Moorman and Company

Whenever we consider the thought of being our own boss, we begin to hear words like: business person, success, wealth, free enterprise, risk-taker, pro-motor, developer, laissez-faire. Of course, we also hear other words like: write-off, insolvency and bankruptcy. This is the vocabulary of those intrepid men and women who are willing to risk nearly everything to develop a new idea–the glossary of terms for the entrepreneur.

Often, the population at large considers business men and women in less than favorable terms. But the true entrepre-neur is not some faceless corporate giant with no feelings or social conscience. He or she is simply a business person who differs from the general population because of a willingness to take risks in the hope of a higher reward.

In fact, we can place everyone who labors (whether for themselves or for someone else) into three basic categories. These are: the mechanic, the opportunist and the entrepre-neur.

The mechanic, is simply not a risk-taker. He or she may be extremely knowledgeable and capable, but unwilling to accept the risk of starting a business. When a mechanic develops an innovative idea or product, he or she will often form an alliance with others willing to take a chance on a new business.

On first pass, an opportunist appears to be similar to an entrepreneur–someone with a great idea, who is willing to take a chance on it. But the opportunist does not plan for the eventual risks of changing markets or shifting economies that may cause his or her idea or product (and therefore the business) to fizzle and die.

An entrepre-neur, like the opportunist, starts with an idea or product, but then carefully assesses all possible risks. He or she moves forward only after developing a clear plan to reduce or mitigate those risks.

What kind of risks are we actually talking about? The risks in terms of financial outlay are, in many cases, the entire fortunes of these men and women, of their families, and, sometimes, their friends. In terms of time and dedication to the effort, the expense sometimes seems to be more hours than there are in each day. And many are the social sacrifices they make, and that they must ask their families to share.

So, why do they do it? The answer seems to be that they are truly motivated by their dreams–among them, financial freedom. Entrepreneurial leaders are willing to take risks because they have an idea, and they believe it; but, there must also be a supportive economic reward. Without this risk-reward relationship, we would not have economic leaders.

Actually, income potential should always be one of the primary factors in assessing the pros and cons of starting one's own business. As a rule of thumb, if you thoroughly examine the entire prospect and decide that the income potential is no greater than what you are currently making at your job, you probably should not go into business. Remember, merely "buying a job" is not entrepreneurial.

If, on the other hand, you can see a potential for growth, and you have the discipline and knowledge to make your business vital, you possess the necessary ingredients for entrepreneurialism.

The spirit of entrepreneurialism has at its foundation one of the concepts that created our country–the willingness to take a chance. Many of these chance-takers fail, some survive, and a very few become great successes. But regardless of their success or failure, each has contributed to the growth of our country.

Statistics indicate that fifty percent of all new businesses will fail within their first two years. But, consider where the money goes that they lose. It goes into wages and into the purchase of supplies and materials. These materi-als are fashioned into a product by labor, thus resulting in more wages. Some money may be spent on plant and equipment, other products for which people are paid. In the end, even though the entrepreneur may lose everything, his or her money will have gone back into the economy and caused it to flourish–in essence providing food and shelter to others.

And for those entrepreneurs who have succeeded, they have obviously contributed even more to the economy through the continued employment of human resources. Where, for example, would Silicon Valley be today without our entrepreneurial risk-takers?