TRIUMPHANT COLLEGE

BUSINESS STUDIES
DEPARTMENT

EP003: ENTREPRENEURSHIP
LECTURE 1: NATURE OF
ENTREPRENEURSHIP 
1

Heita.N
 TOPIC OBJECTIVES
At the end of this lecture, you will be
able to:
• Define the term “business”.
• Define entrepreneurship.
• Distinguish between entrepreneurship
and an entrepreneur.

Heita.N
2
MBA, HONSMM,PGDHE,PGDPM
 CHAPTER 1:THE NATURE OF
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
1.1 Introduction
The word entrepreneur originates from the French wo
rd, entreprendre, which means "to 
undertake" and was first defined by the Irish‐
French economist Richard Cantillon. Jean‐
Baptiste Say, a French economist, is believed to have
 coined the word "entrepreneur" in the  19th century. 
Hedefined an entrepreneur as "one who undertakes a
n enterprise, 
especially a contractor, acting as intermediary betwee
n capital and labour" (Wikipedia). 
3
There has been a great deal of attention paid
 to the subject of entrepreneurship over thepast
 few years, as many people realised 
that small firms contribute considerably to economi
c growth of a country.

Developing countries likeNamibia established polic
ies and tax  incentives that encourage
the planning and implementation of small business
es with the  belief that a small business can
potentially grow into a large business.
   4
 1.2 ENTREPRENEURSHIP CONCEPTS
It is important that you familiarise yourself wi
th some key concepts in the field of 
entrepreneurship.  Let’s start this topic with 
defining some of these concepts.
Business  Defined
Before a potential entrepreneur can start a busines
s, he or she must understand what the 
essence of a business is.  
“An organization operated with the objective of ma
king a profit from the sale of 
goods or services.” (http://www.finet.com.hk/accou
5

nting/b.htm)
 Business Defined

”An enterprise, commercial entity, or firm 
in either the private or public sector, 
concerned with providing products (goods
 or services) to satisfy customer 
requirements.” (www.georgetown.edu/uis/i
a/dw/GLOSSARY0816.html)
‘The buying and selling of products or ser
vices in order to make a profit.”(Mariotti, 
2006) .
6
 Business Definition (Cnt’d)
‘The buying and selling of products or servic
es in order to make a profit.”(Mariotti,2006).
An economic system in which goods and
services are exchanged for one another or
money, on the basis of their perceived worth.
 
Every business requires some 
form of investment and a sufficient number o
f customers to whom its output can 
be sold at profit on a consistent basis.” 
(http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition
/business.htm)  
The common elements in most of the
definitions described above are:

A business sells or buys services and

products.
The objective of a business is to make a
profit.
All business entities have customers with
specific needs and wants.
Business requires a solid financial footing.
Heita.N
MBA,HONSMM,PGDHE,PGDPM 8
• In most cases a potential entrepreneur will be
creating a “small business” that he or she hopes
to grow into a large and successful enterprise.
Wikipedia defines a small business as
• “a business that is privately owned and operated,
with a small number of employees and relatively
low volume of sales.
• Small businesses are normally privately owned
corporations, partnerships, or sole
proprietorships”.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smal
l_business)

9
1.3 Concepts underlying entrepreneurship.
Now that you have an idea how about the
elements of a business, let’s explore the
concepts underlying entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurship 
What is Entrepreneurship? A normal response tot
his question is that 
entrepreneurship is about creating or establishing
 a business.  Entrepreneurship 
however is more than simply starting
or operating a small business.
10
11
It is true that entrepreneurship is both a science
and an art. The science lies in the proven process
of planning and managing business. The art lies in
the innovative thought, implementation and growth
of a business.
Take a couple of minutes and reflect on what you
understand by the term Entrepreneurship. How
would you define it? Make some notes in your
personal
journal

12
Entrepreneurship is a dynamic, social
process where individuals, alone or in
collaboration identify financial opportunities
and act upon them by establishing new
enterprises.
Entrepreneurship however involves much
more than just for a business to be
successful and sustainable.

13
Entrepreneurship is a dynamic, social
process where individuals, alone or in
collaboration identify opportunities for
innovation and act upon them by
transforming ideas into practical targeted
activities whether in a social, cultural or
financial context.

14
 1.4 Self‐Reflection

Take a couple of minutes and reflect

on what you understand by the term
Entrepreneurship. How would you
define it? Make some notes in your
personal note book

15
 1.5 Conclusion
To sum up, The above discussion indicate
that entrepreneurship:
• Has impact on individuals.
• Provides financial opportunities.
• Has an impact on the economic well‐being
of a society.
• Requires Innovation.
• Is dynamic.
16