teps include:4 1. Commitment - Are we ready? Do we have what it takes to move forward?2. Selection and Evaluation of the Idea - Perform the due diligence to determine if the need is real, and if it can be filled profitably.3. Planning - Sharpen the plan and develop a comprehensive business plan, with its major components being the marketing "mix", the strategic plan, operational and logistical structures, and the financial proposal.4. Implementation - Put the plan into action. As long as individuals have the necessary tools to perform the set tasks that are required to succeed in a new venture, taking into the market conditions and health at the time as well as the ability to choose the proper investors for the venture, most individuals should be able to succeed at starting a new business.

Keeping the Entrepreneurial Fires Burning

Starting a new business and keeping it going are of course two comple

Introduction: Genetic or Learned?

A good majority of the literature published on entrepreneurship concludes that entrepreneurs are either born, or conditioned at a very early age in life. If that is the case, and we all have the innate ability to do what it takes to be successful in creating a novel business for a special, untapped market, we would all be doing it. It makes more sense working hard for oneself and reaping all of the rewards than working hard for someone else while they reap most of the rewards. Would it not be better to think that the ability to create a new business success is within us all? And that all we need are the right tools, adequate education, a conducive environment and the mentors to show us how to bring it all together in order for us to succeed. Without the ability to teach entrepreneurial skills that entail using creativity mixed with intrinsic motivation and the desire to succeed, governmental and educational bodies would not be able "spark and multiply entrepreneurism" and the "foundation and backbone of any economy" (entrepreneurism) would only be affected by the "luck of the draw". Societies surely do not want to bet their future on "luck".

Creativity & Motivation: Power from Within, Taught from Without

Creativity and motivation, although they can only come from within the individual, can be taught and enhanced or improved with the right conditions which are based upon the empowerment of the individual through education, reward for innovative successes, accountability for the work that is taken on, and a form of tension that pushes the individual to find unique ways to move forward through problems.1

Traits for Success

Short and Dunn have followed upon this assumption, breaking from tradition to suggest that there are numerous traits that are common among entrepreneurs which can be taught through university and outreach programs in order to foster a greater understanding of the activities required to succeed at finding or developing a novel idea and then bringing it into the world successfully.2 They have determined that a fairly comprehensive list of activities performed by entrepreneurs can be developed and they believe that these critical activities can be taught through further education in business school. Some examples are financial management, fund acquisition, and management of on-going financial aspects. The traits, or processes required by successful entrepreneurs actually change depending upon what phase the business life cycle is in: Startup, Management and Growth, and Harvest.3 Since all businesses go through a life cycle, it is essential for the entrepreneur to develop the skill sets to handle the unique events at each stage.

No Crystal Balls Required

The entrepreneurial success process is not a crystal ball gazing event that mystics pull out of thin air; it is a set of solid steps that lead to specific goals intertwined with determination to succeed and the ability to push beyond the fear of failure. It includes developing "antennae" that look for risk in the business and then ways to manage that risk, and reduce it in order to profit from the actions. Ideas are formed from thinking creatively about the surrounding circumstances. Applying those thoughts to improve society in a tangible (and profitable way) is being innovative. Turning the solutions into reality is what the entrepreneur does. But how do they do it?

The Entrepreneurial Process

Once the entrepreneur is aware of the above situation, they for the most part begin a set of steps that are common to what we can call the entrepreneurial process. These steps include:4 1. Commitment - Are we ready? Do we have what it takes to move forward?2. Selection and Evaluation of the Idea - Perform the due diligence to determine if the need is real, and if it can be filled profitably.3. Planning - Sharpen the plan and develop a comprehensive business plan, with its major components being the marketing "mix", the strategic plan, operational and logistical structures, and the financial proposal.4. Implementation - Put the plan into action. As long as individuals have the necessary tools to perform the set tasks that are required to succeed in a new venture, taking into the market conditions and health at the time as well as the ability to choose the proper investors for the venture, most individuals should be able to succeed at starting a new business.

Keeping the Entrepreneurial Fires Burning

Starting a new business and keeping it going are of course two complet

tal and educational bodies would not be able "spark and multiply entrepreneurism" and the "foundation and backbone of any economy" (entrepreneurism) would only be affected by the "luck of the draw". Societies surely do not want to bet their future on "luck".

