For some people, an entrepreneur is someone who will take a financial risk where few others will. However, the dictionary definition is slightly different. The Cambridge American Dictionary says an entrepreneur is someone who starts his or her own business, especially when this involves seeing a new opportunity. In reality, an entrepreneur probably sees themselves as a combination of the two.
Life is full of risks. Have we married the right person? Have we chosen the right school for our children? Should we move house? Is it time to move job? Every time we cross the road we run the risk of being run over. However, many believe entrepreneurs are natural risk takers, but is this actually the case? According to Harvard researchers, even an entrepreneur with past successes only has a 30% chance of success in a new venture, whereas a first timer has a less favorable 18% chance of success.
Starting a new business isn’t straightforward at all. A lot of preparation work goes into a new startup, from researching the target audience and competitors to finding the financial backing they need to see their idea through to the end. A recent poll by Business Daily News showed that over 75% of entrepreneurs use their own money to finance their ventures, while the remainder uses a combination of loans from family, friends, and banks. Does this high rate of self-funding point towards a high-risk profile that would put outside investors off? Lots of new businesses are started by people who have already had other successes, so it may not be as risky as the statistics suggest, but instead just a reflection of existing entrepreneurs starting new projects.
‘Research’ – Thomas Haynie via Flickr (CC BYÂ 2.0)
Successful Risks
There are many success stories to inspire budding entrepreneurs. Over 51% of businesses start from home, while the majority of entrepreneurs work between 40 and 60 hours per week. Some people presume their success is related to education, but only 39% of entrepreneurs have a bachelor’s degree or higher, meaning nearly two-thirds of entrepreneurs don’t have this level of education.
Bill Gates famously dropped out of college to start Microsoft with his friend, Paul Allen. Dropping out of college is a big risk, but was it because he was a natural risk taker? Was it because he had so much belief and passion for what he was doing he felt there was no other option?
After a rough start in life, Harland Sanders worked as a farmer, streetcar conductor, railroad fireman and an insurance salesman before he started selling fried chicken to weary travelers from a service station. He was 40 years old at the time, and it would be many more years before he started the franchise that would grow into KFC, a company that was purchased in 1986 for approximately $840 million.
Being a success requires much more than just a good product or service though. Said service or product needs to be successfully branded and marketed, and offer value to people they can’t get elsewhere. You could build the best online casino in history, but if no one ever played it would fail. However, you can find ways to add value to their players, then use online marketing to spread the word. Some online casinos offer big bonuses to players, while others even allow you to play roulette anonymously using a cryptocurrency. They add extra value by allowing customers to play for free to try the games first, and have invested in technology to create live games, making the games as enjoyable as possible. With most online Bitcoin casinos paying out 90% or more of the deposits they take in, Bitcoin casinos are an appealing choice for gamblers and a good, trending USP. Roulette, in particular, fits well with the entrepreneurial profile of risk and reward, and with big bonuses being offered on this site, there’s no shortage of people taking up the offers.
How To Get Started
Entrepreneurs are an important part of any country’s economy. From corner shops to online businesses, there is an entrepreneur behind every one that has been started. Facebook, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Amazon are just needles in the haystack of big companies that were started off in a small way by an entrepreneur.
‘B2B startup’ –Â Perzon SEO via Flickr (CCÂ BYÂ 2.0)
Could you be the next big success story? Unless you are prepared to take the risk you will never find out. If you have a good idea, think about putting together a business plan, which can help you decide if it’s viable. Do some research on your target demographic, and on the competitors you would be up against. Find something about your product or service that makes your business stand out from the crowd, and then get all the advice you can about how and when to start. There is lots of advice online from trusted sources, and the more you learn the better chance you have of success. Successful entrepreneurs do take risks, but most would say the risks are always a calculated gamble.
