Revision NotesExam QuestionsPast Papers
IGCSEBusinessCambridge (CIE)Revision Notes1. Understanding Business Activity1.3 Enterprise & Business GrowthCharacteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs

Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE Business): Revision Note

Exam code: 0450 & 0986

Danielle Maguire

Written by: Danielle Maguire

Reviewed by: Steve Vorster

Updated on

Entrepreneurs create and set-up a business

  • An entrepreneur is a person who is willing and able to create a new business idea or invention and takes risks in pursuing success

    • Successful entrepreneurs can identify and pursue opportunities, create value for customers and build thriving businesses

What do entrepreneurs do?

  1. They organise resources

    • An entrepreneur must be able to gather and coordinate the resources necessary to start and operate a business

    • E.g. When Michael Dell started his computer company from his garage, he had to organise resources such as space, computers, software tools, and employees, and manage the finances

  2. They make business decisions

    • Entrepreneurs must be able to make decisions that will determine the success or failure of their business

    • E.g. A restaurant owner may need to decide what type of food to serve, where to locate the restaurant, and what prices to charge. These decisions require a combination of market research, creativity, and business skill

    • Making the wrong decisions can lead to wasted resources, lost opportunities, and ultimately business failure

  3. They take risks

    •  Entrepreneurship involves taking risks - financial, personal, or professional

    • E.g. An entrepreneur may invest their life savings into a new venture or quit a secure job to start their own business

      • They may also take risks by introducing new products or entering new markets

    • These risks can pay off with great rewards, but they can also lead to failure and financial loss

Characteristics and skills required by entrepreneurs

  • Entrepreneurs require a unique set of characteristics and skills

The skills and characteristics required by entrepreneurs include communication, creativity and resilience
The skills and characteristics required by entrepreneurs include communication, creativity and resilience

  • Successful entrepreneurs tend to be very persuasive in their communication and decisive in their decision-making

Characteristics of successful entrepreneurs

Characteristic

Explanation

Risk taker

  • Entrepreneurs take financial, personal, or professional risks

  • An entrepreneur may invest their life savings into a new venture or quit a secure job to start their own business

    • They may also take risks by introducing new products or entering new markets

    • These risks can payoff with great rewards, but they can also lead to failure and financial loss

Decision maker

  • Entrepreneurs must be able to make decisions that will determine the success or failure of their business

    • E.g. A restaurant owner needs to decide what type of food to serve, where to locate the restaurant, and what prices to charge

    • These decisions require a combination of market research, creativity, and business skills

    • Making the wrong decisions can lead to wasted resources, lost opportunities, and ultimately business failure

Organised

  • An entrepreneur must be able to gather and coordinate the resources necessary to start and operate a business

    • E.g. When Michael Dell started his computer company from his garage, he had to organise resources such as space, computers, software tools, employees, and finances

Creative

  • Developing new solutions to solve existing or emerging problems is a key entrepreneurial role that helps a business stand out from rivals and achieve success

    • During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses used their creativity to switch production techniques to cater for what the market wanted

    • E.g Harrogate Gin switched from producing gin to hand sanitiser

Great communicator

  • Entrepreneurs need to be persuasive communicators

  • Persuading lenders, investors and customers to support their business is central to achieving financial success

Independent

  • Starting a business is often the sole responsibility of a single entrepreneur, who will need to be able to solve problems with limited support

    • E.g. The owner of Gymshark, Ben Francis, started off the company by buying a sewing machine and making gym clothes in his parents garage with a few school friends

      • This led to the growth of a multi million pound company employing hundreds of people

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Think about why successful entrepreneurs are important in the country that you are based in. You should be able to explain why governments want to encourage more entrepreneurs to set up in businesses there. Entrepreneurship drives business growth and innovation, and knowing some examples of real life entrepreneurs who have inspired you may help you to remember their skills and qualities (Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk?)

You've read 0 of your 5 free revision notes this week

Unlock more, it's free!

Join the 100,000+ Students that ❤️ Save My Exams

the (exam) results speak for themselves:

    Test yourself

    Did this page help you?

    Previous:Classification Using the Public & Private SectorNext:Business Plans & Government Support
    Author
    Reviewer
    Danielle Maguire

    Author: Danielle Maguire

    Expertise: Business Content Creator

    Danielle is an experienced Business and Economics teacher who has taught GCSE, A-Level, BTEC and IB for 15 years. Danielle's career has taken her from across various parts of the UK including Liverpool and Yorkshire, along with teaching at a renowned international school in Dubai for 3 years. Danielle loves to engage students with real life examples and creative resources which allow students to put topics in a context they understand.

    Steve Vorster

    Reviewer: Steve Vorster

    Expertise: Economics & Business Subject Lead

    Steve has taught A Level, GCSE, IGCSE Business and Economics - as well as IBDP Economics and Business Management. He is an IBDP Examiner and IGCSE textbook author. His students regularly achieve 90-100% in their final exams. Steve has been the Assistant Head of Sixth Form for a school in Devon, and Head of Economics at the world's largest International school in Singapore. He loves to create resources which speed up student learning and are easily accessible by all.