Are Entrepreneurs Born or Made?

“Are entrepreneurs born or made?” This is one of the eternal questions in entrepreneurship. Some people believe that entrepreneurship can be taught, and that there are skills needed to succeed in business that you can learn. Others, on the other hand, think that entrepreneurship is innate and that some people are born with the qualities that make for a successful entrepreneur.

In a good discussion in LinkedIn Answers on whether entrepreneurship can be taught, Susan Payton, President, Egg Marketing & Communications said in LinkedIn Answers:

“You can learn qualities and characteristics of entrepreneurship, but the truly successful ones are born with the ability to handle risk, work hard and work for no money at times. They’re born with the ability to go when there seems to be no reason to continue to go on in a business. That cannot be learned.”

There are also people who say that some aspects of successful entrepreneurship cannot be taught, but that some parts can definitely be honed and learned. Mike Pisciotta, a Social Media & Internet Marketing Strategist

“Entrepreneurship is a two-faceted skill and pieces of it are naturally inherent and others are learned and honed. I believe the drive and motivation can’t be taught but the ability to see opportunity and how to capitalize on it can definitely be taught and honed.

Very often entrepreneurs are rough around the edges and need some honing and with the right amount of training and focus they can blossom into successful business owners!”
It is undeniable that some people are more predisposed to becoming an entrepreneur — and succeeding at it. While those people will certainly have a head start, others believe that entrepreneurship can be taught to anyone. Andrew Corbett, in his article “You Can’t Teach Entrepreneurship” argued that colleges and universities can teach entrepreneurship well. He writes that you can certainly teach the general skills that are needed in business. Furthermore, the education and research sectors have improved significantly through the years that the schools are now better equipped to teach about entrepreneurship.
To support his assertion, he quoted his friend and colleague Mike Haynie from Syracuse University’s Department of Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises about teaching entrepreneurship:

“Arguably, you can teach anyone 99% of the ‘activities’ related to launching and growing a venture, and we do every day in b-schools everywhere. This is because, at the end of the day, these are fundamental business skills and processes that are not necessarily idiosyncratic to entrepreneurship – other than the context of new firms. So given that, I would argue that I can teach someone to be very skilled in those processes. We can teach someone how to write a great business plan, develop a great marketing strategy, produce financial projections, etc. – thus we can teach the activities that compose that act of ‘entrepreneurship’ – starting and growing a venture.”

Perhaps one of the best pieces that looked at the issue whether can be taught or not is Wall Street Journal’s article “Can Entrepreneurship be Taught?” . The article features two authors arguing for both sides of the debate: Dr. Noam Wasserman (entrepreneurship professor at Harvard) arguing for pro and Mr. Victor Hwang (author and managing partner in a venture capital firm) argues for con.
Dr. Wasserman urges to “take the lessons about what works and what doesn’t, analyze and organize them, and then teach them—just as we do with engineers, doctors and lawyers.”
Mr. Hwang asserts that, “Entrepreneurship can’t be taught in a regular classroom any more than surfboarding can. To learn it, you have to get your feet wet in the real world.” He doesn’t believe the argument that business education can teach people the skills needed to succeed as an entrepreneur. As he states,

“M.B.A. training helps you learn to allocate resources and calculate risk, which are skills that can be quantified and taught. The life skills needed for entrepreneurship can’t be …. Entrepreneurs hone their craft through experimentation and collaboration in the real world. They learn best by rolling up their sleeves and building companies, while surrounded by a supportive mentor and peer community.”

There are lots of good points in both sides. My takeaway from all these is that there are definitely  qualities that an entrepreneur must possess in order to succeed.  It’s up to you to honestly look at yourself to see whether you do have those qualities. For those qualities that you don’t have, you can find ways to improve yourself, develop that skill or find someone you can work with who possesses those skills. After all, one of the most important skills of the most successful entrepreneurs is their ability to find and surround themselves with the best talents.
I just believe that if you put your mind to it, you can learn anything. It doesn’t mean that you have to go back to college or business school (though they are certainly valid options), but learn the skills you need through the technique that works well for you. If you learn best by reading, start by going to the library. If you learn through observation, then find mentors or advisers whose wisdom you admire and observe them closely. There are techniques, exercises and learning materials to teach you the skills you need.
Do you think entrepreneurship can be taught? Or are entrepreneurs simply born with it?