Creativity & Motivation: Power from Within, Taught from Without

Creativity and motivation, although they can only come from within the individual, can be taught and enhanced or improved with the right conditions which are based upon the empowerment of the individual through education, reward for innovative successes, accountability for the work that is taken on, and a form of tension that pushes the individual to find unique ways to move forward through problems.1

Traits for Success

Short and Dunn have followed upon this assumption, breaking from tradition to suggest that there are numerous traits that are common among entrepreneurs which can be taught through university and outreach programs in order to foster a greater understanding of the activities required to succeed at finding or developing a novel idea and then bringing it into the world successfully.2 They have determined that a fairly comprehensive list of activities performed by entrepreneurs can be developed and they believe that these critical activities can be taught through further education in business school. Some examples are financial management, fund acquisition, and management of on-going financial aspects. The traits, or processes required by successful entrepreneurs actually change depending upon what phase the business life cycle is in: Startup, Management and Growth, and Harvest.3 Since all businesses go through a life cycle, it is essential for the entrepreneur to develop the skill sets to handle the unique events at each stage.

No Crystal Balls Required

The entrepreneurial success process is not a crystal ball gazing event that mystics pull out of thin air; it is a set of solid steps that lead to specific goals intertwined with determination to succeed and the ability to push beyond the fear of failure. It includes developing "antennae" that look for risk in the business and then ways to manage that risk, and reduce it in order to profit from the actions. Ideas are formed from thinking creatively about the surrounding circumstances. Applying those thoughts to improve society in a tangible (and profitable way) is being innovative. Turning the solutions into reality is what the entrepreneur does. But how do they do it?

The Entrepreneurial Process

Once the entrepreneur is aware of the above situation, they for the most part begin a set of steps that are common to what we can call the entrepreneurial process. These steps include:4 1. Commitment - Are we ready? Do we have what it takes to move forward?2. Selection and Evaluation of the Idea - Perform the due diligence to determine if the need is real, and if it can be filled profitably.3. Planning - Sharpen the plan and develop a comprehensive business plan, with its major components being the marketing "mix", the strategic plan, operational and logistical structures, and the financial proposal.4. Implementation - Put the plan into action. As long as individuals have the necessary tools to perform the set tasks that are required to succeed in a new venture, taking into the market conditions and health at the time as well as the ability to choose the proper investors for the venture, most individuals should be able to succeed at starting a new business.

Keeping the Entrepreneurial Fires Burning

Starting a new business and keeping it going are of course two comple

at are common among entrepreneurs which can be taught through university and outreach programs in order to foster a greater understanding of the activities required to succeed at finding or developing a novel idea and then bringing it into the world successfully.2 They have determined that a fairly comprehensive list of activities performed by entrepreneurs can be developed and they believe that these critical activities can be taught through further education in business school. Some examples are financial management, fund acquisition, and management of on-going financial aspects. The traits, or processes required by successful entrepreneurs actually change depending upon what phase the business life cycle is in: Startup, Management and Growth, and Harvest.3 Since all businesses go through a life cycle, it is essential for the entrepreneur to develop the skill sets to handle the unique events at each stage.

No Crystal Balls Required

The entrepreneurial success process is not a crystal ball gazing event that mystics pull out of thin air; it is a set of solid steps that lead to specific goals intertwined with determination to succeed and the ability to push beyond the fear of failure. It includes developing "antennae" that look for risk in the business and then ways to manage that risk, and reduce it in order to profit from the actions. Ideas are formed from thinking creatively about the surrounding circumstances. Applying those thoughts to improve society in a tangible (and profitable way) is being innovative. Turning the solutions into reality is what the entrepreneur does. But how do they do it?

The Entrepreneurial Process

Once the entrepreneur is aware of the above situation, they for the most part begin a set of steps that are common to what we can call the entrepreneurial process. These steps include:4 1. Commitment - Are we ready? Do we have what it takes to move forward?2. Selection and Evaluation of the Idea - Perform the due diligence to determine if the need is real, and if it can be filled profitably.3. Planning - Sharpen the plan and develop a comprehensive business plan, with its major components being the marketing "mix", the strategic plan, operational and logistical structures, and the financial proposal.4. Implementation - Put the plan into action. As long as individuals have the necessary tools to perform the set tasks that are required to succeed in a new venture, taking into the market conditions and health at the time as well as the ability to choose the proper investors for the venture, most individuals should be able to succeed at starting a new business.

