ENTREPRENEURIAL PERSONALITY

 There are two complementary

factors that determine success or
failure in an entrepreneurship. These
factors are:
1. The Environment, and
2. The Personality of the
Entrepreneur.
 The Economic Environments may be
classified as follows:
1. Those fully supportive of
entrepreneurships;
2. Those moderately supportive of
entrepreneurship; and
3. Those not supportive of
entrepreneurships.
Figure 9. Economic Environment and the
Entrepreneur
The Entrepreneur’s
Types of Economic Task
Those fully supportive
of entrepreneurships Easy

Those moderately
supportive of Less Easy
entrepreneurships

Those not supportive Hard

of entrepreneurships
 Every person has a personality that
is unique and different from others.
Each personality type has a
corresponding type of job that fits it.
 A certain personality, however, may
fit in more than one type of job,
although the level of fitness will be
different with each job.
Table 1: Personalities and Job Fit

Personality Entrepreneur’s Teacher’s Engineer’s

Types Job Job Job

A Perfect Fit Moderate fit Unfit

B Unfit Perfect fit Moderate fit
C Moderate Fit unfit Perfect Fit
 Personality refers to the pattern of
characteristics that distinguishes one
person from another.
 It includes person’s traits, values,
motives, genetic blueprints,
attitudes, emotional reactivity,
abilities, self-image, intelligence, and
visible behavior patterns.
 Six personality types (by John L.
Holland):
1. The realistic type;
2. The investigative type;
3. The artistic type;
4. The social type;
5. The enterprising type; and
6. The conventional type.
Table 2: A Brief Description of Holland
Personality Types
1. Realistic This individual prefer activities involving
aggressive behavior and physical exertion
requiring skill, strength, and coordination.

Example: Farming and Mining

2. Investigative This individual prefers to be analytical,

curious, methodical, and precise.

Examples: Crime investigator and Arson

investigator.
3. Artistic
This person is expressive, non-conforming,
original, and introspective.

Example: Songwriter and Novelist

Continuation of Table 2

4. Social This person enjoys working with and helping

others and purpose-fully avoids systematic
activities involving tools and machinery.

Example: Social Worker

5. Enterprising This person enjoys verbal activities to

influence others and to attain power and
status.

Example: Manager and Entrepreneur.

6. Conventional This person enjoys the systematic

manipulation of data, filing of records, or
reproducing materials.

Examples: Accounting, Finance

1. Drive 6. Reasonable risk
2. Thinking ability taker.
3. Human relation 7. Self-confident
ability 8. Goal setter
4. Ability to 9. Accountable
communicate 10. Innovative
5. Technical
knowledge
Drive
 Success in entrepreneurship
becomes possible when the
entrepreneur is self-motivated
enough to pursue his chosen
course without relenting even in
the face of adversity.
Thinking ability
 The entrepreneur’s job involves
solving problem and making
decision.
 The entrepreneur is asked to
make the final decision in the
promotion to vice president of one
of three qualified managers, he
needs to use his thinking ability
and that ability must be sufficient
to guide him to make the best
choice.
Human relation ability
 Three types of persons will
determine the survival and growth
of business firms.
1) The customer
 The customer makes the
decision whether to patronize
the firm or not
2) The employee
 The employee can be
productive and loyal to the firm.
3) The third party with interest in
the firm.
 Third party with various interest
regarding the firm can also be
made to be more cooperative
and accomodating.
Ability to communicate
 Communication skill is a very
important characteristics of an
entrepreneur must have if success
is expected.
 When the entrepreneur gives
orders that are easily understood,
wastages in time and materials are
minimized.
Technical knowledge
 Operating entrepreneurs requires
the performance of major and
minor tasks.
 It will be easier for him to devise a
strategy on how he will manage his
firm to effectively compete with
others.
Reasonable risk taker
 When a person starts a new
venture, he has already begun to
assumes the risk of business
failure.
 Entrepreneurs are expected to be
reasonable risk takers, not
conservative but also not gamblers.
Table 3: The Entrepreneur Compared
with Other Risk Takers

Types of Risk Taker Level of Risk Expected Level

Taken of Benefits
Salaried employee low Low

Entrepreneur Moderate Moderate

gambler High High

Self-confident
 A person cannot achieve much
unless he has sufficient confidence
in himself.
 Self-confidence is best exemplified
by successful entrepreneurs who
have physical disabilities.
Goal Setter
 Goals are very useful motivational
tools, especially those related to
accomplishing the objectives of
entrepreneurs.
A goal performs the following
functions:
1. It direct one’s attention to a
specific target;
2. It encourages one to exert effort
toward achieving something
specific;
3. It encourages persistence; and
4. It fosters the creation of strategies
and actions plans
Accountable
 The success of an enterprise will
depend much on the willingness of
subordinates to comply with the
wishes of the entrepreneur.
Innovative
 A free enterprise economy like ours
allows business enterprises to
flourish.
 Innovation may be the only way the
entrepreneur can achieve the
following:
1. Penetrate the market;
2. Improve employee turnover;
3. Reduce manufacturing cost; and
4. Improve collection rate.
1. The desire to be one’s own boss;
2. The desire for financial rewards;
3. The desire to create one’s own job
security; and
4. The desire to improve one’s quality
of life.
 The terms “Entrepreneur” and
“Manager” are sometimes used
interchangeably. Although both jobs
are useful to the economy, each
performs distinct functions.
 Figure 10: Activity Emphasis of New
Ventures
Enterprise
Stage Factor Emphasis
I. Prestart-up Business idea Full
Human resource None
Capital None

II. Start-up Business idea None

Human resource Limited
Capital Limited

III.Early growth Business idea None

Human resource Escalating
Capital Escalating
 Continuation of (Figure 10)

Enterprise Stage
Factor Emphasis
IV. Later growth Business idea None
Human resource Full
Capital Full

V. Stable enterprise Business idea None

Human resource Full
capital Full
 Figure 11: The Entrepreneur’s Task vs.
The Manager’s Task
Enterprise Activity Entrepreneur’s Manager’s
Involvement Involvement
stage
I. Prestart-up Feasibility of an
idea, product or
service, among
others, is
scrutinized. Full None

II. Start-up Business is formed,

necessary capital is
generated, facilities
and equipment are
purchased,
prototype of
products are built, Full
market is tested None
 Continuation of (Figure 11)
Enterprise Activity Entrepreneur’s Manager’s
Involvement Involvement
stage
III. Early With limited
growth resources, is
undertaken in limited
markets Full None

IV. Later Structured

growth management, long-
term financing, and
facilities planning are Declining Partial
established.

V. Stable With bigger

enterprise resources, recurring
sales and profits,
selling is undertaken
in bigger markets None Full
 The last two stages require the skills
of the manager.
 A major distinction between the
entrepreneur and the manager is
about orientation.
 The entrepreneur (also called
Promoter) feels confident of his
ability to seize a business
opportunity regardless of the
resources under his current control.
 The manager (also alternatively
called the Trustee) emphasizes the
efficient utilization of resources.

Note: at the start-up stage, the only

activity of the entrepreneur is identifying
a good business idea. When he decides
on a business idea, he starts operating
with limited human resource and capital.