Who are corporate entrepreneurs?
Corporate Entrepreneurs are the engines of growth within an organization. As opposed to entrepreneurs who drive their own start-up ventures, they are situated within the company to accelerate new business growth, products, services or new processes.
Despite the platform that both these entrepreneurs operate from, they are similar in nature and personality. When it comes to the process, it is quite different to be an entrepreneur in a corporate realm. Just like there are upsides and downsides of being a self-driven entrepreneur, there are few benefits and setbacks for the corporate entrepreneur as well. Here they are:
Pros:
Availability of Resources
One important thing that many start-ups lack is money or capital. In the majority of cases when starting a business within a business, a corporate entrepreneur has a lot more resources at their disposal.
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Basic Set-up
Setting up a website is a big task in itself and takes a lot of time and effort. This is a big advantage for corporate entrepreneurs who most of the time have already a basic website set-up and technical know-how.
Brand Recognition
We all know how important name recognition is in the industry. For a corporate business starter this is passed down to them just like that and if utilized correctly, it can be a major advantage. Otherwise, it takes years of hard work and success to acquire strong brand recognition.
Sales Force
The corporate entrepreneur will probably have a business development or sales support team to drive the sales for them. They might already have potential contacts with targeted companies or potential consumers, thus shortening the sales cycle for the new initiative. This is a luxury that small start-ups cannot afford right away.
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Cons:
Communicating the Idea
The corporate entrepreneur has to work really hard to come up with a solid plan and convince the top management to allocate resources towards their idea. They have to show extreme creativity and possess active soft skills to convince the management.
Job Security
There is always an element of risk involved when starting something new. If their plan fails to execute as expected, then it can backfire on the corporate entrepreneur who has to take the blame. There are chances that they might also lose their job and be asked to leave. If this happens it can be difficult for the entrepreneur to find a new job and explain the reasons as to why their plan did not meet success.
Being a corporate entrepreneur has its own set of advantages and disadvantages like any other profession. However, they have an important role to play in the organization’s organic growth. Unlock the entrepreneur in you by taking up courses related to entrepreneurship and become a leader that generates the growth of the business.
Everyone who enters this area, does it with a sense of expectation and preconceived notions. Just as startups are starting to pick up speed to become the next biggest industry segment, there are many individuals who are joining the pool of entrepreneurs. It is an exciting space to be in and there is a rise in entrepreneurship online certification courses as well to upskill oneself. In the middle of this new business revolution, let us get an idea of the myths that have arisen about entrepreneurship.
Being aware of those notions and the extent to which they are true, is important.
You need to be a certain kind of person
This is one of the biggest myths. It is true that being an entrepreneur is not everyone’s cup of tea. But anyone can become an entrepreneur if they are ready to work hard. Some have the attributes while others have the commitment or ability to work hard at it. So there is no specific personality type that an entrepreneur has to have.
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You need a unique idea
That is again a myth. Existing ideas can be revisited and repositioned to create a successful venture. Ideas that have been explored before can also make a business venture successful. So it need not be a unique idea.
You need a lot of money to start off
One needs some funds to start with not a whole lot of money, unless the business venture’s initial scale is expected to be huge. So typically, to be an entrepreneur, you do not need a whole lot of money to start off with. You might need it to sustain the venture.
There is no work-life balance
Entrepreneurs do have time for maintaining this balance. Yes, it is likely that in some phases this balance seems a bit off track because the individual is doing everything at the same time. But that is just a phase, just as it might be in a regular corporate role.
There is a lot of flexibility
You are your own master and can manage your time so flexibly! Yes, how many times has an entrepreneur heard this? Any business that needs to be run, needs some level of planning and organizing? It runs based on a routine or prioritization of tasks. Just like any other business. So the entrepreneur does not actually have a lot of flexibility to manage things the way they want.
Every entrepreneur is looking for VC funding
Not true. Some of them are, while others are not. VC funding is not just about getting the financing done. It is also about sharing a part of your organization with those who are funding it. This does not work for all entrepreneurs.
It means taking a lot of risks
Businesses are risky ventures as is. That has nothing to do with an entrepreneur taking risks or not. So entrepreneurship is as risky as any other business, which will apply to corporate organizations too.
You will not break even for the first few years
This could be true for some ventures. It is not true for all. There are some businesses, depending on scale of operations, that do break even fairly soon.
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