1. What are the characteristics and skills of a entrepreneur?
Can you think of a relevant word for each letter? E has been given as an example.
Enthusiastic N T
R E P R E N E U R
Theme 1:
Marketing and people
1.5 Entrepreneurs and leaders Entrepreneurial motives and characteristics
Edexcel Business

2. 1.5.2 Entrepreneurial motives and characteristics
In this topic you will learn about
Characteristics and skills required
Reasons why people set up businesses:
financial motives: profit maximisation and profit satisficing
non-financial motives: ethical stance, social
entrepreneurship, independence and home working

3. Characteristics of an entrepreneur
What are the characteristics of an entrepreneur?
Opportunity spotter
Creative
Show initiative
Risk taker
Positive thinker
Hard working
Self motivated
Decision maker
Visionary
Enthusiastic
Determined and persistent
Why are each of these characteristics important?
What are the characteristics of Julie Deane the entrepreneur behind the Cambridge Satchel Company?
How Harry Potter inspired a £13m school bag company

4. Skills of an entrepreneur
Skills required to be an entrepreneur include:
Communication
Literacy
Numeracy
Information technology
Organisation
Problem solving
Team working
What skills did Julie Deane demonstrate?
Why are each of these skills important?

5. Reasons why people set up businesses
Motives are reasons for doing something
What were Julie’s motives?
If you were to set up your own business what would your motives be?
Are the motives of entrepreneurs different to what motivates and employee to work hard in the workplace?
How misbehaving at school made one man a multimillionaire
What are the characteristics, skills and motives of Jack Cator?
Print off this article and highlight using 3 different colours.

6. Reasons why people set up businesses
Fulfilling a dream
Making money
In charge of own destiny
Be own boss
Work-life balance
To prove you can
Developing innovation
Providing a service
Supporting a community
Social responsibility
Necessity
To what extent do you think these are all valid motives?
If you were to pick your top 3 what would they be?

7. Reasons why people set up businesses
Financial motives:
Profit maximisation
To make as much profit as possible
Profit = sales revenue – total costs
Profit satisficing
To make enough profit to be satisfied but not be purely motivated by profit
May profit satisfy to maintain a work life balance

8. Reasons why people set up businesses
Non-financial motives
Ethical stance
To behave in a manner deemed to be morally correct
Provide a good or service that meets ethical beliefs e.g. cosmetics not tested on animals or clothes made from fair trade cotton
Social entrepreneurship
Motivated by supporting a cause rather than making a profit
Any surplus revenue earned is used to further support the cause e.g. support the community or fund research
Independence
Be own boss and make own decisions
Homeworking
Match family commitments to work commitments
Work life balance

9. In pairs Identify a successful entrepreneur
Carry out some research into your chosen entrepreneur
Print off a picture of them or their business
Place image on A3 paper
Draw a spider diagram around the image to identify skills, characteristics and motives
Were there any barriers that they have overcome?

10. 1.5.2 Entrepreneurial motives and characteristics
In this topic you have learnt about
Characteristics and skills required
Reasons why people set up businesses:
financial motives: profit maximisation and profit satisficing
non-financial motives: ethical stance, social
entrepreneurship, independence and home working