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ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN PERSPECTIVE

Entrepreneurship in the Modern World

Entrepreneurship is more than the mere creation of a business or a social enterprise. Although that is
certainly an important fact, it is not the complete picture. The characteristics of seeking opportunities,
taking risks beyond security, and having the tenacity to push an idea through to reality combine into a
special perspective that permeates entrepreneurs. Some people are born with it while others can develop
an entrepreneurial mindset. This mindset can be exhibited inside or outside an organization, in profit or
non-profit enterprises and in business or non-business activities for the purpose of bringing forth creative
ideas. Thus, entrepreneurship is an integrated concept that permeates an individual’s enterprise in an
innovative manner. It is this mindset that has revolutionized the way business and social ventures are
conducted at every level and in every country (Frederick, O'Connor, & Kuratko, 2016).

EXAMPLE: Look at the mindset of the crew of the Starship Enterprise in the famous TV show Star Trek.
They definitely had entrepreneurial qualities. The mission of the Starship Enterprise was ‘to boldly go
where no one has gone before’. This means having the nerve to face the unknown. ‘Space… the final
frontier’ is all about finding new markets. ‘These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise’ is all about
planning for the future. ‘To explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations’ is just
like the entrepreneur’s ability to explore, learn and adapt (Frederick, O'Connor, & Kuratko, 2016).

Today, the word enterprise (or enterprising) is still used as an ‘attitude to life, an attitude of exploring,
of developing, of leading and of taking initiatives’. Enterprise – as in an enterprising individual – is the
process of identifying, developing and bringing a vision to life, be it an innovative idea or simply a better
way of doing something. Enterprise applies not only to business ventures, but also to political and social
decisions (Frederick, O'Connor, & Kuratko, 2016).

English is fortunate in having two (2) complementary words (some languages do not make this
distinction). Enterprising means ‘marked by imagination, initiative, and readiness to undertake new
projects’. Entrepreneurial means ‘willing to take risks in order to create value’. Anyone – from an artist
to a zoologist – can be enterprising. Entrepreneurship has a more business connotation. Both terms,
whether inside or outside of business, mean that a person is the sole proprietor of the rest of their life,
of their own destiny (Frederick, O'Connor, & Kuratko, 2016).

Entrepreneurial Economy

Entrepreneurship is the symbol of business tenacity and achievement. Entrepreneurs are the pioneers of
today’s business successes. Their sense of opportunity, their drive to innovate and their capacity for
accomplishment have become the standard by which free enterprise is now measured. This standard is
taking hold within free and open economies throughout the world. Entrepreneurs make three (3)
indispensable contributions to the economy. First, entrepreneurs create new businesses. Goods and
services offered by entrepreneurs can produce a cascading effect by stimulating related businesses or
sectors supporting the new venture furthering economic development.

EXAMPLE: The first call center operations in the Philippines encouraged other BPOs to also set up in the
country due to its relatively cheap rates. Thus, in 2015, Philippines replaced Mumbai as the 2nd ranking
BPO destination.

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Second, entrepreneurs contribute greatly to national development. Entrepreneurial ventures generate

new wealth. Existing businesses may remain confined to the scope of existing markets and may hit the
glass ceiling in terms of income. New and improved products, services or technology from entrepreneurs
enable new markets to be developed and new wealth to be created. Additionally, increased employment
and higher earnings contribute to better national income in the form of higher tax revenue and higher
government spending. This revenue can be used by the government to invest in other, struggling sectors
and human capital.

Third, entrepreneurs create social change. Through their unique offerings of new goods and services,
entrepreneurs break away from tradition and indirectly support freedom by reducing dependence on
obsolete systems and technologies. This results in an improved quality of life, improved morale and
greater economic freedom.

EXAMPLE: The water supply in a water-scarce region will, at times, force people to stop working to
collect water. This will impact their business, productivity, and income. Imagine an innovative,
automatic, low-cost, flow-based pump that can fill people’s water containers automatically. This type
of innovation ensures people are able to focus on their jobs without worrying about a basic necessity
like water. More time to devote to work translates to economic growth.

