5/1/2017 CareerCruisingEntrepreneur

Entrepreneur

AtaGlance

Entrepreneursorganizeandrunnewbusinesses.

MichiganCareerPathways

Business,Management,Marketing&Technology

Earnings
EarningsRange:20K100K

LevelofEducation
HighSchool
2YearCollegeorTechnicalTraining
4YearCollegeorUniversity

CoreTasks
Developneworimprovedbusiness,product,orserviceideas
Presentbusinessproposalstopotentialinvestors
Purchaseequipmentandfacilities
Markettheproductorservice
Overseeactivitiesrelatedtobusinessownership,suchasmanagingemployees

Attributes&Abilities
Selfmotivated
Timemanagementskills
Communicationskills
Creative

Workplace
Selfemployed
Entrepreneurswithanestablishedbusinessmaywork9to10hoursaday
Thosewhoarejuststartingtheirbusinessoftenworklongerhours

JobDescription

Anentrepreneurisapersonwhostartsandrunsanewbusiness.Whatunitesentrepreneursofallkindsisthe
factthattheyseeanopportunitytosuccessfullymarketaproductorserviceandactonit.Theproductitselfcan
beanythingfromautopartstocourierservicesorcomputersoftware.

Someideasareoriginal.Theentrepreneurswhofirstdevelopedpersonalcomputers,forexample,werewell
aheadoftheirtime.Otherentrepreneurstakeanexistingproductorserviceandeitherimproveitorprovideit
moreefficiently.

Entrepreneursstartbyconductingmarketresearch.Inadditiontolearningabouttheproducttheyplanto
provide,theymustalsofindoutwhoislikelytobuytheproductorservice,andwhotheircompetitorsare.

Thenextstepistosetuptheproposedbusiness.Inmanycases,thisdemandsasignificantfinancial
investment.Someonewhowantstostartarestaurant,forexample,mustrentorbuyspaceandexpensive
kitchenequipment.

Finally,entrepreneursmustactuallymarkettheirproductorservicethatis,findpeoplewhoarewillingtopay

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forit.Becausemostentrepreneurslackestablishedclients,thiscanbethemostdifficultpartofthestartup
process.

Ofcourse,entrepreneursresponsibilitiesdontstopafterthebusinessissetup.Theymustmanage
employees,dealwithclientsandsuppliers,overseethecompanysdaytodayoperations,planoutitsfuture
goalsanddirections,andensurethatbookkeepingandaccountingdutiesareperformed.Ifevertherewasa
professionthatrequiredapersontobeaJackorJillofalltrades,thisisit.

Entrepreneurshipcanberisky.Mostbusinessesfailwithintheirfirstfewyears,andtheentrepreneurswhostart
themfrequentlyloseagreatdealoftheirownmoney.Someevenendupbankrupt.Furthermore,most
entrepreneurshavetoworkveryhardformanyyearsbeforerealizingasignificantprofit.

Ontheotherhand,therewardscanbeenormous.Entrepreneursaretheirownbosses,answeringonlyto
themselves.Ifthebusinessissuccessful,theymaygetrich.Andperhapsmostimportantly,entrepreneurshave
thesatisfactionofknowingthattheyhavecreatedsomethingnew:acompanyandproductorservicethat
wouldneverhaveexistedwithouttheirvisionandenergy.

WorkingConditions

Entrepreneursworkverylonghours,especiallywhentheyarejuststartingout.A14to15hourworkdayand80
to90hourworkweekisnotuncommonforambitiousanddedicatedentrepreneurs.

Therearetworeasonsforthelonghours.First,entrepreneurstendtohaveawidevarietyofdutieseverything
fromsweepingfloorstostrategicfinancialplanning.Second,theybearultimateresponsibilityforthesuccessor
failureoftheircompanies.Iftheircompaniesdobadly,entrepreneursmaylosenotonlytheirjobs,butalsoall
themoneythattheyinvested.Therefore,theymustputinasmuchtimeasittakestogetalltheirtasksdone,
andtokeepgeneratingnewbusiness.

Oncethebusinessisestablished,theymayhiremanagerstorunmanyofthedaytodayoperations.Even
then,however,entrepreneursarelikelytospendatleast9or10hoursadayatwork.

