584 Technology: Engineering Our World Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Entrepreneurship An alternative to working for an established company is to become an entrepreneur. An entrepreneur is a person who owns his or her own business. Becoming an entrepreneur takes a great deal of planning, determination, and skill. To be successful, an entrepreneur must be willing to work long hours. Success also depends on the person’s knowledge of every aspect of the business. For example, suppose you started a business to sell mugs printed with the mascots of a local high school (Figure 20-5). You would have to know where to buy the mugs and how to have the mascots or logos printed on them. You would also have to know how many mugs to purchase, how many to print with each mascot or logo, and how much to charge for them to make a profi t. You would need to know something about marketing and advertising. You would also need to account for the money going out and coming in. Entrepreneurship has many advantages over working for someone else. You can set your own hours. You can choose your own equipment and make your own policies. You do not have to answer to a supervisor. On the other hand, entrepreneurship also has disadvantages. Even though you can set your own hours, you will fi nd that you need to work many hours a week, especially when starting a business. In addition, only a percentage of those hours will be spent actually doing the work. The remaining hours will be spent planning, purchasing, paying bills, and doing other accounting tasks. Also, even though you do not have to answer to a supervisor, you do have to be responsive to your customers. People skills, the ability to work with and talk to people effectively, are very important. You will be responsible for your own customer service. What if someone buys your product but then does not like it? What if the product breaks? You will need to develop customer service policies to cover these problems. Most successful entrepreneurs start out by thinking about what they are good at doing. It could be a service people need, or a product that would make life easier, or something that combines both a product and a service. There are no tests to become an entrepreneur and you may not need a lot of money. But you do need to think of something that no one else is doing and something that can use the skills that you have. Examples include lawn services, party arranging, pet care, tutoring, and computer services. Types of Companies There are four basic types of business ownership: sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, and franchise. Each type has both advantages and disadvantages. Pause for Thought Have you noticed a need for a product or service that is not currently being fulfilled? What could you do to fill this need and possibly start a business? Dragon Images/Shutterstock.com Figure 20-5. What decisions need to be made before the mugs can be printed with a logo?