If you have an interest in things entrepreneurial and wonder if you have what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur, then this book is written for you. Authors Bill Bolton and John Thompson offer a unique focus, seeing everything through the eyes of the entrepreneur.
This refreshed third edition is split into two fascinating parts. Part I builds an understanding of the entrepreneur as a person based on the key factors of talent and temperament - a unique framework for understanding and exploiting entrepreneurial opportunities. The process of starting and growing a business and the infrastructure and environment in which the entrepreneur has to operate, are described in detail. Part II tells the stories of famous entrepreneurs including classic figures such as Henry Ford, through to social entrepreneurs and even anti-social entrepreneurs such as Al Capone!
This insightful, empirically based, original take on the entrepreneur, and thereby entrepreneurship, provides students with a new and challenging way into the subject.
In a refreshed edition, this book identifies three factors which identify entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial behaviour: talent, temperament and opportunity. By focusing on who entrepreneurs are, (with the inclusion of the stories of famous entrepreneurs - from Henry Ford to Al Capone) and backed by a unique framework for understanding and exploiting entrepreneurship, Bolton and Thompson explain what enterprise means for individuals, organizations and society.
'This is a comprehensive and well researched treatment of the defining characteristics of the entrepreneur.? Packed with real life stories of all types of entrepreneurs, it is an essential read for all those involved in nurturing entrepreneurial talent and supporting the new high potential businesses that are so critical for our future economic growth and prosperity.'
Dr. Pat Frain, Founding Director of NovaUCD, University College Dublin, Ireland
'This text creates and updates a vital link between the authors' earlier seminal works. It provides students with a critical framework for self-evaluation and comparison, clarifies the terminology and key issues, and links the important areas of advantage, opportunity and strategy.'
Mr. Barry Whitehouse, Senior Lecturer, Department of Marketing and Enterprise, University of Wolverhampton, UK
Praise for the previous edition:
'A consistent, comprehensive, well-researched book that is unique and original in its contribution to creating a thriving world of enterprise.'
Dr. Donald Clifton, late Chairman of Gallup International Research and Education Centre and a past Chairman of the Gallup Organization