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This post is an entry for the WriteInFull contest.

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Introduction

This is a good idea that should be instilled in a person. Having an idea on entrepreneurship can take someone places that he may never have dreamed of reaching.

But as much as it can take you far, it can also take you backwards to the point of regret. Notwithstanding, it is still a good thing to enlighten people about entrepreneurship.

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What is Entrepreneurship?

Entrepreneurship is simply a concept which makes one to create or extract value within an economy. It entails having to get into risking things (sometimes) to an extreme level when taking on a new venture.

It is a process which involves a person known as an entrepreneur. This person either invest in or starts one or more businesses, bearing the associated risks and also bearing the rewards if any.

Those who practice entrepreneurship play a key role in the economy because they try to bring new ideas into an existing market and if successful create employment for others.

Anyone practicing entrepreneurship with a new business should first think of how to get funds as it will aid them to run the business. There are many ways to source for funds but the common ways are through loans and crowdfunding.

Entrepreneurs have an obligation to pay their taxes as required by the laws of the land. The tax to be paid depends on the type of business, how it is set up, and the structure of the business.

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Types of entrepreneurship

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There are four types of entrepreneurship based on the type of entrepreneur and the type of business they are running.

Small Businesse Entrepreneurship

A small businesses is one that is run without considering to make it big. Some examples are a single pharmacy shop, retail shop, and grocery store.

The entrepreneur in such business invest their own money to use and run the business. Any profit or loss is left to them to handle.

Startups that are Scalable

These are companies that start with an idea that is unique and then try to innovate this idea into products and services in the process growing the company and scaling up as times goes on.

Much capital is needed here and so investors are required so as to help scale the business.

Large Companies

This is a type of entrepreneurship where a new business division is created within a large existing company. This can happen if the company want to get involved in a new market or in a new technology.

It could be an idea from the CEO who might have seen a 'new market' for the company or employees within the company who brings up a suitable idea to the notice of the top management.

Social Entrepreneurship

This is a type of entrepreneurship where the goal is to create a lasting impression on society and humankind. Their primary focus is providing products or services to communities and their environment.

The entrepreneurs behind this type of entrepreneurship are not moved by profits but by helping the people around them.

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Examples of entrepreneurship in your city

In my city Calabar, there are lots of entities practicing entrepreneurship daily. There are littered everywhere within the city.

One of such is Ignition Bar. It is a hang out spot where customers come to unwind after the hard days work. They sell different kinds of drinks. They sell soft drinks of different types and alcoholic beverages of different types.

There is an outer layer which has plastic chairs under a canopy and TV screens that are hung on a pole. You can decide to sit there if you decide to. Doing that make you enjoy the cool breeze outside while also viewing cars as they pass.

The inner layer has 'bar chairs' and high stools and a bar. It also has a snooker table and flat screen TV hung on the walls.

Another example is a bakery called Hi Quality. In this bakery, they produce so many things that are based on baking.

They produce on of the best bread to be found in Calabar. They also produce others like meat pie, chicken pie, fish pie, doughnuts, and more.

They are not like the typical eateries where you can go and order what you want and consume there. They just serve you your order and you leave as there are not chairs and tables, just the display of the products and the cash points.

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State 4 or more qualities of an entrepreneur

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For you to succeed as an entrepreneur, you naturally have to be industrious while doing things you are most passionate about. For without having this passion every other thing may become irrelevant.

Along with being passionate, the following are some qualities that you need to develop as an entrepreneur.

1. Be very versatile. When starting out as an entrepreneur, you may not have all the necessary work force and funds to carry out certain tasks. You need to be able to carry out some of these functions for as long as the business grows.

It also helps your prospective customers and clients to get closer to you being the leader of the business. As you go about performing certain functions, you get to meet your clients and as such you bring more awareness to yourself and your business.

2. Be very flexible. To become a good entrepreneur, you should be flexible with the mode of operation in your business activities. There's no 'almighty formula' that solves all issues the same.

You also have to be constantly looking for the 'perfect' mode of dishing out services to customers so that they can keep on coming back.

3. Know how to generate and manage money. There's a saying which can be translated as "money is the lifeblood of any business". Money is needed for staffing, getting inventory, mainteinance of equipments, etc. Without having money your business can go down the drain easily.

To manage your cash flow, you need to practice effective book keeping. You need to know your income and your expenses. Another thing to consider is to keep some funds set aside to aid you run the business 'smoothly' as contingency to act as a backup to shortage of funds.

When such funds have been kept aside, it is adviceable not to touch it for any reason.

4. Must be resilient. Starting out as an entrepreneur can be very daunting. It can be very difficult, especially as you are starting it from the scratch. As you proceed you realize that it takes a lot of time, dedication, and even failure. Along with it comes different emotions and sometimes regrets.

But to be a great entrepreneur you have to be resilient and keep pushing forward irrespective of the challenges ahead.

It is important to note that when starting out, you have to learn new things as there's always a learning curve. Try and learn as fast as you can and never give up.

5. Must be good in communication. To be a successful entrepreneur you must learn how to communicate with others. It can help you convey your ideas to potential investors. It will also let you dialogue with your employees and enable you negotiate with your contracts with suppliers.

There's a lot you can achieve by learning how to communicate better.

6. Should be business smart. Similar to managing money, an entrepreneur should be able to have knowledge about other metrics of the business. As an entrepreneur, you should know the cost of supplies, the revenue the business makes, the profits realized and how to increase or decrease certain specifics of the business.

Knowing all these things and some more like your competitors and what they do would help you a great deal.

7. Be very focused. When starting out newly as an entrepreneur, there would be so much noise and doubts that would surface inwardly and outwardly. You need to shun these things and focus more on running your business successfully.

Without being focused, you can get listen to you fears and doubts, listen to other people and get sidetracked thus ending up a failure. But if you damn those things and follow on with your business and listen to your why, you would be better of to a better future.

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What are some mistakes that new entrepreneurs make?

Having seen what entrepreneurship means, the entrepreneur and the qualities to imbibe as an entrepreneur, we can see the mistakes that new entrepreneurs make in their journey of entrepreneurship.

Some of them are:

• Not having the mindset, personality, and temperament to handle the situations that arises on your journey as an entrepreneur.

• Not having the required time and resources (usually capital) to run your venture properly.

• Not having the required network of people who you can go and meet wherever you are stuck and need help.

• Not having a mentor. This is similar to the above point. However, instead of meeting random people in your network, a mentor is an intentional friend who can help solve solutions that are needed and is usually open to listen to you.

• Not prepared how to distribute and sell your products or services.

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Conclusion

Entrepreneurship is the route that enables entrepreneurs to drive the economy (car) to a better future. Without it, there will be less development in a Nation.

For instance, America as a country has more than 30 millions businesses, this is one of the reasons why their economy is relatively stable and gives a better standard of living.

It is a good thing to start your entrepreneural journey, but it is not easy as there are lots of hurdles to pass. So it's best to know your strength and weaknesses and what you are passionate about.