Earnings

Earningsforentrepreneursvarywidely,dependingonthesuccessoftheirbusinesses.Intheirfirstfewyearsin
business,entrepreneursmayearnaslittleas$20,000ayear,orevenless.Ifbusinessispoor,theymight
actuallylosemoney.

Oncethebusinessisestablished,however,earningscanincreasesignificantly.Entrepreneurswithsuccessful
smallbusinessesmaymakebetween$30,000and$75,000annually.Thosewhoareverysuccessfulcanearn
wellover$100,000ayear.

Entrepreneursalsoreceivecompensationintheformofequity,ortheincreaseinvalueofthebusinessover
time.Asbusinessowners,entrepreneursbenefitnotonlybyreceivingasalary,butalsofromthegrowthand
successofthebusiness.Manyselltheirbusinessesforalotofmoneyothersmayturnthebusinessoverto
theirchildrenwhentheyretire.

MichiganWages

Earningsandoutlookinformationisnotavailableforthisoccupation.

Education

Whileinhighschool,takeasmanybusinessandaccountingcoursesaspossible.Also,seeifthereareany
organizationsofferingtrainingandassistancetostartupsummerorparttimebusinessesinyourarea.Seethe
OtherResourcessectionforinformationonorganizationsthatmaybeabletoassistyou.

Thoughmostentrepreneurssaythatthereisnosubstituteforreallifeexperience,abusinessdegreewilltrain
youinareassuchasmarketing,management,businesscommunications,andaccounting.Being
knowledgeableintheseareasisamust,sinceentrepreneurswillhavetobalancetheirbudgets,communicate
withclientseffectively,andgenerallyruntheirbusinessessuccessfully.Someschoolsofferprogramsand
coursesspecificallyinentrepreneurship.

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Entrepreneurscanalsobenefitfromtrainingintheareainwhichtheyplantostartabusiness.Someonewho
wantstosetupacomputersoftwarecompany,forinstance,shouldhavesomeeducationorexperiencein
computerprogramming.Similarly,apersonwhowantstoopenaclothingstoreshouldknowsomethingabout
fashionmerchandising.

RelatedCollegePrograms
Entrepreneurship/EntrepreneurialStudies
SmallBusinessAdministration/Management
Business/Commerce,General
BusinessAdministrationandManagement,General

OtherSuggestedQualifications
Entrepreneursmustbeselfmotivatedandabletomanagetheirtimewisely,becausetherearenobossesto
makesuretheyareworkinghardatalltimes.Goodcommunicationskillsareessentialforpromotingtheir
businessesorproducts.Ofcourse,imaginationiscrucial.Theyneedtocomeupwithsoundbusinessideasto
makesurethemoneykeepscomingin.

SuggestedHighSchoolSubjects

Grade9 Grade10

English
Mathematics English
Science Mathematics
SocialStudiesGeography Science
CreativeArts SocialStudiesHistory
Business Business
Computers Computers
Health&PhysicalEducation

Grade11 Grade12

English English
Journalism&Communication Journalism&Communication
Mathematics Mathematics
Science Economics
Economics Law&Government
Law&Government Accounting
Accounting Business&Management
Business&Management Marketing
Marketing SmallBusinessManagement
Computers Computers

Important

Checkwithyouradvisortomakesurethatyourcourseselectionssatisfyyourgraduationrequirements.
Coursesavailablemayvaryfromschooltoschool.

SampleCareerPath

Peopletakedifferentpathwaysthroughtheircareers,butnoonestartsatthetop.Thisisanexampleofhowthe
earnings,educationandexperiencerequirements,andresponsibilitiesmightprogressforsomeoneinthis
occupation.

Level1

SampleTitle EntrepreneuratStartUpStage

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Level1

Earnings $10,000to$25,000ayear

Highschooldiplomaandpreferablysomepostsecondaryeducation
Knowledgeoftheproductorserviceyouwanttosell
Requirements Basicaccountingandmarketingskills
Awillingnesstolearn
Somestartupcapital

Marketingaproductorserviceattractingnewclientskeepingfinancialaccounts
Responsibilities doingstrategicplanningperformingadministrativedutiesdoingeverythingelse
necessarytorunabusiness.

