Entrepreneurship

As Dan O’Neil, an entrepreneurial coach of the ASU Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative programs, stated, “Entrepreneurship is the act of creating new ventures that generate and capture value by realizing opportunities through creativity, innovational, knowledge, skill, and passion while assembling resources and managing risks.” So what does this mean, exactly? The entrepreneurial spirit drives the American Economy. It is what makes someone start a new business, invent a new product, or create an organization that they envision.

If the idea of a career as an entrepreneur makes you cringe, then you are probably trying to picture yourself sitting in an office all day, pushing papers and answering phone class. In reality, an entrepreneur does work a lot harder than others, usually more than from 9-5 on Monday through Friday. That hard work and dedication, however, is what turned Bob Meyrowitz into the founder the UFC, for example. That same persistence and innovation is also what made Hugh Hefner a fortune as the owner, and Editor-in-Chief of Playboy magazine. Entrepreneurs see a vision, and then they work hard to turn that vision into a reality, taking risks along the way.

Entrepreneurs decide which product/ service to promote in their new business based on three parts of the global market context; the economy, environment, and society. The economy deals with globalization, such as the world-wide web, which makes it possible to do business around the world. Entrepreneurs also take an environmental view to their businesses, and sometimes provide solutions to earth problems, such as pollution. They might even just have a more eco-friendly approach to how they run their business. The society approach deals with the developed world, and the developing world. This means that some people face challenges like poverty or sickness that their entrepreneurial venture might be able to help address.

As a student at Arizona State University, we have almost 60 entrepreneur related courses that we can take, and five different certificate programs to choose from in entrepreneurship. ASU has a number of programs to help all types of entrepreneur students start their own business. Last year alone, ASU helped 28 students to start their own business. The Entrepreneurial Advantage project, for example, helps ASU student lead teams to develop business concepts, prototype projects, and other entrepreneurial ventures.