Are entrepreneurs born or made? Hopeton Morrison Contributor PERHAPS THE most desirable but equally intimi- ‘dating, means of achieving life-long financial inde pendence is entrepreneurship. And one of the most ‘during questions within the entrepreneurial pline is whether entrepreneurs are born or male. ‘1s fact that many sucessful entrepreneurs hiad pparenis who were themselves entrepreneurs, And We hardly need to look very far in Jamaica as the Chinese and immigrant Indian com- ‘munities have very visibly validated that theory. ‘Of equal interest also, ig a study published in 1995 by Erik Winslow and George Solomon in the Journal of Creative Behaviour. ‘The study profiles the differences between successful Ma entrepreneurs and typical ~F| NANCE ‘managers, The findings are interesting. ‘The psychological profile of the successful entre- preneur is similar in significant ways, to dhat of sae sociopaths who conmit crimes without a ‘tuce of remorse. The researchers deserjbe success ful entrepreneurs as mildly soctopathic, sponta neous, charming, opportunistic, snd ambivalent in forming close personal reltionships. They tend t0 bbe uncomfortable with the conventions of the Sou qu, with rls, and even wth the expec tions of oters for ther. " ‘SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR. "3 ‘Thomas Zimmerer and Norman Searborou examined this theory by Winslow and Soloman in {icin book Bssentials of Entrepreneurship and ‘Small Business itand came up with tour important differences beteen the convention _nanuger and the suceessful entrenrenea ‘I. The conventional Was Very conscious of rules and taboos whereas the entrepreneur iccepted rules as mere guidelines, 2. The conventional manager was sensitive tothe future and would postpone rewards whereas the sicersfl etteprenear care «low teshold of ‘nustration and in that respect tended fo concept lie his or her future based on personal fantasy. In ‘our own interactions with a number af successful entreprencurs right here we ar fold that “erdibie fan- taking o daydreaming ial charters 3, While the conventional manager had an over- powering need for acceptance, the entrepreneur ‘often showed the trait fo be manipulative and even, exploitative of others. He was often ambivalent towards success and responsibility 4. The manager was organised, able to identity problem tall siazes of the decision-making process and made detailed plans. On the other hand, the entrepreneur was impatient with ths, often eschew ing discussions and theories while being highly sction-oriented and oflen accused of being impulsive and prone to 'seatof-the-pants’ decisions, ‘TRIED AND TESTED STEPS So then, if you would be an entreprencur, is there a relatively seamless way t find ou? Hazdly, but hhere are three tried and tested seps that you can take to assist the process: I. If you are currently employed as manager and find yourself displaying traits more associated with the sucessful entrepreneur, then you have two choices. Either find an employer who seeks that type of profile (and many modern corporations including a few here in Jamaica do seck ‘entrepre~ newrial managers"), or start your entrepreneurship journey. 2. Many successful entrepreneurs started theit Journey on a parttime basis, Yow are giving your= Self the best of both worlds. Bssentially, you seek {o ease into business for yourselt without sacrfic- ing the ‘relative security” of a steady salary, We qualify security as relative here because the successful entrepreneur often reminds employed persons that their security ina ‘goo! job” is a quite fenuous one as they are not themselves in control of their financial Security and may be separated from their employment on a whim. 3. As you contemplate an entrepreneurial future ‘remember that one ofthe major advantages of ventur~ ‘ng out parttime is that you close the sk gap in the event of the venture failing. Atthe sume time, you are able to assess whether this is someting dat you wil enjoy doing for the rest of your working life: WHopeton Morrison fa general manager of St. ‘Thomas Cooperative Credit Union Ltd. and lee~ turer in the School of Business Administration at ‘the University of Technology. Please send com- iments and questfons to: morrison astect