As an undergraduate, I studied political science; as a graduate student, I studied history (among other things) - however, few if any of my classes ever dealt with the actual mechanics of business, despite dealing with business in a more general sense (as it would fit in the context of history and politics). I decided that it was important to learn some of the basic concepts of business administration, and the Portable MBA series by John Wiley & Sons publishers fit the bill. This book on entrepreneurship begins very directly - 'This is the entrepreneurial age,' author William Bygrave writes in the first chapter. Entrepreneurship is a revolutionary force driving economies on a global scale, often from very small beginnings. This book has gone through several editions; imagine the change in the world since the first edition in 1993, when the world wide web and this thing called the 'internet' was barely a blip on the business radar screen! This show the power of entrepreneurial spirit and activity.
Schumpeter once described an entrepreneur as 'the person who destroys the existing economic order by introducing new products and services, by creating new forms of organisation, or by exploiting new raw materials.' This can be done within existing businesses or by creating new ones - observe the number of transformations that have taken place with even major corporations revamping their product lines, means of production, or organisational/administrative structures. The factors that go into creating entrepreneurial enterprises are psychological, sociological, personal/creative, environmental, political - it is hard to isolate particular things as indispensable, but relatively easy to see those things which are helpful.
Entrepreneurs are like inventors in many ways - on the one hand, they must create something new, but on the other hand, must find ways to exploit it in a beneficial way. This includes financing, intellectual property / patent rights, business negotiations, possibly franchising and licensing for production and sales. These require an understanding of the business processes including marketing, accounting, finance, management, planning, and more. This book covers all these aspects. There is also a special section devoted to the internet (which is also addressed as appropriate in the other sections, too).
The authors who contributed to this volume have both academic and professional experience, and tend to do a good job at explaining things in terms that the non-professional can understanding. Anyone with a basic undergraduate background should find this volume accessible.
This is not a how-to book, but rather a good survey and reference for those who want to better understand the entrepreneurial phenomenon, which is an important force in the economy today.
