Entrepreneurialism in business is the driving force behind success. While everyone may naturally associate entrepreneurialism with business, they are not necessarily linked concepts – a business person may not be an entrepreneur, while an entrepreneur might not be the finest example of entrepreneurialism in practice. Nevertheless it is critical to encourage this behaviour, for the health and well-being of the global economy.
Entrepreneurialism is all about taking risks. It’s something of a cliché, but only because it’s true. Without risks, business wouldn’t succeed. Business wouldn’t create jobs or pay wages. Without risk, business wouldn’t get off the ground. That said, there’s nothing in the entrepreneurialism handbook that says it isn’t sensible to limit those risks as much as possible. In fact, limiting your risks in business is key if you want to gun for success.
For example, you can limit risk by the choice of business form you use. As a limited liability company, you can safeguard your personal assets against any company debts, allowing you to take more risks with less repercussions on behalf of your business. Short of fraud, or anything criminal, any activities that go awry might ruin your business, but they won’t ruin you. However by trading in your own name, you are much more vulnerable should your business fail, and you could be personally risking your home, car and other assets against any business debts.
Likewise it is important to minimise risk on the financial side of your business. That means keeping a close eye on finances and cash flow, as well as maintaining a strict credit control policy to avoid too many bad debts and too much exposure to potential non-payment. Try to keep the money coming in and make a note of where and why it leaves – that way, you limit the risks of failing on a cash flow basis, which experts say is one of the most central reasons for new business failures.
Another particularly good way of limiting your exposure to risk in business is to strategically think about your business and its growth over the next five or ten year period. Grow your business only at a rate it can sustain and you will create a profitable, healthy environment in which your business might grow and develop into something more substantial. Allow your business to stagnate, or pursue too violent a growth curve and you’re creating a high-risk environment, in which your business might thrive or crumble with equal measure.
As a business person, whether or not you’re brimming with entrepreneurialism, you shouldn’t be afraid to limit your risk. You should be encouraged to take risks for the benefit of the economy and your own business success, but there’s nothing to prevent a bit of common sense caution from helping to protect against the most serious causes of new business failure. Only if you can appreciate the risks and make alternative plans of action in case of failure can you be sure you’re ready to do business with real money at stake.
Related Articles
Start Your Own Freelance Business – a Five Point Plan
By: Nazeer Daud | 23/07/2008 | Online Business
A work from home business is often the easiest to start. You don’t have to worry about employ politics, setting up and paying for office space, and many of the other headaches facing entrepreneurs when they’re getting started with a business venture.
The Advantages of Business Franchising
By: Nazeer Daud | 08/05/2008 | Entrepreneurship
If you are looking to start a business using the franchising model, then there are certainly lots that you have to consider before hand. It's also, probably, wise to consider consulting with a suitably qualified specialist.
Learning Lessons From Business Online
By: Nazeer Daud | 30/05/2008 | Home Business
Online business is a whole different ballgame to traditional ‘offline’ trading, despite the fact that the two share some basic similarities.
Optimising Your Online Business for Search Engine Performance
By: Nazeer Daud | 22/06/2008 | Small Business
Optimising your online business for search engine performance on the Internet is a cost-effective, efficient way of generating natural, qualified sales leads on an ongoing basis.
Run a Successful Business Working From Home
By: Nazeer Daud | 11/07/2008 | Online Business
To run a successful business from home requires utter dedication and professionalism, as well as a great deal of passion for the work from home business lifestyle.
The Business Limitations to Entrepreneurialism
By: Nazeer Daud | 25/06/2008 | Entrepreneurship
From a business perspective, entrepreneurialism is vital to commercial success and the health of the economy. We need individuals with bags of entrepreneurialism to drive forward business and to innovate to improve the way we live our lives, and without this entrepreneurialism, business would struggle and new ideas would never get off the ground.
How Business Franchising Works
By: Nazeer Daud | 21/05/2008 | Small Business
Business franchising is a less risky way to start a business. If you’re considering giving up your job to work for yourself, you might like to consider business franchising options that may be available.
The Importance of Business Strategy Planning
By: Nazeer Daud | 25/07/2008 | Strategic Planning
Strategic planning in business is important from the perspective of the long term health of your enterprise. Figuring out where your business is going is fundamental to strategic planning and to your overall success, and taking the time out to pinpoint strategic objectives is a worthwhile practice for all small business owners.
Got a Question? Ask.
Ask the community a question about this article:
Frequently Asked Questions
Certain Type of Mango Butter Incense Oil
By: Qwete Lee | 12-07-2008
/can anyone tell me where to purchase a certain incense oil called MANGO BUTTER?. I'm not looking for the Orange color that smells fruity. If anyone believes they can help and willing to submit me a sample, please do so. Willing to send a couple of my own incense sticks of the Mango Butter. Company closed down, therefore I have not been able to find more of it.
sharia
By: wolfielou | 12-07-2008
List u.S. Companies that are sharia owned?
Adding picture next to description in email
By: tre1129 | 12-07-2008
I am trying to send an email and would like to add a picture next to a paragraph in the email. I have tried everything to do this and nothing is working. Does anyone have any ideas how to do this?
