The Characteristics of an Entrepreneur & The Human Resources Plan

The Characteristics of the Entrepreneur

A. Biographical Characteristics

These circumstances can aid in the entrepreneurial process and are related to experience or training.

  • Specialist experience: Experience in specific areas can be relevant for optimizing a product or process.
  • Previous business experience: Having lived business experience firsthand, or that of friends or relatives, is instructive, especially when it involves failure. We learn more from mistakes than successes.
  • Training: Training activities not only enhance and reinforce skills but also personal skills such as creativity, negotiation, and organizational capacity.

B. Personal Characteristics

Technical skills are worthless without the proper attitude, which is rooted in personality. The most relevant attitudes are:

  • Initiative: The ability to anticipate people or events. An entrepreneur is a person of action.
  • Work capacity: Dedication and perseverance are essential to consolidate a business plan.
  • Creativity: Innovative products and solutions are crucial to penetrate a market or adapt to new circumstances.
  • Willingness to negotiate: Understanding others and being understood is important to make the most of personal relationships.
  • Flexibility: Adapting the business plan to changing realities is essential.
  • Organizational capacity: Organizing tasks, resources, and time effectively is crucial.
  • Positive spirit: The enterprising person is self-confident and optimistic.
  • Leadership: An entrepreneur must guide their team to achieve objectives by motivating, empowering, and delegating when possible.

2.3. Social Skills

Businesses need to interact with others. Dealing with organization members, suppliers, customers, and society requires certain social skills.

A. Teamwork

Teamwork requires trust, communication, coordination, and commitment to the group and objective.

Example

A renowned company director stated that it is better to have a talented team that collaborates than very talented individuals who do not know how to work together.

B. Cooperation

Sharing interests and establishing channels of interaction is the first step in achieving objectives.

Example

Firms in an industry can cooperate to achieve common goals, such as joint advertising campaigns, claims against the public administration, or partnerships to enter new markets.

C. Communication

Effective communication requires interactivity, ensuring that the receiver understands the information. Successful communication is essential for generating value.

Social Networks: Networking

Relationships with others form a network. Traditionally, contact management involved agendas, attending congresses, and informal meetings. Today, “face-to-face” has lost ground to virtual social networks, also called online networking.

Online networking is a business-oriented social network that uses the internet for support.

The Human Resources Plan

Entrepreneurs often start their activities solo or with friends and colleagues. Human resources are the foundation of value creation, especially in a nascent company. The team’s importance can even influence access to finance, as investors often prioritize a qualified team over a great idea.

The human resource plan encompasses everything related to recruitment, training, and management of an organization’s members.

Selecting the right team is crucial. The business function responsible for recruiting, training, and managing employees is called human resources.

The basic points of a human resource plan are:

  1. Determination of the number of people needed: The entrepreneurs may not be sufficient to meet the identified needs.
  2. Setting the organizational chart: This chart represents the levels of responsibility and subordination, including job positions and levels of authority.
  3. Description of functions, tasks, and responsibilities: Each job category needs defined functions, tasks, and responsibilities.
  4. Description of job profiles: Each position should have a job profile outlining the requirements a person must meet to perform the functions successfully.
  5. Recruitment and selection: Determine where to recruit (e.g., employment services, universities) and the selection process.
  6. Calculation of labor costs: Labor costs include gross earnings and the company’s Social Security costs. Collective agreements establish minimum pay by category, and Social Security costs are approximately 35% of annual salary. Understanding the types of contracts allowed by law is also necessary.
  7. Human resources management: Integrating and engaging staff in the business plan is crucial. Remuneration policies, promotions, and incentives play an important role in developing, optimizing, and retaining valued team members.