Role of an entrepreneur in today’s economy

The industrial health of a society depends on the level of entrepreneurship existing in it. A country might remain backward not because of lack of natural resources or dearth of capital, as it is many times believed, but because of lack of entrepreneurial talents or it in ability to tap the latent entrepreneurial talents existing in that society. Entrepreneurs historically have altered the direction of national economies, industry or markets – Japan, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan to name a few.

Entrepreneurs occupy a central position in the market economy, for it is the entrepreneurs who serve as the spark plug in the economy’s engine, activating and stimulating all economic activity. The economic success of the nations all over the world is the result of encouraging and rewarding the entrepreneurial instinct.

A society is prosperous only to the degree to which it rewards and encourages entrepreneurs: it is the entrepreneurs and their activities that are the critical determinant of the level of success, prosperity, growth and opportunity in an economy.

The developed countries in the world are the ones that have the most entrepreneurs, plus the economic and legal structure to encourage and motivate entrepreneurs to greater activities.

Entrepreneurs seek disequilibrium – a gap between the wants and needs of the customers and the products and services that are currently available in the markets. The entrepreneurs then bring together the factors of production necessary to produce, offer and sell desired products and services. They invest and risk their money – and other people’s money – to produce products and/or services that can be sold at a profit.

Entrepreneurs are optimistic and future oriented; they believe that success is not far away and are willing to risk their resources in the pursuit of profit. They’re fast moving, willing to try many different strategies to achieve their goals of profits. And they’re flexible, willing to change quickly when they get new information.

Entrepreneurs are efficient at selling against the competition by creating perceptions of difference and uniqueness in their products and services. They continually seek out customer needs that the competition is not satisfying and find ways to offer their products and services in such a way that what they’re offering is more attractive than anything else available.

An entrepreneur’s success is vital to the success of the nation. To help him develop a better business, one that contributes to the economy, I suggest that you take sometime to sit down, answer the following questions, and implement the followings:

What opportunities exist today for you to create or bring new products and/or services to your market that people want, need and are willing to pay for these products and services? What are your best opportunities?

Identify these steps that you could take immediately to operate your business more efficiently, especially regarding internal operating systems.

Tell yourself continually “Failure is not an option for an entrepreneur.” Be willing to move out of your comfort zones, to take risks to build your business.

Use your creativity rather than your funds to find new, better, cheaper ways to sell your products and to reduce your costs of operations. What could you do immediately in these areas?

Truly speaking, entrepreneurs are a national treasure, and must be protected, nourished, encouraged and rewarded as much as possible. They create all wealth, all jobs, all opportunities, and all prosperity in the society. They are the most important people in the market economy.

NAZIR AHMAD

Lahore