My first contact with the term “entrepreneur” was in 2002, I was only 15 years old and to be honest, the 120-minute classes were my worst torment, but it was precisely in one of them that I discovered what I really wanted from my life. .
It was 12 noon, my computer class with a very young teacher with a rocker look (in the style of Bon Jovi, with long black hair, wearing tight synthetic leather pants and a black denim vest) who was talking to us. about the origin of the “Windows” operating system and its creator; The truth is that it wasn’t very pleasant to have to tell you the story of the nerdy guy that no one wanted when he was studying at university, but who ended up leading the lists of the richest men in the world published by “Forbes” magazine; and even less on a Friday at the end of March, with the thermometer reading almost 29 degrees Celsius, in a very nice Harvard-style classroom that had the air conditioning broken.
My attention was on everything except listening to the teacher, however it was enough for him to put numbers in the talk for the story to change, my mind was seduced by the speaker’s words and I began to write down the data he gave us. He began by giving us the estimated amount of the fortune that “The technological Midas” (Bill Gates) had accumulated by 2001, nothing more and nothing less than 58.7 billion dollars, he went on to provide statistical data about the company on its exponential growth, the valuation of their actions on Wall Street. The truth is that once money is involved everything changes, I found the class, in the end, quite productive.
That had been the first time I heard the word entrepreneur.
The word entrepreneur has different connotations depending on the context in which it is written or pronounced, however, most people relate this term to the generation of a business. Despite this, entrepreneur means, according to the Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy: “who resolutely undertakes difficult or hazardous actions . ”
In the business world, the term entrepreneur cannot be conceived independently of innovation and risks. It is in constant speeches and texts that attempts have been made to give in a broader sense the definition of an entrepreneur, or whether they are born or made, whether it is a question of aptitude or attitude, it has not been possible to have a consensus on the matter, which It is true that today there are several characteristics that define these people:
- Vision. Have a vision of where we want to go, and what we want to achieve.
- Passion. It is the essential component and it is what makes the effort and sacrifices barely perceptible.
- Determination and courage. This will help us face problems and make decisions.
- Creativity and innovation. In a world where businesses are increasingly in an environment of greater competition, being innovative has become a very relevant characteristic.
- Teamwork. An entrepreneur rarely achieves his objectives if he is not able to work as a team with others.
- Assertiveness. Being assertive is more than communicating, I would define it as communicating clearly, correctly and in a timely manner.
- Optimistic. The entrepreneur must be optimistic and difficulties should not make his spirit decline, on the contrary they should be what inspire improvement and creativity every day.
There is no secret formula that tells us for sure what an entrepreneur should be, however, what I can assure you is that it is the path that allows us to work to achieve our own objectives, at our own pace, and learning from each step we take.
