Growth, Performance, Integrity: The Entrepreneur Defined
Greetings from Coach Kimberly, your XC Resident Expert on entrepreneurship. I am delighted to be collaborating with Bonnie and her team on educating “Women That Make It Happen.” I am a business coach and considered a coaching pioneer as one of the founders of the International Association of Coaches, and CoachVille Institute, The 
Schools of Coaching. I enjoyed a successful career in Corporate America by embracing and demonstrating the entrepreneurial spirit prior to launching my own enterprise over 20 years ago. It is my aim to help shorten your learning curve by sharing my wisdom and knowledge with the XC Community.
As this is my first post to the community, I want to lay the groundwork and begin by defining entrepreneurship. The concept of entrepreneurship has a wide range of meanings. On the one extreme an entrepreneur is a person of very high aptitude who pioneers change, possessing characteristics found in only a very small fraction of the population. On the other extreme of definitions, anyone who wants to work for themself is considered to be an entrepreneur.
The word entrepreneur originates from the French word, entreprendre, which means “to undertake.” In a business context, it means to start a business. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary presents the definition as one who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise.
Another view by Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter is the definition of entrepreneur places an emphasis on innovation, such as:
- new products
- new production methods
- new markets
- new forms of organization
Many people use the terms “entrepreneur” and “small business owner” synonymously. While they may have much in common, there are significant differences between the entrepreneurial venture and the small business.
The four main ways they differ are:
- Amount of Wealth Creation
- Speed of Wealth Creation
- Risk
- Innovation
I will be educating and virtually coaching you through these differences, as well as the key skills of an entrepreneur – leadership, productivity, and marketing to help you grow and succeed in your entrepreneurial venture.
Thank you for welcoming me into the community. I look forward to meeting many of you fabulous women at hosted events.
