Advising Entrepreneurial Students
4.0 How do I spot an entrepreneur?
There are a number of ways to try to identify someone who is actually or potentially entrepreneurial: by their personality traits, by their behaviour, or by a new approach – their self-efficacy.
4.1 Personality traits
4.2 Self-efficacy – a cognitive approach
4.3 Entrepreneurial behaviour
4.4 Emerging entrepreneurs
4.5 Implications for you
4.1 Personality traits
Academics have not yet found a valid and reasonable way to reliably identify the personality traits of entrepreneurs. Not surprisingly commercial organisations would also like to have such a test in order to give better careers advice.
Durham Business School devised the General Enterprising Tendency (GET) test, which looked at five factors. This test has not proved to be an accurate predictor of entrepreneurship. However it can be a good starting point for discussion about enterprising attributes, which are a part of the make up if an entrepreneur.
The GET test measures a number of personal ‘tendencies’ commonly associated with the enterprising person. These include:
Individuals who score highly on these measures are ‘enterprising’ but they are not necessarily entrepreneurial.
4.2 Self-efficacy – a cognitive approach
The idea of self-efficacy relates to a person's expectation that they can successfully complete a course of action to achieve a particular outcome. It is very relevant to entrepreneurial careers.
If a person has positive expectations, they are more likely to attempt an action, and also to persist in their efforts even in the face of setbacks.
Efficacy expectations can initially be about very specific outcomes, but experience of self-efficacy can lead to more general ‘mastery expectations’ and self-confidence. This is why, if a child lacks confidence, the parents are encouraged to find something which he or she can do well, in order to foster an improved general sense of self-efficacy.
Although self-efficacy is partly born of experience, it remains a self-perception and may not always be consistent with an external observer’s perception if the individual’s ability. This is vividly illustrated in sport. An athlete’s ability to convert talent into success is dependent on his or her perceived self-efficacy. Some athletes of relatively limited talent have a level of self-belief which seems almost self-deception, whereas other more gifted athletes never go on to achieve the heights their abundant talent seemed to promise.
There are three ways in which self-efficacy is relevant to entrepreneurial careers.
a) Those trying to start businesses will need high levels of self-efficacy. They may have to face many crises before succeeding, and to persevere in the face of doubts from the bank, impatience from suppliers, and apathy from prospective customers.
b) Whilst all careers are more volatile than in the past, graduates in permanent posts can afford to switch attention away from career considerations, at least for a while, without significant risk. The entrepreneurial career demands greater ongoing attention and determination.
c) Finally, the entrepreneurial career is often without clear cues as to what the individual should do next, what amounts to success, or what is expected of them. The entrepreneurial career therefore demands considerable self-efficacy to persist with a course of action which has no guarantee of success, and in which the individual may expect to be questioned by others who lack his/her confidence in the chosen course of action.
Self-efficacy is thus one of the key requirements for success in an entrepreneurial career.
4.3 Entrepreneurial behaviour
Some students are already well established as entrepreneurs. Behaviours you might observe are:
Many of these students will go their own way, without seeking Careers Service advice. If they do seek advice, they will probably come with a clear idea of the assistance they require. You should probably signpost them straight away to your HEI's Enterprise Centre or a business adviser, where they can get the specific help they seek.
4.4 Emerging entrepreneurs
Other students may still be emerging as entrepreneurs. For instance, they may have many of the personality traits and behaviours of the entrepreneur, but have allowed themselves to be constrained by the culture around them to be more ‘conventional’. These are harder to spot. In general, as this group are more amenable to group and cultural pressure, they may follow a career as an intrapreneur, or a more mixed career.
These students will probably make good use of the services you can provide. They may be ready to set up their own business straight away, but in many cases will benefit from a period working for an existing organisation in order to develop their skills, or carrying out further study in their chosen field. Some might be ready to embark on a low-risk form of self-employment.
4.5 Implications for you
Although there are no proven tools that can be used to identify whether or not a person is an entrepreneur, the behaviour of students is a good guide. You also need to look out for the 'emerging entrepreneurs' who are perhaps being constrained by present circumstances or perceptions, but have the potential to follow an entrepreneurial career in due course. There are several initial steps they can take to start developing their full potential, and your role in helping them to think about their strengths, preferences and future options as potential entrepreneurs is critical.