What is enterprise?
It's a question many people ask. We hope that this section will provide you with some answers to this. There is a wide range of definitions on what enterprise is and what it means to be enterprising. The points below give a snapshot of the ways that enterprise can be defined.
- Having persistence – that means sticking at things and not giving up easily
- Being flexible – willing to do things in a different way and not being set in a routine
- Being creative and innovative - able to come up with new and unusual ideas
- Having drive and determination – knowing what you want and having the will to work hard and go for it
- Awareness of opportunities – being able to spot opportunities and make the most of them
- Enthusiasm
- Competitiveness – wanting to do better than and beat your rivals
- Showing initiative – doing things off your own back without having to be told
- Positive thinking – being able to see the positive side of any situation
- "Can do" attitude – believing in yourself and your ability to achieve
Anyone can develop these enterprising skills. Young people do so by working alongside employers; going on work experience; taking part in enterprise activities at school; working towards the Duke of Edinburgh Award; participating in a school sports team; getting a part time job; organising an event or trip.
Developing entrepreneurial attitudes and skills isn't just useful when starting a new business, but can help when finding a job, gaining promotion or contributing to your organisation.