Are Entrepreneurs Born?

Here is my column from yesterday’s Tennessean:

I still get asked what seems like an age-old question: Are entrepreneurs born or made?

Let me start by making it clear that entrepreneurship is not in our genes. While some have tried to demonstrate that there is something innate that leads people to pursue entrepreneurial careers, there has never been a study that has found any link between our nature and entrepreneurial risk-taking.

Life experience is what drives people to pursue entrepreneurship. For some of us it comes from our family upbringing. I caught the entrepreneurial bug at an early age by being involved in family businesses. I was fortunate to be able to play a role in several family businesses ranging from a marina on the lake in Wisconsin to a corrugated box company my father started with a partner.

For others, entrepreneurship is the result of a career crisis — such as getting fired or laid off. As we are seeing in many people today, unemployment can be a powerful motivator. Many have no other option in the job market than trying to make it on their own.

For others, pursuing entrepreneurship may be the logical way out of a frustrating job or a career that is just not fulfilling.

Entrepreneurship can also be the result of an insatiable desire to pursue interests that develop throughout our lives. What starts out as a hobby or pastime can lead to a passion to pursue that interest full time.

A factor that we cannot ignore is the role of culture in forming entrepreneurs. As we see in so many studies, the culture in which we live is a powerful force in creating startups and fueling entrepreneurial economies.

Self-reliance, a dominant part of our culture for generations, has been attributed as a major force that leads so many Americans to become entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurship is much more passion than personality. We are not born with passion. It comes from our experiences, our family, our work, our hobbies, those around us, the gifts we have been given and our culture.

Entrepreneurs feel that fire

I have learned over the years that I cannot make someone choose the entrepreneurial path in life. In fact, I really cannot even inspire someone to pursue a career in entrepreneurship if they are not already headed that way. The fire has to be in their belly.

Once in a while I have to stoke that fire, or help them see that the fire is there. And once they feel that entrepreneurial fire, my job becomes one of helping them have a better chance for success. By learning about the process of properly defining and aligning the opportunity, securing the necessary resources, planning the venture, and managing growth effectively, we can significantly increase someone’s chance of financial success as an entrepreneur.

So the answer to the question is that entrepreneurs are not born nor made. They are formed. Entrepreneurship is a career that comes out of our life experiences.