Keeping the Entrepreneurial Fires Burning

Starting a new business and keeping it going are of course two comple

red

The entrepreneurial success process is not a crystal ball gazing event that mystics pull out of thin air; it is a set of solid steps that lead to specific goals intertwined with determination to succeed and the ability to push beyond the fear of failure. It includes developing "antennae" that look for risk in the business and then ways to manage that risk, and reduce it in order to profit from the actions. Ideas are formed from thinking creatively about the surrounding circumstances. Applying those thoughts to improve society in a tangible (and profitable way) is being innovative. Turning the solutions into reality is what the entrepreneur does. But how do they do it?

The Entrepreneurial Process

Once the entrepreneur is aware of the above situation, they for the most part begin a set of steps that are common to what we can call the entrepreneurial process. These steps include:4 1. Commitment - Are we ready? Do we have what it takes to move forward?2. Selection and Evaluation of the Idea - Perform the due diligence to determine if the need is real, and if it can be filled profitably.3. Planning - Sharpen the plan and develop a comprehensive business plan, with its major components being the marketing "mix", the strategic plan, operational and logistical structures, and the financial proposal.4. Implementation - Put the plan into action. As long as individuals have the necessary tools to perform the set tasks that are required to succeed in a new venture, taking into the market conditions and health at the time as well as the ability to choose the proper investors for the venture, most individuals should be able to succeed at starting a new business.

Keeping the Entrepreneurial Fires Burning

Starting a new business and keeping it going are of course two comple

teps include:4 1. Commitment - Are we ready? Do we have what it takes to move forward?2. Selection and Evaluation of the Idea - Perform the due diligence to determine if the need is real, and if it can be filled profitably.3. Planning - Sharpen the plan and develop a comprehensive business plan, with its major components being the marketing "mix", the strategic plan, operational and logistical structures, and the financial proposal.4. Implementation - Put the plan into action. As long as individuals have the necessary tools to perform the set tasks that are required to succeed in a new venture, taking into the market conditions and health at the time as well as the ability to choose the proper investors for the venture, most individuals should be able to succeed at starting a new business.

Keeping the Entrepreneurial Fires Burning

Starting a new business and keeping it going are of course two completely different issues and as we described above, require different abilities, traits and steps to succeed. The success rate of small businesses decreases rapidly after the first year of inauguration. It is believed that most of the failures are due to improper or inadequate roadmap planning. It is important to develop a sound and viable business plan, and then follow through on each and every step of that plan to achieve long-term success. Without long-term goals written down in a business plan it becomes very difficult to follow any idea to fruition. The purpose of starting a new business is not to start the business; rather it is to provide a product or service to a market with a need while providing profitable returns to the stakeholders involved in the venture over time.5

Conclusion

There is nothing mysterious about starting a new venture. Creativity and innovation can be developed in individuals through setting the proper environmental conditions and following through with a well-thought out plan. Those with a higher degree of intrinsic motivation will be more creative and productive in any situation. Intrinsic motivation can be fostered through external circumstances and therefore results can be controlled. Leaders of organizations must know how to create this environment and they must also have a solid understanding that failure is an integral part of the process. Corporations have the tools required to develop a sound creative culture from within and lift their employees to higher levels, thus allowing for improved innovation while developing the collective entrepreneurial mind.6

References

1. Cameron Switzer, 'Creativity and Motivation: Traits that come from within', Bus570 Innovation and Entrepreneurism, Anaheim University MBA Programme, 2007/01/13.

2. Larry E. Short and Paul Dunn, 'A Pilot study to identify the critical activities performed by entrepreneurs', University of Louisiana at Monroe. Retrieved from: www.sbaer.uca.edu/research/asbe/2003/pdfs/hub/18Short&.pdf.

3. Anaheim University MBA Lecture Series on Entrepreneurism by Dr. Robert Garrity (available on DVD from Anaheim University).

4. ‘Jumpstart Business Ventures Entrepreneurial Lessons: Lesson 6 The Entrepreneurial Process’. Retrieved from: http://www.jbv.com/lessons/lesson06.htm.

5. Anaheim University MBA Lecture Series on Entrepreneurism by Dr. Robert Garrity (available on DVD from Anaheim University).

6. Tierney, P., Farmer, S. M., & Graen, G. B., 'Organizational Creativity—Leadership Source. An examination of leadership and employee creativity: The relevance of traits and relationships. Personnel Psychology, 52:591-620. 1999. Retrieved from: http://www.stmarys.ties.k12.mn.us/gullickson/LessonThree/Pres2/sld013.htm.