Why Do People Become Entrepreneurs?

The three primary reasons that people become entrepreneurs and start their own firms are to be their own boss, pursue their own ideas, and realize financial rewards.

Be Their Own Boss

The first of these reasons—being one’s own boss—is given most commonly. This doesn’t mean, however, that entrepreneurs are difficult to work with or that they have trouble accepting authority. Instead, many entrepreneurs want to be their own boss because either they have had a long-time ambition to own their own firm or because they have become frustrated working in traditional jobs.

Some entrepreneurs transition from a traditional job to owning their own business more gradually, by starting their business part-time to begin with. While this approach isn’t possible in all situations, by starting a business part-time individuals can gain valuable experience, tuck away the money they earn, and find out if they really like the business before deciding to leave their job. In some businesses, such as catering or financial planning, it takes time to build
a client list. Some entrepreneurs will time their departure from their job with the point in time where their client list is large enough and profitable enough to support a full-time business.

Pursue Their Own Ideas

The second reason people start their own firms is to pursue their own ideas. Some people are naturally alert, and when they recognize ideas for new products or services, they have a desire to see those ideas realized. Corporate entrepreneurs who innovate within the context of an existing firm typically have a mechanism for their ideas to become known. Established firms, however, often resist innovation. When this happens, employees are left with good ideas that go unfulfilled. Because of their passion and commitment, some employees choose to leave the firm employing them in order to start their own business as the means to develop their own ideas.

This chain of events can take place in non-corporate settings, too. For example, some people, through a hobby, leisure activity, or just everyday life, recognize the need for a product or service that is not available in the marketplace. If the
idea is viable enough to support a business, they commit tremendous time and energy to convert the idea into a part-time or full-time firm.

Pursue Financial Rewards

Finally, people start their own firms to pursue financial rewards. This motivation, however, is typically secondary to the first two and often fails to live up to its hype. The average entrepreneur does not make more money than someone with a similar amount of responsibility in a traditional job. The financial lure of entrepreneurship is its upside potential. People such as Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, and Larry Page and Sergey Brin of Google made hundreds of millions of dollars building their firms.

Money is also a unifier. Making a profit and increasing the value of a company is a solidifying goal that people can rally around. But money is rarely the primary motivation behind the launch of an entrepreneurial firm. Some entrepreneurs
even report that the financial rewards associated with entrepreneurship can be bittersweet if they are accompanied by losing control of their firm.

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REFERENCES

Barringer, B., & Ireland, D. (2008). Entrepreneurship: Successfully Launching New Ventures. Pearson Education (US).