ENTREPRENEURIAL PERSONALITY Operating a business, ure among those who da enterprise is a very challenging occupation. The rate of fail- ed to make attempts is high. Only a small number of them ee and the levels of theie success differ. Some of them become highly Soe ene une restate either moderately or slightly successful. Those who fail also differ in terms of degree of failure Clearly, entrepreneurship is not for everyone. But how do we know, beforehand, that a Person is @ good prospect? What determines success or failure? Its important for those interested in entrepreneurship to know the answers to those questions. Some guides provide clues and one of them indicates that there are two complementary factors that determine success or failure in an entrepreneurship. These factors are: 1. environment; and 2. personality of the entrepreneur. The Environment as a Factor An entrepreneurship will survive and grow in an environment that is friendly or akin to it. Nature provides us with examples of what happens to entities living in certain environments. For instance, giant clams thrive in the ocean, but not in the river. The coconut palm will grow in the Philippines but not in Sweden. These are so because giant clams were designed by nature to survive in saltwater, and freshwater river will be hostile to it because itis not its natural habitat. Coconut trees grow natu- rally in the tropics and because Sweden has a cool, temperate climate, they will not survive there. In the same light, entrepreneurships will survive and grow only in economic environments of free enterprise. Full blooming entrepreneurships cannot be expected to flourish in economies that are not fully supportive of free enterprise. In terms of support to entrepreneurships, economic environments differ from place to place. To facilitate discussion, economic environments may be classified as follows: 1. fully supportive of entrepreneurships; 2. moderately supportive of entrepreneurships; and, 3. not supportive of entrepreneurships. Economies that fully support entrepreneurships make it easy for entrepreneurs to succeed. The exact opposite may be expected in economies that are not supportive of entrepreneurships (Figure 6). 39(a Types of Economic The Entrepreneur's Environment Task Those fully Supportive of entrepreneurships Those moderately supportive of entrepreneurships Those not supportive of entrepreneurships Figure 6. Economic Environment and the Entrepreneur The Entrepreneur's Personality Every person has a personality that is unique and different from others. Each personality type has a corresponding type of job that fits it. A certain personality, how. ever, may fit in more than one type of job, although the level of fitness will be different with each job. A given personality, for instance, may perfectly fit the entrepreneur's job, moderately fits the teacher’s job, but is not fitted for the engineer’s job (Table 5). Table 5. Personalities and Job Fit aed ee Teacher's Job | Engineer’s Job A perfect fit moderate fit unfit B unfit perfect fit moderate fit ic moderate fit unfit perfit fit What is Personality Personality refers to the pattern of characteristics that distinguishes one person from another. It includes the person’s traits, values, motives, genetic blueprints, attitudes, emotional reactivity, abilities, self-image, intelligence, and visible behavior patterns. Psychologists have made great advances in research about personality. An in- teresting study is that one made by Holland (quoted in Patton and McMahen, 2006, 31). His proposal indicates six personality types. They are as follows:. 1. realistic type; 2, ative type; 3. artistic type; 4. social type; 5. enterprising type; and , 6. conventional type. A brief description of the foregoing personality types is presented in Table 6. 1 le 6. A Brief Description of Holland's Personality Types 1. Realistic This individual prefers activities involving aggressive behavior and physical exertion requiring skill, strength, and coordination. Examples: farming and mining. 2. Investigative | This individual prefers to be analytical, curious, methodical, and precise, Examples: crime investigator and arson investigator. 3. Artistic This person is expressive, nonconforming, original, and introspective. Examples: songwriter and novelist. 4, Social ‘This person enjoys working with and helping others and purposefully avoids systematic activities involving tools and machinery. Example: social worker. 5. Enterprising | This person enjoys verbal activities to influence others and to attain power and status. Examples: manager and entrepreneut. 6. Conventional | This person enjoys the systematic manipulation of data, filing of records, or reproducing materials. Examples: accounting, finance. ‘Source: Holland, J. Making Vocational Choices, 3rd Ed, Odessa, Florida: Psychological Assessment RsOUrces, Inc, 1997. Characteristics of Entrepreneurs Successful entrepreneurs possess certain characteristics that are unique and dif- ferent from those having other occupations. Based on research by experts, the follow- ing traits are considered vital to a successful career in entrepreneurship: 1. drive; 6. reasonable risk taker; 2. thinking ability; 7. self-confident; 3. human relations ability; 8. goal setter; 4. ability to communicate; 9. accountable; and ical knowledge; 10. innovative.Drive Success in entrepreneurship becomes possible when the entrepreneur is self-mo. tivated enough to pursue his chosen course without relenting even in the face of ad. versity. Reaching a goal, however, is often achieved through a series of moves. Itis rare for entrepreneurs to succeed with just a single stroke. If he fails in his first