{"id":3302,"date":"2022-05-09T14:29:26","date_gmt":"2022-05-09T14:29:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/faisalhoque.com\/?p=3302"},"modified":"2022-05-09T14:29:26","modified_gmt":"2022-05-09T14:29:26","slug":"defining-the-word-entrepreneur-for-the-21st-century","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.frameroinfotech.com\/fh\/defining-the-word-entrepreneur-for-the-21st-century\/","title":{"rendered":"Defining The Word “Entrepreneur” For The 21st Century"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It\u2019s a word we throw around every day: entrepreneur. But does it mean the same thing now as it did in 1723?<\/h1>\n
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BY\u00a0FAISAL HOQUE<\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n

It’s a word we throw around every day: entrepreneur. But does it mean the same thing now as it did in 1723? The buzz about entrepreneurship is everywhere nowadays–from magazine covers to conferences, hotel lobbies to the White House, and of course, kitchen tables. The French word entrepreneur first appeared in the French dictionary in 1723 to describe a person who organizes and operates a business by taking a financial risk. Since then the word entrepreneur–and the world–has completely changed.<\/p>\n

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Today, entrepreneurship is celebrated like never before and it is defined in so many ways\u2013social entrepreneurship, intra-entrepreneurship, knowledge entrepreneurship, micro-entrepreneurship\u2013you name it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In 1975, Harvard professor Howard Stevenson defined entrepreneurship<\/em> as \u201cthe pursuit of opportunity without regard to resources currently controlled.\u201d \u201cResources currently controlled\u201d can be interpreted as limited resources. From that point of view, almost all of us have some level of entrepreneurial challenges.<\/p>\n

I have been practicing entrepreneurship since I was 14 years old. I know all too well about the pursuit of opportunity without regard to resources. Author Steven Pressfield<\/a> (author of the Legend of Bagger Vance<\/em>) writes,<\/p>\n

\u201cWe duel adversity every day, you and I. We get bloodied; we experience casualties\u2013and we have to get up and find a way to fight again. We might not be wearing body armor or carrying M4 carbines, but we know in our bones that the warrior virtues of patience, resolution, tenacity, selflessness, capacity to endure hardship, etc. serve us every day of our lives.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Steven\u2019s description of the warrior\u2019s virtues describes the practice of entrepreneurship quite well. At a fundamental level all entrepreneurs try to overcome adversity to pursue opportunity with limited resources.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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As a devoted student and life long practitioner of entrepreneurship, this is what I have learned over the years:<\/p>\n

Becoming an Entrepreneur<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Most ventures fail. Most entrepreneurs make a lot less money than if they worked for someone else. The road to success is often long and lonely\u2013brutal hours; massive amounts of stress; and a huge amount of personal sacrifice. So, why would you want to become an entrepreneur?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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To Survive:<\/strong> In my teens and early twenties, I became an entrepreneur (although I didn\u2019t know the word or the meaning of it) to simply survive. Around the globe, many people become entrepreneurs in order to survive. They have no job prospects, or little means to earn a living. Therefore, entrepreneurship for many is the only alternative.<\/p>\n

To Pursue a Dream:<\/strong> In my mid twenties, I caught the \u2018Silicon Valley\u2019 bug, and I pursued my dream to become a tech entrepreneur. Many entrepreneurs (in all industries) pursue entrepreneurship to fulfill their personal dreams. They have something to prove to the world and to themselves. They have the mental and intellectual capacity, the drive and the resourcefulness to invent and to create differentiating ventures.<\/p>\n

To Make a Difference:<\/strong> In my mid thirties, the idea of entrepreneurship completely changed for me. I wanted to make a difference, to do something that has a positive and long-lasting impact. Making a difference as an entrepreneur can be very rewarding \u2013 as all great entrepreneurs will ubiquitously agree. However, making a real difference perhaps is also the hardest to thing to do and most challenging. It requires a different kind of mindset. It is not about just making money, or becoming famous, or inventing new things. In our changing world, the definition of entrepreneurship has evolved as the need to \u201cmake a difference\u201d has never been greater. In my travels I have met \u2018entrepreneurs\u2019 from all walks of life \u2013 in government, in academia, in NGOs, in corporations, in labs, on stage, and, yes, in ventures that are quietly working away to make a difference with very limited resources.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Entrepreneurial Ethos<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The U.S. Army Warrior Ethos states:<\/p>\n