Entrepreneurship Spectrum
Entrepreneurs on starting a business from scratch
Many entrepreneurs start their own business on the idea that they are following their own vision. As a
sole owner, the entrepreneur’s vision for the company will be completely uncompromised.

Starting a business from scratch enables the entrepreneur to be productive. As a sole proprietor, the
entrepreneur gets the first and only say – without having to run his/her decision by other parties, there
will be no need for team meetings, collaborating, or voting. The entrepreneur can do what s/he wants
and needs to do effectively, and the end results will be up to his/her high standards.

Entrepreneurs on starting a family business

Entrepreneurs choose to start a family business due to its long-term orientation. Majority of family
businesses aim to maximize the well-being of current and future generations in a transgenerational
perspective. Thus, they focus on potential for growth and investment projects.

This orientation is the result of several factors: willingness of family members to pass down to their heirs
a healthy and competitive firm and the strong economic and emotional involvement of family members
in the enterprise implies that the firm itself is an asset to be safeguarded and, at the same time, to be
developed (Del Giudice, 2017).

Entrepreneurs on entering a partnership

The idea of partnership for entrepreneurs is that it is a great way to leverage existing resources between
parties, given that the general partnership agreement is not poorly written.

Having partners can mean multiple sources of cash flow, which will undoubtedly benefit your business
during both the start-up and growth phase. The risk of the entrepreneur’s investment will be spread
among other people, which can protect him if the business doesn’t work out as planned. On a

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psychological aspect, having partners mean that the entrepreneur is not alone in his endeavors; which in
turn, can help the entrepreneur to feel more secure when the road gets tough.

Other entrepreneurs choose to enter into a partnership to diversify their expertise. By engaging with
partners of different expertise, the entrepreneur can broaden the scope of their business. This may lead
to an expanded customer base, which can increase earning potential.

With a team approach, partners can serve as the entrepreneur’s sounding board when testing out new
ideas, products and services, and markets. Partners can also serve as an additional source of creativity
during brainstorming and problem-solving.

Entrepreneurs on buying an existing business

The idea is that buying an existing business is less risky than starting from scratch, however expensive it
is. In buying a business, the entrepreneur takes over an operation that is already generating cash flow and
profits. There is already an established customer base, reputation, and employees who are familiar with
all aspects of the business. The entrepreneur doesn’t have to set up new procedures, systems, and policies
since a successful formula for running the business has already been put in place.

In addition, it is often easier to get financing to buy an existing business than to start a new one. Bankers
and investors generally feel more comfortable dealing with a business that already has a proven track
record. Also, buying an existing business may give the entrepreneur valuable legal rights such as patents
or copyrights, which can prove to be very profitable.

As for franchising, entrepreneurs get to enjoy a support system. In the case of Harsh Pancholia, founder
of zpizza in United Arab Emirates (UAE), the franchisor (originally from California, USA) has provided him
support while Pancholia is managing the business on his own. Also, since the franchisor has previously
built strong establishments, Pancholia was able to benefit from the various connections.

Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Development

While all organizations face the same basic mandate for innovation, for-profit business is arguably the
most influential institution in society today.
Understanding how sustainability is becoming a
corporate priority at the CEO and board levels is
vital. The first step is perhaps the simplest and
the hardest; seeing the entire Industrial Age
system with fresh eyes. As shown in Figure 1,
many executives still see the world from an
Industrial Age point of view: They see the largest
and most important circle as the economy, with
society and environment as much smaller domains Figure 1. Industrial Age System vs. Modern Age
within (Senge, Smith, Kruschwitz, Laur, & Schley, 2008).

In fact, we believe that the only way to begin to effectively shift priorities and integrate sustainability into
your organization is to reconsider that picture. In this new way of looking at the world and business’s role

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in it, the biggest circle is the environment; within that circle is human society; the economy, industries,
and individual businesses are much smaller circles that fit within both society and the environment.

As Ray Andersen, CEO of Interface, puts it, businesses need to wake up to the
simple fact that “the economy is the wholly owned subsidiary of nature, not
the other way around.”

Similarly, there can be no healthy economy without a stable and vibrant social order. Fortunately, many
smart organizations understand the importance of this shift in perspective and practice, and are acting
accordingly (Senge, Smith, Kruschwitz, Laur, & Schley, 2008).