The cellar restaurant, blacksburg va. History
By: Angiem35nva | 12-07-2008
Does anyone know the day, month and year the cellar restaurant in blacksburg, va opened?
Nobody can answer this question.
By: JGgotogirl | 11-07-2008
What is the market size in the United States for tactical flashlights? How many are sold each year? How many are sold to police, military, security personnel and other relevant protective services?
With inflation eating into every pocket and ...
By: arllyn | 11-07-2008
With inflation eating into every pocket and Crude oil prices surging ... What should India look forward to?
Q&A Powered by:
Latest Entrepreneurship Articles
Top 3 Customer Acquisition Secrets for Your Business
By: 10x Marketing | 25/07/2008
Looking for some sure-fire ways to increase customer acquisition ? Here are three tricks of the trade that the pros use. With your great product or service and your passion for what you do, you can’t lose.
Find a Roommate: Apartment Hunting
By: Zack Fair | 24/07/2008
When you are just starting out on your own, you may decide that it would be more beneficial to have a roommate. If you decide from the very beginning that you want a roommate, then you will have a lot of options on the place you can rent. By pooling your resources together from the start, you will find that it can be fun to hunt for an apartment to rent as well as make it easier to make a decision on what rent range you want.
Work Online and Make Money at Home
By: Allison Remfrey | 24/07/2008
Searching for a profitable way to work online and make money? There are several ways to do this. At first it does seem impossible to find a good way to earn some money by working on the internet, but if you know where to look there are some very good options.
How to Become an Entrepreneur
By: Scott & Laurie Prindle | 23/07/2008
How to Become an Entrepreneur versus Employee
Do you know how to become an entrepreneur in spite of what you have been educated to be... an employee?
Your MLM Commission Check Was Cancelled! Why?
By: Joy Seward | 22/07/2008
Read your company policies to see why your commission check may be cancelled. OUCH. This MLM handbook tells you why?
Join J.p. Licks, Especially for Pets and Canine Friends From the Mspca-angell
By: Joe D'eramo | 22/07/2008
for “Dog Days of Summer” Events in August
25% of “Cow Paws” Doggie Sorbet Proceeds to benefit MSPCA in August
Top Internet Marketer Jay Kubassek Reveals All…
By: Nicci Barnes | 22/07/2008
Industry Top Income Earner, Trainer, and Professional Speaker Jay Kubassek Reveals the Three Secrets to his Incredible Success in an Exclusive 90-Minute Interview With Mike Dillard.
Burden on Restaurants to Make You Skinny
By: Larry Edger | 21/07/2008
New ordinances around the country are pushing the burden of good health on to the restaurant industry. Arguably, restaurants may be the most highly regulated business in the country and now another costly attempt to force people to eat what government says you should. 2008 is not a year to be in the food business.
More from Nazeer Daud
The Importance of Business Strategy Planning
By: Nazeer Daud | 25/07/2008 | Strategic Planning
Strategic planning in business is important from the perspective of the long term health of your enterprise. Figuring out where your business is going is fundamental to strategic planning and to your overall success, and taking the time out to pinpoint strategic objectives is a worthwhile practice for all small business owners.
Start Your Own Freelance Business – a Five Point Plan
By: Nazeer Daud | 23/07/2008 | Online Business
A work from home business is often the easiest to start. You don’t have to worry about employ politics, setting up and paying for office space, and many of the other headaches facing entrepreneurs when they’re getting started with a business venture.
Is Business Team Building Worthwhile?
By: Nazeer Daud | 21/07/2008 | Team Building
Business team building is a worthwhile and effective exercise for improving productivity and efficiency. That said, most business owners treat the concept of team building with some skepticism and disdain, despite the tangible benefits it can bring to a team of employees.
Designing Your Business Website
By: Nazeer Daud | 17/07/2008 | Internet Marketing
Designing your business website is the first step in the crucial process of becoming Internet-ready. Embracing the Internet as a small business owner is no longer a novelty, but more of a requirement for anyone looking to build a serious, significant business.
Starting a Retail Business
By: Nazeer Daud | 15/07/2008 | Small Business
Starting a retail business is one of the first steps many take into the world of business, particularly for those first leaving full time employment. The retail sector is booming at present, with a new retail chain business springing up every single day.
Run a Successful Business Working From Home
By: Nazeer Daud | 11/07/2008 | Online Business
To run a successful business from home requires utter dedication and professionalism, as well as a great deal of passion for the work from home business lifestyle.
Igniting Your Business Spark
By: Nazeer Daud | 09/07/2008 | Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurialism and business go hand in hand, and igniting your initial business spark and passion is an important process in getting any business venture off the ground.
Using Online Business Technologies
By: Nazeer Daud | 07/07/2008 | Online Business
Using Internet-based business technologies is something most business owners are completely unfamiliar with. To many, the concept of making use of the Internet for business purposes is still completely alien, and beyond setting up a basic brochureware website, some business owners have still yet to embrace Internet technologies for the benefit of their business.
Business 
