OPINION IS ENTREPRENEURSHIP SOMETHING THAT CAN BE TAUGHT?

The short answer is no. Entrepreneurship can’t be taught because it’s who you are, how you think and how you behave, not what you know. But that doesn’t mean that both budding and experienced entrepreneurs can’t learn or be taught anything.

Learning can be split into two different types: knowledge and skills.

Almost all entrepreneurs need a grounding in marketing, sales, tax, financial management and usually a specialist area or two as well (be that computing or fine art). This knowledge can certainly be taught, but you can also learn it yourself through reading and doing online courses. And you might already have some of this knowledge from previous roles and jobs. Then there are the skills. Entrepreneurs need to be able to manage their own time, talk to people, manage cashflow, hire and fire, market their products/services, network and outsource. These skills need to be practised and refined, and you can’t just learn them in a classroom. But you don’t have to do it alone, you can join a masterclass, or work with a coach to help you refine them.

Entrepreneurs are a strange breed, we are excited by things that scare others witless (new challenges, total freedom, the opportunity to do something that has never been done before). Being an entrepreneur can be a risky and lonely business, so you need to enjoy being your own boss. No one is going to tell you what to do or not to do. We are always looking for opportunities and are prepared to take risks. We understand that we might need to make 100 mistakes to get to working solution, so you need a high tolerance for failure.

Entrepreneurship is not for the faint hearted, but the rewards can be phenomenal. Enjoy!

This is a question that polarises opinion; ask any group of people for their views and the chances are you’ll be met with a range of opinions, each of which will be informed by what is understood to be entrepreneurship.

So what does it mean to be an entrepreneur? Are you an entrepreneur if you are creative, with a vision for a new product? Do you need to be able to innovate and problem solve? What if you are lacking in imagination but have the business savvy and presentation skills to pitch for funding?

If you struggle with business plans but are prepared to work hard and take on personal financial risk, does your inexperience with cash forecasting prevent you from being an entrepreneur?

In reality, no matter how you define what it means to be an entrepreneur (and it is likely that your list of entrepreneurial qualities will be different to mine), the chances are that your definition will include a large catalogue of ‘must haves’.

Consequently, it would be unrealistic for any one individual to possess all of these qualities innately, without any input from third parties or life experience.

In my view, this is how we answer the question: no matter how you define entrepreneurship, that definition will be a mix of both characteristics and skills. No one is perfect and skills, by their very nature, can be taught and honed – whether by mentors, educational institutes or even through good old fashioned experience.

Contrast this with the type of characteristics that we associate with entrepreneurship – drive, motivation, strong work ethic etc – such characteristics are inherent. After all, there’s no training course in the world that can unlock the passion needed to be an entrepreneur.