Recommended Books on Entrepreneurship:
Double Your Business: How to Break Through the Barriers to Higher Growth, Turnover and Profit (Financial Times Series)
Anyone Can Do It: My Story
The Small Business Start-Up Workbook: A step-by-step guide to starting the business you've dreamed of
Tags: entrepreneurship, Successful Entrepreneurs  Category: Entrepreneurial Success Nach Maravilla is the Publisher of PowerHomebiz.com. He has over thirty years experience in sales and marketing of various products, which covered as he jokingly describes, "from toothpicks to airplanes" He also had extensive experience in International trading and he always excelled in special promotional ideas for retail outlets.
View the original article here

How to Interview Customers and Get the Answers Your Business Needs

Many businesses need to know what their customers think and want, but getting the answers to their pressing questions isn’t as easy as it seems. It’s not that customers lie; it’s just that they don’t always tell the truth, are trying to spare your feelings, or are simply too busy to talk.

So how do you get the information you need to run your business more effectively?


It’s important to know you don’t have to interview hundreds of customers to get your answers. While most people believe their situation is different and unique, in reality, it’s not. Most people have similar needs, problems, and experiences. When interviewing customers, a consistent picture forms in as few as 20 customer interviews.

If your business is small right now, try to interview 10 customers per week. I usually send out emails asking for an interview in batches of 10 and I’ll get up to 8 positive responses each week. I don’t do too many at a time because even 8 interviews can be a big hit on my weekly schedule.
The first step is to send an email and make it brief. It should only be 2 or 4 lines. The structure of the email is simple: introduce yourself, ask the customer for a 15 to 20 minute phone conversation, tell them why you want to talk to them, and offer to call their assistant to arrange a specific time. Many customers feel honored that their opinion matters.

Always leave an hour in your schedule for the interview. I’ve rarely had one end in 15 minutes; mostly the customer keeps talking for 30 to 45 minutes. If I asked for 15 to 20 minutes, I make a point of showing respect for their time and ask them if they want to end the conversation after the allotted time.
Sometimes you don’t really know one customer from another, and so just asking all of them is the best you can do. If your customers have ever filled out a questionnaire, you may be able to target the ones in a particular category. If you know your customers, start by picking the happiest ones because you want to find more like them.

There are mistakes people make when conducting customer interviews. First, surveys don’t produce the same level of information that an interactive conversation does. In my personal experience, I get at least twice as much information from a conversation than from a fill-in-the-blank survey. Next, phone conversations work the best. In-person interviews are hindered by interpersonal dynamics. Lastly, don’t call customers out of the blue, make an appointment and get on their schedule. Everyone is busy. Calling someone unexpectedly just interrupts their already tight and overbooked schedules, and they are likely to cut your short.

If you feel you need to do in-person interviews, here are a few hints. See if you can meet them at a tradeshow, conference or networking event. The reason is people at these events are removed from their day-to-day situations and are at these events to talk to others. They are more likely to be relaxed and willing to give up more insightful information. Second, if you are at their offices, having a customer show you what they do or how they use your product is more useful than them telling you. If your customer is reporting in their weekly status report to their manager that a task takes 30 minutes per week, they may not want to have their boss overhear that it’s really taking them 4 hours to do the task.

Next, decide what it is you want to know and then outline the line of questioning. I recommend limiting it to 5 related questions. You don’t want a yes or no conversation, but an interactive dialogue. A few questions works best because then you can probe deeper or even redirect the conversation based upon the answers.
I always take lots of notes during my interviews. You can even record your interview, but if you do, tell the customer. Some people tend to clam up if the conversation is recorded, but not when you are taking notes.

After the interview is done, I review my notes and write a summary. Often, just the tone of their voice, or how the hesitate to answer a question can mean a lot.

Remember to thank them for their time. If you want to splurge, a gift card for a cup of coffee at Starbucks is all it takes to make them feel appreciated.

Recommended Books on Market Research
The Handbook of Online and Social Media Research: Tools and Techniques for Market Researchers
Marketing Research: tools and techniques

About the Author
Cynthia Kocialski is the founder of three start-ups and helps entrepreneurs transform their ideas into new businesses. Cynthia is the author of Startup from the Ground Up and Out of the Classroom Lessons in Success. Cynthia writes regularly at Start-up Entrepreneurs’ Blog. and provides in her video series information on Business Startup Success.
No related posts.
Tags: market research Category: Customer Service
View the original article here