Entrepreneurship Basics

• Entrepreneurship education provides youth with business ideas to identify and exploit opportunities and also helps individuals become self-employed

Basic Concept of Entrepreneurship

• Paid employment during the Colonial period was viewed as work for the disadvantaged
• Traditional Nigerian society viewed men relying on others for livelihood as slaves
• Labor became abundant as societies organized, typified by farmers, traders, technicians, and artisans
• Nigeria previously had no employment issues and had to recruit expatriates to meet workforce shortages
• Hundreds of thousands of graduates are produced, with less than 10% absorbed by the government, making it necessary for youths to be adventurous

Definition of Entrepreneurship

• Entrepreneurship combines resources, management, and creative skills to create wealth
• It involves searching for investment opportunities, establishing, and running a successful business
• Entrepreneurship is a process of generating ideas, venturing into business risks, and maximizing opportunities for profit

Historical Perspective of Entrepreneurship

• Scholars have different interpretations of entrepreneurship
• Some view it as uncertainty-bearing, others as coordinating resources, innovating, or providing capital
• There is no universally accepted definition of entrepreneurship applicable in every economy
• The term "entrepreneur" was first introduced by Richard Cantillon in the early 19th century
• Cantillon defines the entrepreneur as the agent who buys the means of production at certain prices
• J.B. SAY added that entrepreneurs must be leaders
• Entrepreneurs bring people together to build productive organizations
• British economists like Adam Smith, David Ricardo, and John Stuart Mill touched on entrepreneurship
• John Stuart Mill emphasized entrepreneurship's significance for economic growth and the skills required
• Alfred Marshall recognized the necessity of entrepreneurship for production in 1890
• Marshall identified four factors of production: Land, Labor, Capital, and Organization, with organization being the coordinating factor
• Entrepreneurs create new commodities or improve existing ones through creative organization
• Marshall believed entrepreneurs need industry knowledge, leadership, ability to foresee changes in supply/demand, and willingness to take risks
• Marshall and Mill suggested entrepreneurial skills are rare
• The concept of entrepreneurship has evolved since Marshall's time, with economists debating its role in economic growth
• One view is that entrepreneurs are risk-bearers in the face of uncertainty
• Knight claims entrepreneurs take risks for profit
• The risk-bearing theory does not fully explain why some become entrepreneurs
• Mises suggests anyone bearing risk can be an entrepreneur, under a narrow definition

Employment Issues and Scope of Enterprise

• Risk alone is not the only factor that makes someone an entrepreneur

Comparisons between Wage and Salary Employment

• Wage employment refers to remuneration paid to part-time or casual workers, while salary refers to full-time workers
• Wages are not taxed but Salaries are
• Wage remuneration is fixed but Salary remuneration is not
• Wage employee is not entitled to allowances but Salary employees are
• There is no job security for wage employees and job security for salary employees
• Low income for wage earners and High income for salary earners

Self-Employment

• Self-employment is when an individual becomes an entrepreneur in a small business, taking risks and employing others
• Advantages of self-employment: An entrepreneur leads, implements ideas, is creative, earns unlimited income, is independent, and gives orders

Meaning and Scope of Enterprise

• Enterprise is an identified idea translated into planned and implemented activity
• It refers to a business venture or undertaking
• Projects and undertakings can be referred to as enterprises if they include idea identification, planning, implementation, and successful completion
• Enterprise involves identifying ideas, planning, implementing, and completing activities
• Being consistent in the above leads to success
• Most people can be an entrepreneur and realize a business
• Challenges and issues that a person faces makes them enterprising
• Being enterprising benefits individuals and communities
• Enterprising enables you to achieve goals and stand out
• Being enterprising enables you translate challenges into positive results
• To be enterprising, you need energy, desire to achieve, task orientation, empathy, resourcefulness, planning skills, risk-bearing ability, innovation, and endurance