The Role Of Entrepreneurship Culture In Becoming An Entrepreneur

Photo by Luca Bravo on Unsplash

“Oh I knew that”

Have you ever felt so certain that you know what something is, but when asked to explain it you just couldn’t ”find the right words”? Well, you are not alone in that. In fact, you stand in the same position as billions of other people because psychologists suggest that human beings, at some point, suffer from the illusion of explanatory depth. But, what has it got to do with entrepreneurship?

Simply put, this illusion is a phenomenon that frequently plagues many aspects of life and entrepreneurship is no different. In an ideal world, many people believe they understand what it means to be an entrepreneur, but do they? Often, people imagine that being an entrepreneur is all about doing trade, making money, having a crafty tongue and a convincing message. But is this really what being an entrepreneur is about? It is this particular question that has driven us to look at the meaning of entrepreneurship from the wider context of entrepreneurship culture.

Although the entrepreneurship culture stems from a set of values, actions, ideologies and belief systems like other cultures, it is very different from them.

What Is Entrepreneurship Culture?

When we were talking about the importance of entrepreneurship in today’s world, we highlighted that entrepreneurship is the process or means by which the creative idea is executed. What we didn’t mention however, is conditions necessary for this process to be met. The “Chemical X” towards realising entrepreneurship in all its glory. Those conditions are what we define here as the entrepreneurship culture.

While the term culture is broad and challenging to explain exhaustively, in this context, we define it as a way of life that entrepreneurs subscribe to in order to realise their entrepreneurial ventures. Think of it as an enabling factor, one that makes it possible for entrepreneurs to innovate and grow ideas into enterprises. The culture facilitates an environment where creativity thrives and the mindset to innovate is nurtured.

What Are The Components Of An Entrepreneurship Culture?

Although the entrepreneurship culture stems from a set of values, actions, ideologies and belief systems like other cultures, it is very different from them. This difference lies in the fact that this culture is primarily set up to influence the realisation of aspirations that improve business and the world. It is not a culture of sustenance, or a dictate of day to day living standards.

Instead, it is a culture that encourages creativity, finding solutions and promoting development. When broken down, the entrepreneurship culture is a result of three distinct levels, namely:

1. The Invisible Level
2. The Semi-visible Level
3. The Visible Level

These levels are particularly important because they detail key traits which should you develop, you will most likely transition into entrepreneurship with ease, and maybe even grow into a successful entrepreneur.

The Invisible Level

This is the first and most basic of all the levels and is characterised by two concepts, entrepreneurial attributes and values. While the two may sound almost synonymous, there lies a very big difference between them. In this case, we define attributes as the motivations of the person who wishes to become an entrepreneur. These attributes are mostly natural instincts that tend to indicate who is more likely to engage and be productive in entrepreneurship. They may include aspects like eloquence, negotiation skills, confidence, intellect, and the like.

Values on the other hand, are the formulae with which an entrepreneur selects their next appropriate action. Just like a compass, values explain the direction which a particular decision has taken. These intrinsic or extrinsic guides could range from the need for freedom, to innovativeness, improving lives, risk taking, and accountability, to name a few. These two combined provide almost every budding entrepreneur with a starting point and a direction for the important decisions at the beginning of their entrepreneurial journey

The Semi-visible Level

That said, we move to the second level. Here, we encounter the most central part of what it takes to be an entrepreneur, and that is the entrepreneurial mindset. The entrepreneurial mindset is there to remind budding entrepreneurs that more often than not, their perceptions and attitude will be the difference between success and failure in entrepreneurship. By doing so, it guides a person and shapes the kind of entrepreneur they will become.

The Visible Level

So, while the two values above expound on the motivations and mindset behind becoming entrepreneurs, sometimes, that’s just not enough. Besides wanting to become an entrepreneur, and determining how best to become one, you also have to take the right actions for your efforts to bear any fruit. This is where the final level which consists of the entrepreneurial behaviour comes up.

As an upcoming entrepreneur, you have to focus on the actual actions that you take in your entrepreneurial venture. How well do you plan for it, how will you execute your idea, how will you get the funding, how do you intend to spend the profits, how dedicated are you to working hard even though it does not seem to be paying off, are you disciplined enough? These behavioural considerations are a cornerstone to becoming an entrepreneur. Without them, you will most likely be set out for failure.

The Entrepreneurial Culture At Edventures

At this point, it is quite clear that the entrepreneurship culture is an integral part of becoming an entrepreneur. That is why we at Edventures embrace this culture. Our satisfaction comes from knowing that we have set you on the right path towards becoming an entrepreneur. To achieve this, we provide you with entrepreneurship learning to help you identify your attributes, reinforce your values with knowledge in entrepreneurship, nurture your mindset, and develop the right entrepreneurial behaviour to create and grow your ideas.

So, if you believe you have an idea that could make lives easier or better for people around you or around the world, if you enjoy finding solutions to life’s challenges, if you’ve always wanted to become an entrepreneur but you don’t really know how to, connect with us in our social channels, and sign up for our waitlist!