The over 400 million entrepreneurs across the globe have seen a multitude of business researchers constantly asking and examining the reasons behind the massive appeal towards entrepreneurship in recent years. Interestingly, these researchers have yet to agree on why people are becoming entrepreneurs, leaving the questions open and contestable. Every entrepreneur has their own reasons or motive for starting their business (Toren, 2016). Whether people seek more freedom in the workplace, want to change their lifestyle, plan to make the world a better place, find a job, or look for better challenges, motives and reasons for becoming entrepreneurs remain broad, open, and personal. Nonetheless, scholars have proposed various theories or models to explain and justify the dramatic appeal of entrepreneurship in recent years. However, critics of these theories have often identified their limitations and weaknesses, with some reducing some to regional or local scope, applicability, or acceptance. In this regard, this essay critically discusses why people become entrepreneurs.
Achievement, Challenge, and Learning
The desire to achieve, challenge oneself, and continue learning is a core reason for thousands of entrepreneurs, especially in Silicon Valley. Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Elon Musk have noted that their desire to achieve their unconventional visions and dreams propelled them to start their renowned companies. Exploring the meaning and completing tasks that change humanity and the globe drives every entrepreneur (Toren, 2016). Their success in the entrepreneurial world has further cast doubts on the relevance of universities and fuelled the education versus money debate. They all dropped out of college for adequate time to pursue their strange visions and start a business that has turned into a multi-billion venture. Is becoming an entrepreneur better than pursuing a university education? Besides, even the entrepreneurship courses currently taught in universities and colleges focus more on turning learners into business people than entrepreneurs. An analysis of Elon Musk, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg shows that these entrepreneurs focused more on completing their innovations and attaining their vision rather than the potential monetary benefits. Under his theory of innovation entrepreneurship, renowned economist Joseph Schumpeter noted that finding innovative solutions and having foresight as the aspects that differentiate entrepreneurs from other normal business people (Mehmood, Alzoubi, and Ahmed, 2019, 385). From this perspective, entrepreneurship can be perceived as an innate drive within particular individuals.
The drive to achieve these insane dreams is often accompanied by a critical challenge to achieve. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak created Apple to develop portable computers that could be used at home. Elon’s wanted to change the world and humanity when inventing Tesla Motors and SpaceX. Today, people have small laptops that can be carried in backpacks or even pockets, and electric cars from Tesla are reducing carbon footprints as SpaceX is about to take people to Mars. Entrepreneurship is a calling, and no education is needed to become an entrepreneur. Sociological entrepreneurship theory proposes that considering social aspects can propel one to establish a business meeting every consumer’s expectation (Parker, 2012, p. 319). Accomplishing goals and solving challenges often come with lessons. Learning always continues even if many people usually equate particular achievements, socioeconomic status, or age to the end of their education. Although renewed entrepreneurs are university dropouts, they are never satisfied with their knowledge and always seeking more. Any person who finds learning interesting can be regarded as an entrepreneur to the extent that they cannot have enough lessons regarding the things that excite them. They do not stop, keep learning, and are always willing to improve their existing ideas and goals. Such fiery passion for keeping learning is a major push to becoming an entrepreneur, as seen in Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, and Bill Gates’ stories.
Independence and Autonomy
Independence and autonomy have increasingly become profound and compelling to human desires in recent years. In an interview, the founder of the My Own Business Institute, Phil Holland, indicated that living a democratic, free-enterprise lifestyle that allowed him to follow his dreams and desires was the absolute benefit of his entrepreneurial journey (Gitonga, 2019). However, multiple situations trigger the need for independence and autonomy. Firstly, entrepreneurship has been largely synonymous with being your own boss (Waltower, 2023). Some people need help to tolerate or keep up with the policies and cultures that come with organizations and employers. They unintentionally struggle to respect authority and feel suffocated, restricted and restrained. They always prefer superior authorities supervising and directing their work and conducts at the workplace (Waltower, 2023). Ultimately, not taking part in final decisions puts them off; hence, seeking opportunities where they can have a say in the decisions, do not have to respect some authority, have no one supervising them remain to be their only option, and can succeed in their terms. However, entrepreneurs believe that becoming their own boss and leading others is more fulfilling and the only way they can be happy and work effectively. Entrepreneurs are naturally born leaders. Under Great Man’s theory, entrepreneurs’ determination to be their boss qualifies them as natural-born leaders (Baum, Frese, and Baron, 2014, 273). Elon Musk’s charisma, Zuckerberg’s intelligence, Job’s confidence, and Bill Gates’ extraordinary social skills are proof of entrepreneurs being natural leaders. Their leadership skills have been a major factor in transforming their start-up ventures into multibillion-dollar companies.
Seeking independence and autonomy can also be profoundly driven by the entrepreneurs’ inability to fit and integrate their unconventional ideas, perceptions, and dominoes into the corporate mould. Coupled with their voracious exploration appetite, entrepreneurs’ great minds often fail to convince many people to subscribe to their ideas and visions. Feeling relegated, ununderstood, and relegated, some employees usually regard entrepreneurship as their only getaway plan (Basco, 2019, p. 297). They take great ideas and creativity into their own business without assurance of success. Nonetheless, entrepreneurship offers great minds the opportunity to marry their creativity with various opportunities, including governments and international organizations, to fuel a great innovation or idea into a reality. Steve Jobs: Steve summed this up best when he said that life becomes simple when one discovers that everything was discovered and created by those not smarter than them; hence, everything can be influenced (Basco, 2019, p. 297). Other benefits of entrepreneurship include the freedom to work from anywhere and flexible work schedules and periods. Such freedom can also entice one to leave their employee’s position for their businesses.
Income Security and Financial Success
This may be the most popular reason behind most small business ventures. Limited job opportunities, especially in developing countries, are forcing many young people to opt for starting their own to generate income rather than sitting at home or getting involved in criminal activities. Exclusion from traditional income opportunities through layoffs, previous incarceration, discrimination, or retirement can also force one to start a business venture to create their opportunity and have financial security. Some get inspired by other entrepreneurs’ success. They want to create the next Unicorn, Amazon, Tesla, or Apple, companies valued over $1 billion and become the next global billionaires. Richard Cantillon’s economic entrepreneurship theory argues that anyone is an entrepreneur, provided they have a business venture that generates unfixed income (Parker, 2012, p. 319). This theory places income generation at the centre of entrepreneurship pursuance. A rather unpopular reason is that some people become entrepreneurs because they must be entrepreneurs. They need the drive or motivation to start their own business but are destined for entrepreneurship.
Most entrepreneurship theories are universal. The Innovation, economic, and sociological theories used in the essay are largely global. These theories consider factors affecting entrepreneurship globally without focusing on a particular region or country. However, some of the reasons cited for why people become entrepreneurs, such as lack of employment, apply to specific areas. For example, one lacking employment due to previous incarceration mainly applies in the United States and youths lacking jobs despite having the education and qualification mainly applies in the developing world. Most other reasons are universal and apply in most countries and continents. With most of these reasons explored and supported by various scholars, the assertion that some people do not have any other choice but to become entrepreneurs because they see it as their mandatory journey and destination does not resonate with most business researchers and scholars. Nonetheless, people becoming entrepreneurs is broad and cannot be pinned to one factor or reason; some even have more than one reason for starting their own business.
Bibliography
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