Introduction To Enterprise-Oprah Winfrey

Introduction

In this report I shall establish what an entrepreneur is. I shall explain the different types of Entrepreneurs, and reasons as to why they decide to become self employed. I shall then discuss in detail the rise of 1 of the worlds best known and loved Entrepreneurs, Oprah Winfrey.

What is an Entrepreneur?

An entrepreneur is an individual who accepts financial risks and undertakes new financial ventures. The word derives from the French "entre" (to enter) and "prendre" (to take), and in a general sense applies to any person starting a new project or trying a new opportunity.

Many societies place great value on the entrepreneur. An entrepreneur has the greatest chance of success by focusing on a market niche either too small or too new to have been noticed by established businesses. Entrepreneurship is often difficult and tricky, as many new ventures fail. Most commonly, the term entrepreneur applies to someone who creates value by offering a product or service. Entrepreneurs and business people come from all walks of life and have different backgrounds and life experiences. Anyone can start up their own business.

There are 2 elements that are mentioned time and again by successful entrepreneurs as being crucial for success, to be precise the motivation and determination to succeed in your business venture and to make things happen. Successful entrepreneurs also have a healthy dose of self-confidence and an optimistic outlook on life. Entrepreneurs vary greatly, so there can be no one combination that defines an entrepreneur. However, research does suggest that a need for achievement, autonomy and an internal locus of control and a moderate tendency to take risks are key characteristics.

Motivations for start-up

Addressing the entrepreneur’s personal motivations for initiating start-up activities has received significant attention in the entrepreneurial literature (Carter, 2000a,b) and is considered one of the key components for entrepreneurial success (Timmons and Spinelli, 2003). The literature often reveals various “push” and “pull” factors as motivators for business start-up (Alstete, 2002) or alternatively negative and positive factors as discussed by Deakins and Whittam (2000). The “push” or negative factors are associated with the necessity factors that force the female into pursuing her business idea. These can be redundancy, unemployment, frustration with previous employment, the need to earn a reasonable living and a flexible work schedule, reflective of the family caring role that is still expected from women (Alstete, 2002; Orhan and Scott, 2001). Similarly, Welsh (1988) and Carter and Cannon (1988) found evidence of a “glass ceiling effect” that impede executive women from reaching more senior executive positions and thus pushes them from management positions into their own business.

Social Entrepreneurs

Another type of entrepreneur that performs an important role in the community is the Social Entrepreneur. Social entrepreneurs are individuals with innovative solutions to society’s most pressing social problems. They are ambitious and persistent, tackling major social issues and offering new ideas for wide-scale change.

A social entrepreneur is someone who recognizes a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create, and manage a venture to make social change. Whereas a business entrepreneur typically measures performance in profit and return, a social entrepreneur assesses success in terms of the impact s/he has on society. While social entrepreneurs often work through nonprofits and citizen groups, many work in the private and governmental sectors.

Some well known social enterprises include Welsh Water (Glas Cymru), CafÐ"©direct, The Big Issue and the Co-operative Group.

Female Entrepreneurs

Around the World, women are starting businesses in record numbers. Internationally, one in ten women is self-employed, and it is estimated that women own and manage up to one third of all businesses in developed countries. Nelton (1998) regarded this growth of female entrepreneurship since the 1970s (from 5 per cent to 38 per cent in 30 years, Hisrich et al., 1997) as one of the most significant, yet quietest, revolutions of our time.

Oprah Winfrey

In a recent poll asking, "Which entrepreneur do you admire most?" The winner, hands down, was Oprah Winfrey, with nearly double the votes of Bill Gates and four times Richard Branson. Oprah Winfrey came from a humble background to become one of America's most influential women. Winfrey has acquired a great fortune through her media and publishing interests and uses her fame and wealth to positively influence the lives of people in need. On January 29, 1954, the woman that would make a spectacular rise to become not only the richest female in America, but also the first ever African-American billionaire was born in a small town in Mississippi. At a young age Winfrey's parents separated and sent her to live with grandparents in very poor surroundings until the age of 6 when she moved to live with her mother. She was consequently sexually molested by male relatives at a young age and endured the hardship up until she was 14 when Winfrey moved to live with her father in Nashville Tennessee. Living with her father did not eliminate her problems even though he was loving towards her. Winfrey struggled with drugs and rebellious behaviour and lost a baby after giving birth to it prematurely. She eventually began to settle down after being awarded a University Scholarship. Winfrey studied at the Tennessee State University and received a BA in Speech and Performing Arts. Her father's high standards inspired her to aim for and achieve more from life. While at University, Winfrey became involved in several groups and pursued her interests in media and journalism. Even though her early years in life where filled with hardship, she was always gifted with intelligence and she graduated as an honours student.

Oprah Winfrey's career in the media industry began in broadcasting at the age of 17 at radio station WVOL. By the time she was 19, she was anchoring the news at WTFV-TV, making her the first African-American woman and the youngest person ever to do so. In 1976 she moved to Baltimore, where she co-anchored WJZ-TV's Six O’clock News. In 1984, Oprah relocated to Chicago to host AM Chicago. Within just