup accelerators to consider. Incubators focus on innovation and disruptive ideas and are good for early-stage startups, while accelerators aim to scale existing businesses, usually having a minimum viable product and some early customers and revenue. In contrast, incubators often accept startups that are much earlier in the development process and provide them with a supportive environment to, for example, refine their business idea and conduct their marketing research.

A central criterion when evaluating and considering potential incubators is the mentorship network that will be provided and the ease of access to the network. Access to great mentors can change an entrepreneur's path for the better and is often the most valuable resource. Another principal factor is to secure advisors with experience in the industry. The team should include experts in a variety of disciplines that can support the development and growth of the business. The network of individuals, in addition to providing advice, can help secure funding and provide connections to potential customers. However, an important consideration of business incubators is to help businesses transition to the market.

Thirdly, as the business grows, building a team to help scale and manage the operation is key. Hire the right employees, freelancers, or contractors and support them effectively to ensure the business is a success. For each team member, have a clear understanding of their job roles and responsibilities and provide them with regular feedback.

Fourthly, an innovative business idea must be represented clearly on the pitch deck and should communicate the startup’s value proposition, target market, competitive advantage, financial projections, and team expertise. Keep the presentation concise yet informative to capture interest.

For entrepreneurs, there is no guarantee for business success, and they need to feel comfortable with some level of risk to grow, whether that is financial or personal. Entrepreneurs need to understand that risk-taking is a calculated process and that using methods to mitigate risk such as identifying potential solutions, is imperative. 

While each entrepreneur brings unique talents and skills to their business, several common characteristics emerge among the most successful, such as passion, creativity, self-confidence, and motivation. The entrepreneurial mindset can tap into the traits that are their strongest and apply a combination of critical and social skills to stay on target. Likewise, curiosity is an essential component that allows entrepreneurs to discover and learn about new opportunities while on their trajectory to build their business. 

Many successful entrepreneurs start their businesses from a passion, and passion fuels the enterprising spirit and keeps it alive through the challenges. Entrepreneurs challenge the status quo by asking intelligent questions that will help deliver solutions to their customers. Entrepreneurial success depends on understanding the target market, branding expertise, relationship building with customers and clients, budget control, and goal setting. By following these basics, entrepreneurs can have meaningful work that impacts society and generates revenue.

Entrepreneurship is not defined by age, gender, race, education, experience, or financial position. The most successful entrepreneurs have certain qualities such as tenacity, passion, tolerance, self-belief, vision, flexibility, and determination, but willpower is one of the most important aspects of success. Despite the many failures entrepreneurs may face, successful entrepreneurs will never lose sight of their dreams and their will to achieve them.