Personal Entrepreneurial Competencies (PEC)

Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurs are those with the skills and capabilities to see and evaluate business opportunities. They are individuals who can strategically identify products or services needed by the community, and have the capacity to deliver them at the right time and at the right place.
Entrepreneurs are agents of economic change; they organize, manage, and assume risks of a business. Some of the good qualities of entrepreneurs are: opportunity-seeker, risk-taker, goal-setter, excellent planner, confident problem-solver, hardworking, persistent and committed.

Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is not just a simple business activity but a strategic process of innovation and new product creation. Basically, entrepreneurship is both an art and science of converting business ideas into marketable products or services to improve the quality of living.

Characteristics/traits/attributes of a good entrepreneur:

• Hardworking: One of the important characteristics of a good entrepreneur is hardworking. This means working diligently and being consistent about it. Hardworking people keep improving their performance to produce good products and/or provide good services.
• Confident: Entrepreneurs have self-reliance in one’s ability and judgment. They exhibit self-confidence to cope with the risks of operating their own business.
• Disciplined: Successful entrepreneurs always stick to the plan and fight the temptation to do what is unimportant.
• Committed: Good entrepreneurs assume full responsibility over their business. They give full commitment and solid dedication to make the business successful.
• Ability to accept change: Nothing is permanent but change. Change occurs frequently. When you own a business, you should cope with and thrive on changes. Capitalize on positive changes to make your business grow.
• Creative: An entrepreneur should be creative and innovative to stay in the business and in order to have an edge over the other competitors.
• Has the initiative: An entrepreneur takes the initiative. You must put yourself in a position where you are responsible for the failure or success of your business.
• Profit-oriented: An entrepreneur enters the world of business to generate profit or additional income. The business shall become your bread and butter. Therefore, you must see to it that the business can generate income.

Important skills of a successful entrepreneur:

• Excellent planner: Planning involves strategic thinking and goal setting to achieve objectives by carefully maximizing all the available resources. A good entrepreneur develops and follows the steps in the plans diligently to realize goals. A good entrepreneur knows that planning is an effective skill only when combined with action.
• Possesses people skills: This is a very important skill needed to be successful in any kind of business. People skills refer to effective and efficient communication and establishing good relationship to the people working in and out of your business. In day-to-day business transactions, you need to deal with people. A well-developed interpersonal skill can make a huge difference between success and failure of the business.
• Sound decision maker: Successful entrepreneurs have the ability to think quickly and to make wise decisions towards a predetermined set of objectives. No one can deny that the ability to make wise decisions is an important skill that an entrepreneur should possess. Sound decisions should be based on given facts and information and lead towards the predetermined objectives.