Entrepreneurship – Is It In Your Blood?

A long-standing debate among business owners is whether entrepreneurship is something that is inherited or if it is something that is learned. Each side has strong arguments for their case.

Many business owners have long family histories full of entrepreneurs. In some cases a business may be handed down through generations, while other people may open an entirely different business than their parents or grandparents.

In either case, these business owners may claim to have an “entrepreneurial gene”. They may feel that the drive to own a business and be their own boss is simply in their blood. They may have even played “business” or “office” as children.

Of course, others will say that these business owners were exposed to their family’s business from a young age and learned how to be entrepreneurs by seeing that example. For these business owners, owning a business is natural because that is what they’ve been exposed to and that is the type of work style they know.

Many business owners come from families where the parents were employees for someone else. As children, these people may have watched their parents working long hours for little pay and decided that when they grew up, they would own a business and be “the boss”.

In the above example, each business owner grew up in very different circumstances, but they did share one thing. They each made decisions as children to become business owners when they grew up.

Whether or not there is an “entrepreneurial gene” may be irrelevant. The “missing link” that decides business success or failure may actually be found in the business owners’ childhood dreams and wishes. Some children dream of becoming employees for others. They may want to become a nurse, teacher, or firefighter. Other children dream of becoming their own boss, in whatever business they imagine.

While this is purely speculation and not backed by any scientific data, it could explain why some people are very motivated and successful in their business while others are not.

Those people who find themselves in a situation where they are their own boss but cannot seem to manage their tasks or time may simply be better suited as an employee. When working for someone else who provides clear assignments, instructions and deadlines, these same people may thrive and be very successful. On the other hand, some very successful business owners started their careers as employees and had no desire to own their own business for years and years.

It is hard to say if this debate will ever be settled. Whether or not the desire for entrepreneurship is inherited, learned or springs up out of nowhere is not really important. What is important is that each person finds a career that is well suited for them and makes them happy. Everyone deserves that.

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