Entrepreneurial Mindset

Kuratko and Hodgett (2007) describe the entrepreneurial mindset beyond just the creation of a business. The entrepreneurial mindset entails extraordinary thinking and recognizing opportunities that move beyond or reconsider routine/traditional ways of doing things.

Entrepreneurs seek opportunities and accept risks beyond security. The person with this type of mindset has a knack for putting ideas into action.

The entrepreneurial mindset can be taught, learned and developed in individuals. This mindset can be seen within and outside the profit and non-profit sectors, including private and public health systems. Entrepreneurs have produced innovations that have revolutionized processes and approaches towards providing health care, with rapid and positive change.

Pillars of the Entrepreneurial Mindset

The entrepreneurial mindset is a dominant economic force. Some scholars conceptualize three pillars of the entrepreneurial mindset. A successful entrepreneur has the Means, Ability, and Desire to materialize his or her vision. If any of those three pillars does not exist, and the entrepreneur cannot mobilize resources to create all three, then the entrepreneurial mindset does not exist.

Means

·         Capital/access to resources, which could be external funding, self-funding, or the ability to harness labour.

·         It generally takes something (often money) to make something else.

Ability

·         The physical and mental capacity to understand the vision and organize resources available in novel ways. It does not necessarily dictate a need to have all of the answers from the beginning.

·         Entrepreneurs tend to constantly adjust their course as they proceed, in contrast to large enterprises which must chart their course more slowly.

Desire

·         The aspirations to invest in new ideas to make something of value happen.

Many great ideas in the environment could produce positive change. However, it takes the alignment of ability, means and desire to invest in those ideas to make something of value happen to an individual or a community. Most take a personal investment of the entrepreneur’s time and thus must yield sufficient payoff in exchange for that time investment, even if the work is self rewarding. Profits enable the entrepreneur to continue investing themselves in newer, bigger projects.