Are you an aspiring entrepreneur? Find out your enterprising potential with a quick test. The most enterprising people set up business projects more often; set up more innovative business projects; and are geared up for growth, and therefore they take more risks and are good at optimizing resources, including human, technological, physical and organisational resources. The General Enterprising Tendencies test is quick gauge of your potential.
GENERAL ENTERPRISING TENDENCIES
Introduction
This test has been designed to bring together and measure a number of personal ātendenciesā commonly associated with enterprising persons.Ā These include: need for achievement; need for autonomy; creative tendency; risk taking; drive and determination.Ā The test has been developed and validated during research into a variety of measures used to assess entrepreneurship and enterprise.
However, āgeneral enterprising tendencyā is a broader concept than āentrepreneurshipā and can be applied to people in many different situations, including those working in business support agencies, social and community enterprises, business organizations as well as those intending to start a business enterprise.Ā Ā
The test can be used to help in the recruitment of individuals to jobs and positions and to measure personal development during periods of training or practical experiences.
The development and validation of the General Enterprising Tendencies Test is based largely on the work of Sally Caird* at Durham University Business School.
The test is simple and you can take it here. There are not right or wrong answers. The statements are numbered 1 to 54. It will take about 10 minutes of your time to say if you agree or disagree with the statements.
If you have trouble deciding if you agree or disagree absolutely, then answer on the basis of agreeingĀ moreĀ than disagreeing orĀ vice versa. Donāt think too long about an answer.
Entrepreneurship
A process by which a new business idea is hatched, synthesized, and operationalized, in order to meet new service/product needs of society. The business idea must be put into practice through the coordination of key resources to supply the service/product.
The Entrepreneur
This is one (usually a person) who begets a business idea, and aligns it with the current/future demands of society, undertakes risks, to organize resources to produce and distribute the service/ product to the identified āmarketsā and orĀ their segments.
The entrepreneurial qualities (general enterprising tendencies) are not restricted to people as individuals. They can also be attributed to institutions (enterprising businesses or organizations). Entrepreneurs do not have to restrict themselves to commercial/economic concerns. Social entrepreneurs also do exist.
The entrepreneur can also be defined as someone who shifts economic resources out of an area of lower, and into an area of higher productivity and greater yield/return.
In the process, however, they must create new satisfaction and new consumer demand. (new value, new customers, new markets).
The entrepreneur as an innovative & creative risk-taker
| InnovateĀ / Take Risks | Low Creativity and Low Innovation | High Creativity and Innovation |
| High Risk | GAMBLER (bull-dozer) | ENTREPRENEUR (Par excellence) |
| Low Risk | CONSOLIDATOR (Comfort zone- protector) | DREAMER (think-tank) |
Social Entrepreneurship
Social entrepreneursĀ are individuals with innovative solutions to societyās most pressingĀ socialĀ problems. They are ambitious and persistent, tackling majorĀ social issues and offering new ideas for wide-scale change. This concept may be applied to a variety of organizations with different sizes, aims, and beliefs.
Groups focused on social entrepreneurship may be divided into several categories:
1. community-based enterprises, socially responsible enterprises,Ā social servicesĀ industry professionals, and socio-economic enterprises.Ā
2. Community-based enterprises are based on the social ventures of an entire community that uses its culture and capital to empower itself as an entire enterprise.
3. Socially responsible enterprises focus on creating sustainable development through their initiatives that focus mostly on societal gains.
In addition, there are organizations dedicated to empowering social entrepreneurs, connecting them with mentors, strengthening their enterprise models, and preparing them for capital investments.
References
*Caird S (1992), Problems with the identification of enterprise competencies and the implications for assessment and development, Management Education and Development. Vol.23, Part 1, pp. 6-17.