Educational Entrepreneurship: Concepts & Traits

CONCEPT AND CHARACTERISTICS OF EDUCATIONAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP A. Concept of Educational Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship is a dynamic process for creating added value for goods and services as well as prosperity. Another definition states entrepreneurship as the ability to create something new and different, and another opinion states that entrepreneurship is the process of applying creativity and innovation to solve problems and look for opportunities faced by everyone. people in everyday life. The essence of entrepreneurship is the ability to create something new and different through creative thinking and innovative action. Entrepreneurship is an equivalent word that comes from the English language entrepreneurship. The word entrepreneur itself comes from the French, namely entreprende, which means adventurer, risk taker, contractor, businessman (a person who undertakes a particular job), and a creator who sells his creations. So, entrepreneurship can be interpreted as the ability to manage something that exists within a person to be utilized and improved so that it becomes more optimal (good). The entrepreneurial process itself begins with a challenge, where from this challenge arises an idea, willingness and encouragement to take initiative by thinking creatively and innovating. Thian (2021, p. 7) defines entrepreneurship as the process of applying creativity and innovation in solving problems and finding opportunities to improve life or business. Entrepreneurship is related to a person's creative and innovative ability to create something new and different through creative thinking and innovative action to create opportunities. The central role of creativity in entrepreneurship is realizing a strong ability to create or innovate something new, for example a new organization, a new view of the market, new corporate values, new manufacturing processes, new products and services, and new ways. in decision making (Khiatuddin and Muhammad, 2021, p.13). So it can be concluded that creativity is a person's ability to develop new ideas and ways of solving problems and finding opportunities. Meanwhile, innovation is the ability to apply creativity in order to solve problems and find opportunities. The general characteristics of entrepreneurship can be seen from various aspects of personality, such as a person's soul, attitude, character, attitude and behavior. The following are the characteristics of an entrepreneur: a) Dare to take calculated risks (calculated risk taking) Risk taking is also related to creativity and innovation. The greater the entrepreneur's confidence in himself, the greater his ability to influence the outcome of his decisions and the greater his willingness to try, create and innovate that others view as risky. b) Have commitment and strong will (commitment and perseverance) Commitment to business and a strong will to achieve targets are the most basic aspects of an entrepreneur. By having these characteristics, an entrepreneur will dedicate himself totally to the business he handles. Because of these two characteristics, an entrepreneur can overcome various difficulties and challenges faced which in general view are almost impossible. c) Have honesty and can be trusted (integrity and reliability) According to Kuratko and Hodgetts (1989) integrity and reliability are the glue and rope that will unite a person's success with all clients. Investor partners (partners), customers and creditors really pay attention to this attribute. The integrity and reliability possessed by an entrepreneur are important assets in order to build and maintain the trust of all clients. In order for someone to gain the trust of others in their business, they must have an honest and responsible nature. d) Creative (creativity) According to Kuratko and Hodgetts (1989) creativity is a human trait that is innate from birth (inherited trait). However, this opinion is disputed by several entrepreneurship observers who say that creativity is not merely a genetic factor, but is something that can be learned. Matherly and Goldsmith (1985) stated that creativity is the ability to develop ideas and realize these ideas so that they can increase the efficiency and effectiveness of a system. e) Self-confidence (self-confidence) Entrepreneurial people have a strong belief in the strengths that exist within themselves. Humans were born and given power by the Creator so that humans can live and manage this nature wisely. Even though an entrepreneur is often faced with a number of very difficult obstacles, his confidence in his abilities never fades and that is what often drives him to make creative efforts. f) Not dependent on other parties (independence) The desire or desire for freedom, standing on one's own strength, and not depending on others is the driving force of the entrepreneurs emerging today. Motivated by frustration with the rigid bureaucratic system and accompanied by an awareness of doing something different, this has led them to become independent personalities and try to achieve their hopes and desires according to their own way and style. g) Ability to work together in a team (team building) The desire to be independent and independent does not mean overriding an entrepreneur's desire to build a solid team building. Most successful entrepreneurs are those who have high qualifications, a solid and tough team that helps the development of the organization in achieving its vision and mission. Reality proves that an entrepreneur who leads an organization has a clear vision of what the organization wants to achieve in the future and how the organization wants to be perceived by its clients, so the personnel recruited tend to be those who have qualifications that exceed the expected competency demands. This is very important to handle daily work implementation. The success of an entrepreneur in involving himself and forming a strong team cannot be separated from his willingness to understand the weaknesses of others and try to direct his orientation towards achieving group goals in solving a problem. h) Have managerial and leadership skills Meredith, et al. (1996) stated "The total performance of a business is mainly determined by the attitudes and actions of the entrepreneur. (His) effectiveness as a leader is determined by the results achieved." Successful entrepreneurs are successful leaders, whether they lead a few or many employees. Judging from the nature of his work, an entrepreneur is a manager and leader. They must seek opportunities, initiate projects, gather and manage required resources including human resources, set goals for the organization, guide and lead them to achieve organizational goals. B. Entrepreneurial Characteristics According to Thimmons and McClelland (1961), Thomas F. Zimmerer (1996:6-8) in Suryana (2006), successful entrepreneurs have the following characteristics: 1) Strong commitment and determination (commitment and determination) Having a firm commitment and determination to devote all attention to the business. A half-hearted attitude results in a high possibility of failure in entrepreneurship. 2) Responsible (desire for responsibility) Having a sense of responsibility in controlling the resources used and entrepreneurial success, therefore entrepreneurs will be internally self-aware. 3) Obsessed with looking for opportunities (opportunity obsession) Ambitious to always look for opportunities. Entrepreneurial success is always measured by success in achieving goals. Achieving goals occurs when there is an opportunity. 4) Tolerance for risk, ambiguity and uncertainty Entrepreneurs must learn to manage risk by transferring it to other parties, such as banks, investors, consumers, suppliers, etc. Successful entrepreneurs usually have tolerance for different views and uncertainty. 5) Self-confidence Entrepreneurs tend to be optimistic and have strong confidence in their abilities to succeed. 6) Creative and flexible (creativity and flexibility) Inventive and flexible. One important key is the ability to deal with changes in demand. Rigidity in facing fast-paced changes in the world economy often leads to failure. The ability to respond to change quickly and flexibly of course requires high creativity. 7) Always want immediate feedback (desire for immediate feedback). Entrepreneurs always want to know the results of what they have done. Therefore, in improving their performance, entrepreneurs always have the willingness to use the knowledge they already have and learn from failure. 8) Have a high level of energy. Successful entrepreneurs usually have higher fighting power than most people, so they prefer to work hard even for a relatively long time. 9) The drive to excel (motivation to excel) Entrepreneurs always want to excel in what they do by exceeding existing standards, not doing things the same as existing standards. This motivation arises from within (internal) and rarely from external factors. 10) Orientation to the future To grow and develop, entrepreneurs always look far into a better future. 11) Always learn from failure (willingness to learn from failure). Successful entrepreneurs are never afraid of failure. He always focuses his abilities on his strengths.