Are Entrepreneurs Born or Made?

I wandered into a branch of Borders last week and had a quick scan along the business section. Two titles caught my eye – one was called “How to be an entrepreneur” and the other “The entrepreneur’s book of checklists”. Of course, both are working on the premise that entrepreneurs can be made, otherwise there wouldn’t be a market for the books. The first title has the strapline “The six secrets of self-made success” and the second has “1,000 tips to help you start and grow your business”. One author is a journalist who has interviewed entrepreneurs and observed them from afar. The other doesn’t offer any credentials at all.

I didn’t go deeply into either but it seems that the two books are approaching from very different directions. One suggests that it’s actually quite simple to be an entrepreneur, all you have to do is exploit six secrets and you’re away. Why do people fall for this? If I had six simple secrets to becoming successful and wealthy why would I bother to spend time writing a book for very little royalties? Are all business journalists philanthropists?

The other book suggests that there are 1,000 things you need to be considering when setting up your business. It assumes that all business start-ups are made by entrepreneurs – WRONG (See my previous post “Artisans and Entrepreneurs”) and it assumes that being an entrepreneur is a systematic process that simply needs a long hard slog working through 100 checklists with 10 tips in each.

Is it really that straightforward?

Thinking about it I’m sure the books are aimed at armchair entrepreneurs – people who like the idea of being Alan Sugar but want the millions without the hard work or the associated risks.

Neither book answers the question “are entrepreneurs born or made?” simply because they assume they can provide the wisdom for anybody to become an entrepreneur. I wonder if either author truly understands what an entrepreneur is? In fact does anybody understand? The dictionary will provide a description but when you look at the diverse characters and management styles of the high profile entrepreneurs of this world they are all very different.

In my humble opinion an entrepreneur is somebody with a burning desire to achieve something through the medium of business. They are prepared to sacrifice some or all of their personal and family life and take enormous risks in pursuit of their vision. What is interesting is that the vision is not what most people think. It’s not about the businesses they create, true entrepreneurs are serial business creators and often create very different and unrelated businesses. Entrepreneurs are searching for something whether it be money, power, recognition, a sense of self-worth or the slaying of ghosts from their past. They are all driven and there are not that many of them about.

So are they born or made?

I think true entrepreneurs have a latent ability. In some it surfaces naturally and they just get on with it. In others it needs a spark or catalyst to set it off. The book authors obviously hope their book will be the catalyst but my (possibly cynical) view is that buying the book will be as likely to turn you into an entrepreneur as buying a lottery ticket is likely to turn you into a millionaire. Why am I cynical? A book may inspire you in the short term but a book will never give you your idea or your vision or your passion or your commitment or your drive. That needs to come from within.
So if you feel that life isn’t being fair to you and that you deserve a better life then don’t buy the book. If you are searching for a way to bring about your dreams, desires and aspirations then buy the books – they may just spark something.