attempt, he makes another attempt. He repeats the attempts, maybe with some improvements, until he succeeds. This will happen if the person has drive. The tension that occurs when a need is not met is called drive. Richard Branson is an Englishman who is a fine example of a person “with bucket loads of entrepreneurial drive” (Ros Jay, 2001), and became a successful entrepreneur, Asa child, he made his money growing Christmas trees. At 16, he started publishing magazine. At 19, he set up a mail order business. Drive enabled him to own businesses as diverse as banking and soft drinks, condoms and airlines, and became a billionaire in the process. ‘Thinking Ability The entrepreneur's job involves solving problems and making decisions. When he finds the correct solutions to problems that confront him and then makes decisions that are implemented, he comes closer to realizing his goals. If, for instance, the entrepreneur is asked to make the final decision in the promo- tion to vice president of one of three qualified managers, he needs to use his thinking ability and that ability must be sufficient to guide him to make the best choice. A man with superior thinking ability can see through thé maze of information (or disinformation) brought before him. That ability is an ingredient of successful entrepreneurship. Reading the biographies of successful entrepreneurs provides insight on how these people used their intelligence to succeed in their business endeavors. A good example is Jeff Bezos who founded Amazon.com, an online shopping site. As a child, Jeff was extremely bright. When he grew older, he used his thinking ability to make his company generate sales of $1.92 billion in 2000, just five years since the founding of his company (Ros Jay, 2001). ‘Human Relations Ability Three types of persons will determine the survival and growth of business firms: (1) the customer, (2) the employee, and (3) the third party with interest in the firm. ___ The customer makes the decision whether to patronize the firm or not. His de- cision, however, will depend on what he thinks of the firm. Perception on customer ion will definitely be a factor. Jloyee can be productive and loyal to the firm. He can help avoid pro- and shortages, wasteful consumption of company resources, dissatis- and the like. He can be an asset depending on what his superiors doThird parties with various interests regarding, the firm can also be made to be more cooperative and accommodating, This will depend, however, on how the com- pany relates to therh. The internal revenue service personnel and the police, for in stance can be less accommodating to the firm and they can make business operations difficult All of the interests cited above can be useful partners of the firm, but this will depend to a large extent on the ability of the entrepreneur to relate with them. Ability to Communicate Communication skill is a very important characteristic an entrepreneur must have if success is expected. The ability to understand and be understood makes it ‘easier for the entrepreneur to transact business with customers, bankers, and govern- ment officials. When the entrepreneur gives orders that are easily understood, wastages in time and materials are minimized. An entrepreneur who has little ability to communicate tends to demoralize and alienate his staff. What usually happens next is low produc- tivity and high employee turnover. ‘Technical Knowledge Operating an entrepreneurship requires the performance of major and minor tasks. In running a restaurant, for instance, important tasks may include the following; recruitment of personnel, purchasing of materials, bookkeeping, sanitation, cashier- ing, cooking, and others. The restaurant entrepreneur must at least be familiar with and possess some technical knowledge about how the various tasks are performed. It will be easier for him to devise a strategy on how he will manage his firm to effectively compete with others. Reasonable Risk-taker When a person starts a new venture, he has already begun to assume the risk of business failure. Entrepreneurs, however, normally do not assume unreasonable risks. Theoretically, ventures with zero risks yield zero benefits. Those who aspire for benefits like profits must reckon with possible losses. There are instances, however, when the possibility of benefits far outweighs the risk involved. Itis the function of the entrepreneur to determine when this is so. The entrepreneur must calculate a reason- able trade-off between risks and benefits. Entrepreneurs are expected to be reasonable risk-takers, not conservative but also not gamblers. They assume risks but only after they are convinced that they have the skills and resources to overcome the difficulties inherent in a new venture. Table indicates how the entrepreneur as a risk taker is compared with other types of risk-Table 7. The Entrepreneur Compared with Other Risk Takers Expected Level ‘Types of Risk Taker Level of Risk Taken ‘of Benefits salaried employee low low entrepreneur moderate moderate gambler high high Self-confident ient confidence in himself. In belief in his ability leads him has self-confidence, he A person cannot achieve much unless he has suffi any undertaking, including entrepreneurship, a person's to actual performance and eventual success. When a person does his job without inhibition. Self-confidence is best exemplified by successful entrepreneurs who have physi- cal disabilities. One such person is Mr. Aurelio Dagdag whose diminutive stature of not prevent him from establishing his own business, J-A.C. Footwear. The company is currently doing well. It is able to provide employment to as many as 100 persons (Entrepreneur, Jan-Feb. 2008). Goal Setter Goals are very useful motivational tools, especially those related to accomplishing the objectives of entrepreneurs. A goal performs the following functions: 1. _ it directs one’s attention to a-specific target; 2. itencourages one to exert effort toward achieving something specific; 3. it encourages persistence; and 4, _ it fosters the creation of strategies and action plans. It is easy to understand that persons who are goal setters would make entrepre- neurs of high success potentials. Accountable ‘The success of an enterprise will depend much on the willingness of subordi- nates to comply with the wishes of the entrepreneur. Compliance can be expected if the entrepreneur is accountable enough to take responsibility for whatever happens to the firm. Innovative A free enterprise economy like ours allows business enterprises to flourish. This will depend, however, on how well the public is convinced to patronize them. will have to be persuaded to buy from the entrepreneur's firm rather than ipetitors. The innovative entrepreneur, however, will be able to handle thisware SS) Innovation may be the only way the entrepreneur can achieve the following: 1. penetrate the market; 2. improve employee turnover; 3. reduce manufacturing cost; and 4. improve collection rate. Walter Disney is an example of a highly innovative entrepreneur. He developed and incorporated new technology and new ideas to draw customers. Some of his accomplishments in entrepreneurship consist of Mickey Mouse, Disneyland, and Walt Disney movies (Ros Jay, 2001) What Motivates People to Become Entrepreneurs Not everyone desires to be an entrepreneur, Those who do, however, are moti- vated by any or all of the following: 1. desire to be one’s own boss: 2. desire for financial rewards; 3. desire to create one’s own job security; and 4. desire to improve one’s quality of life. Desire to Be One's Own Boss There are times when an employee sees some good opportunities for his em- ployer’s business. When he recommends action to be undertaken and is ignored, the employee may just proceed to take the opportunity and organize his own business. For instance, a professor in a university thought that it’s time for his employer to open branches in several locations. His recommendation to the president was ignored. He could not convince his boss about the importance of expansion. He decided to be his ‘own boss by establishing a school for elementary students in the nearby town. Desire for Financial Rewards Getting employed is the desire of most people. This is understandable because many people want sure monthly income. Some people, however, do not get satisfac- tion from a fixed monthly income which, most often, is inadequate. Some think that they deserve to be properly rewarded for their skills. The means open to them is entre- preneurship. Although entrepreneurship is a very serious proposition, some people are still attracted to it. This is so because of the prospect of high financial rewards. The finan- cial rewards reaped by successful entrepreneurs are enough to motivate the would-be entrepreneur. Desire to Create One’s Own Job Security Some employees feel that their jobs are not secure. They think they could be fired for a variety of reasons. For instance, when a company decides on downsizing its jees are the first to be affected. When management makes serious ‘company’s viability, the jobs of the employees are compromised.Persons who cannot bear to worry about job security may just decide to become entrepreneurs. Even if the venture fails, the entrepreneur knows that it is the result of his poor performance. Desire to Improve On Quality of Life Oftentimes, employees do not have control over their work schedules. As a result, they could not fulfill some important family responsibilities. A nursing mother, for instance, will have to consider other less desirable options in providing for the needs of her baby. The same predicament confronts those who care for elderly relatives. Persons who travel daily to work also sacrifice valuable time that could be spent with their families. : To some people, engagement in entrepreneurship provides them with some con- trol over their work schedules. An entrepreneur can choose a type of business that will ‘be compatible with the quality of life he desires. Specifically, the business location and the type of products sold can be chosen to jibe with the personal and family needs of the entrepreneur.Summary The environment and the entrepreneur’s personality are the complementary factors that determine whether or not the new business venture will succeed. In an environment hostile to any type of business, entrepreneurships are not expected to thrive. In a friendly environment, new business ventures will have to contend with the personalities of their own respective entrepreneurs. _The entrepreneur's task will be easier in a friendly environment and very hard, if not impossible in a hostile environment. Among the six i i i i six personali 's, the enterprisiny e is the most for entrepreneurial ventures, ors Tene. on Re. SSE The personality traits considered vital to entrepreneurial success consist of drive, thinking ability, human relations ability, ability to communicate, technical knowledge, reasonable risk-taker, self-confident, goal setter, accountable, and innovative. Persons are motivated to become entrepreneurs by the following: desire to be one’s own boss, desire for financial rewards, desire to create one’s own job security, and desire to improve one’s quality of life. Entrepreneurs are different from managers because they perform functions that are distinct from each other.