Ever since I started my landscaping business, people have always said “what do you do in the winter?” Or do I make enough money to support myself. I can’t tell you how many times my dad has told me to go get a job, but he doesn’t have the vision I have. When you break off from the everyday normality’s that people are used to a lot of times you will see negative reactions. After 5 years, I have one full time worker going through the winter, and I just started my second business which is a cleaning business. The main thing I have acquired is the knowledge of doing business and the incredible amount of common sense it takes.
“Entrepreneurs are entrepreneurial, as
differentiated from managerial or strategic,
because they think effectually; they believe in a
yet-to-be-made future that can substantially be
shaped by human action; and they realize that to
the extent that this human action can control the
future, they need not expend energies trying to
predict it.” (1, pg. 9)
I quote this from Sarasvathy because I like how he refers to entrepreneurs being innovators and creators of the future. I like the term he coined “effectual reasoning” which is what Entrepreneurs do on a daily basis. ”It does not begin with a specific goal; it begins with a given set of means and allows goals to emerge over time from the imagination and aspirations of the person.”(1, pg. 2) Sarasvathy said MBA programs were teaching casual and predictive reasoning which is not what an entrepreneur will need. (1) His point is that managerial and strategic thinking are linear ways of thinking while entrepreneurial or effectual reasoning is a way of looking at all the different outcomes and trying to figure the best one out.
In Herbert’s writing I liked his twelve distinct themes that make up an entrepreneur because there is no one face of an entrepreneur because they have to assume so many different roles to make their goals happen. (2) With running my business, I always assume the risk. For example, this week I spent $520 on spray chemicals to start spraying and pay the workers to do the spraying. I’ve had to pass the test to spray chemical and get the proper licensing and insurance. As the owner and entrepreneur, I assume all of that risk and I don’t even have a bunch of people signed up for spraying. I know that it will work eventually though, and that’s what entrepreneurs do. While other people are trying to collect a steady check every day, I’m constantly spending money on different ways to try and make money. When I do make money it’s for more than the traditional by the hour fee. Another thing I have learned from running my business is always trying to learn to innovate my processes by always trying to think of a better way to accomplish a job. Richard Cantillon viewed the economy as a “need and necessity.”(2, pg. 4)
I like Garter’s perspective on that “entrepreneurs creates organizations.”(3) When an entrepreneur starts out in whatever field they eventually learn mostly every aspect of their first business but learn that there is only so many hours in a day and only so much one person can do. So that’s where building an organization comes in. This is where I learned that I shouldn’t be limited to one business if I’m going to try and have a lot of workers so now, I am trying to work on diversifying my services that I offer. I don’t think the entrepreneur is defined as one personality or one type of person. It is a combination of things, but of course they have to have some things in common. Two of the main things being persistence and consistency because if the person is quick to give up then they will never make it through the hard and uncertain times that will inevitably come. I have come to learn that my biggest investment in my life will be on the people I use to build my businesses. Garter talks of the entrepreneur being persistent and organization creation.
I loved your change with the quote with Mark Casson “the entrepreneur believes that he is right, while everyone else [believes that he] is wrong.” I gave some examples at the beginning of some of the closet people to me ridiculing me for doing such simple work or telling me to get a job. It wouldn’t make it very special if everyone thought like me though so those are the things that you have to accept. I have always used people not believing in me as fuel. Sometimes it is so hard to see the bigger picture, but the more I keep going the clearer that picture seems to get for me. Although it’s been a long journey. I have come to realize that it’s always better to bet on myself because even if I'n not making the most money I could I'm still growing and I'm not as limited in what I can do.
Sources:
Sarasvathy, S. D. (2006). What makes entrepreneurs entrepreneurial? Pg. 9 and pg. 1.
Hébert, R. F., & Link, A. N. (1989). In search of the meaning of entrepreneurship. Small business economics, 1(1), 39-49. Pg. 3.
Gartner, W. B. (1988). “Who is an entrepreneur?” is the wrong question. American journal of small business, 12(4), 11-32.