Level2

SampleTitle EstablishedSmallBusinessOwner

Earnings $30,000to$70,000ayear

Severalyearsofexperiencerunningyourowncompany
Requirements
Possiblyfurthertraininginmanagementandfinance

Marketingaproductorserviceattractingnewclientskeepingfinancialaccounts
Responsibilities doingstrategicplanninghiring,firing,andtrainingstaffoverseeingtheactivitiesof
employees.

Level3

SampleTitle Medium/LargeBusinessOwner

Earnings $50,000to$500,000ayear

Manyyearsofexperiencerunningacompany
Requirements
Possiblyfurthertraininginmanagementandfinance

Managingseniorlevelemployeesdoingstrategicplanningoverseeingallactivities
Responsibilities
withinacompany.

RelatedCareers

Herearesomeotheroccupationsthatyoumightbeinterestedin.Clickonanoccupationnametolearnmore.

AssociationManager
ArtsAdministrator
ClothingManufacturer
EconomicDevelopmentOfficer
ConstructionManager
Inventor
MultimediaDeveloper
Producer
Publisher
VentureCapitalist

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VideoGameDeveloper

NationalEmploymentbyIndustry

Industry %Employed

SelfEmployed

ManagementofCompaniesandEnterprises

Source:O*NetOnline,BrowsebyIndustry,USDepartmentofLabor
http://online.onetcenter.org/find/industry

OtherResources

NationalFederationofIndependentBusinesses(NFIB)
Anadvocacygroupforsmallbusinesses.BesuretocheckouttheinformationintheResourcessection,or
scrolloverFoundationsandclickonYoungEntrepreneurFoundationtolearnaboutthiseducational
program.
http://www.nfib.com

JuniorAchievement
JuniorAchievementisanonprofitorganizationthatdeliversbusinesseducationprogramstoyoung
peopleacrossthecountry.ClickonStudentandthenonStudentCenterforvaluableresources.
http://www.ja.org

BrooklynPublicLibraryMyOwnBiz
ThisBrooklynPublicLibrarywebsiteprovidesgreatresourcestohelpyougetontherighttrackto
successfulentrepreneurship.
http://myownbiz.brooklynpubliclibrary.org

MyOwnBusiness
Thisnonprofitorganizationoffersafreeonlinecourseforaspiringentrepreneurs.
http://www.myownbusiness.org

Entrepreneurship.Org
Anonlineresourceforsmallbusinessowners.TheResourcessectionhastonsofgreatinformation.
http://www.entrepreneurship.org

Entrepreneur
Thisonlinemagazinehasgreatinformationandresourcesforanyonewhowantstolearnaboutbecoming
asuccessfulentrepreneur.
http://www.entrepreneur.com
Findoutmoreaboutthequalitiesofsuccessfulentrepreneurs:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/200730

Under30CEO10QualitiesofaSuccessfulEntrepreneur
Findoutwhatittakestoachievesuccessasanentrepreneur!
http://www.under30ceo.com/10qualitiesofasuccessfulentrepreneur

OliverEmbertonTheultimateguidetobecominganentrepreneur
Thisblogpostoffersexcellentadviceforanyonewhowouldliketobecomeanentrepreneur.
http://www.oliveremberton.com/2013/howtobecomeanentrepreneur

BusinessInsider12WaysYouCanBecomeAnEntrepreneurStartingToday
Hereyoucanfindsomegreatsuggestionsaboutdifferentpathwaystobecominganentrepreneur.
http://www.businessinsider.com/howtogetstartedasanentrepreneur20138

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HuffingtonPost8SkillsEveryEntrepreneurShouldHave
Readaboutskillsyouwillneedtobecomesuccessful.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nealjenson/entrepreneurshipskills_b_3228479.html

WallStreetJournalSmallBusinessMarketing
InformationforsmallbusinessownersfromtheWallStreetJournal.Browsethroughthesitetolearnmore
aboutbeinganentrepreneur.
http://online.wsj.com/public/page/smallbusiness.html
Herearesometipstokeepinmindwhenthinkingofagreatbusinessidea:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324445904578283792526004684.html

EuropeanSchoolofEconomics10UsefulTipsonStartingaBusiness(UK)
Ahelpfulguideforanyoneinterestedinstartingupabusiness.
http://magazine.eselondon.ac.uk/howtobeanentrepreneur10usefultipsonstartingabusiness

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