Small Business Planning and Entrepreneurship - Essay Example

Thus, the entrepreneurial mindset add value in the business environment through turning problems into opportunities where the common mindset may not perceive any solution to such problems, considering that if the solutions to the problem were obvious, then, the problems would already have been resolved (Gerber, 2012:n.p.). The GET results indicate that an individual scoring highly in the need for achievement criteria as forward thinking, optimistic, self sufficient and results oriented. In this respect, this entrepreneurial mindset is essential to add value to the business environment, through establishing and sustaining a positive attitude regardless of the challenges that might be faced by the business (Whiteman, 2003:77).

The concept of optimism means that the entrepreneur still keeps a positive attitude even when there are numerous negative voices that say it cannot be done. While a common mindset will yield to pessimism and give up on trying, the entrepreneurial mindset is unrelenting and keeps forging ahead with seeking solutions for the existing problems (Anders & Lois 2005:33). Therefore, as opposed to a business owner or a manager, creating a business for an entrepreneur is like writing a book, considering that for an entrepreneur, the business created is not merely a business, but something that has a meaning, and which drives the entrepreneur to continue pursuing the vision, even when it is apparent that there are high risks for the business failure (Gerber, 2012:n.p.).

According to the Schumpeter’s innovation theory of entrepreneurship, an entrepreneur is that individual who perceives the opportunity to innovate, thus taking a different path from the normal path trodden by the society, in meeting the same societal need (McCraw, 2007:72). The entrepreneur will chart entirely new paths through which the problems within the