Triple Bottom Line (TBL)

The phrase “the triple bottom line” was coined in 1994 by John Elkington, the founder of a British
consultancy called Sustainability. His argument was that companies should be preparing three (3)
different bottom lines. One is the traditional measure of corporate profit—the “bottom line” of the profit
and loss account. The second is the bottom line of a company's “people account”—a measure in some
shape or form of how socially responsible an organization has been throughout its operations. The third
is the bottom line of the company's “planet” account—a measure of how environmentally responsible it
has been. The TBL thus consists of three (3) Ps: profit, people, and planet. It aims to measure the financial,
social, and environmental performance of the corporation over a period of time. Only a company that
produces a TBL is taking account of the full cost involved in doing business.

TBL provides a framework for measuring the performance of the business and the success of the
organization using the economic, social, and environmental lines (Goel, 2010). The term has also been
referred to as the practical framework of sustainability (Rogers & Hudson, 2011). Targeted toward
corporations, the TBL agenda puts a consistent and balanced focus on the economic, social, and
environmental value provided by the organizations.

• Profit refers to the real economic value created by the business and enjoyed by the host society.
It is the income and expenditures, taxes, business climate factors, employment and business
diversity factors as well as the economic impact of the business has on society.
• People refers to the impact that a business has on people within the business (employees) and
people outside of the business (community). A business that promotes the triple bottom line
addresses the well-being of and benefits the people in which the business operates. All
stakeholders are interdependent via fair wages, fair-trade practices, safe work environments,
retention rates, ethical standards, local hiring, local sourcing, local participation, local charitable
contributions, and contributions to community living standards.
• Planet refers to environmental stewardship. Entrepreneurs enhance the natural order and
minimize their environmental impact in a wide variety of ways that are not only cost effective, but
easy to implement and adopt. It can be done through small efforts such as managing energy
consumption, employing eco-friendly materials, managing water consumption, and minimizing the
amount of waste to landfill. Entrepreneurs also contribute substantial efforts such as reducing
waste from packaging and determining the true environmental cost of manufacturing from
harvesting raw materials to the disposal by the end user.

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REFERENCES
Emerson, M. (2015, March 16). What's in the triple bottom line for entrepreneurs? » Succeed as your own
boss. Retrieved from https://succeedasyourownboss.com/whats-triple-bottom-line-
entrepreneurs/

Del Giudice, M. (2017). Understanding family-owned business groups: Towards a pluralistic approach.
Gewerbestrasse: Palgrave Macmillan.

Frederick, H., O'Connor, A., & Kuratko, D. F. (2016). Entrepreneurship: Theory, process, practice (4th ed.).
Victoria: Cengage Learning Australia Pty Limited.

Goel, P. (2010). Triple bottom line reporting: An analytical approach for corporate sustainability. Journal
of Finance, Accounting, and Management, 1(1), 27-42.

Rogers, K. & Hudson, B. (2011). The triple bottom line: The synergies of transformative perceptions and
practices of sustainability. OD Practitioner, 4(43), 3-9.

Scaborough, N. M., & Cornwall, J. R. (2016). Essentials of entrepreneurship and small business
management (8th ed.). Harlow, Essex: Pearson Education Limited.

Senge, P., Smith, B., Kruschwitz, N., Laur, J., & Schley, S. (2008). The necessary revolution: How indidviduals
and organizations are working together to create a sustainable world. Clerkenwell: Nicholas
Brealey Publishing.

Seth, S. (2018, March 07). Why entrepreneurs are important for the economy. Retrieved from
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/101414/why-entrepreneurs-are-
important-economy.asp

Entrepreneur Asia Pacific. (2015, January 15). Should you start a business from scratch or buy an existing
business? Retrieved from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/79638

Steinkirchner, S. (2013, November 14). Your start-up: Go with partners or go it alone? Retrieved May 16,
2018, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/sundaysteinkirchner/2013/11/14/your-start-up-go-
with-partners-or-go-it-alone/#4bd250001a15

The Economist. (2009, November 17). Triple bottom line. Retrieved from
https://www.economist.com/node/14301663

Pancholia, H. (2017, March 26). Why opening a franchise business is better than starting your own.
Retrieved from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/291914

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