Who is an entrepreneur? As you may have noticed from its odd pronunciation, the word comes from the French–it means someone who takes something on by him or herself. In French, entreprendre means to endeavour. So perhaps its meaning could be clarified if we re-coined the term as an endeavouror.
Sounds more bold and courageous, no? It certainly takes a bit of bravado to be an entrepreneur. But what else does it take? A fantastic idea, a super talent, money, time? All of those things?
If you have business students who are endeavouring (ha) to develop their business vocabulary, this Crash Course on entrepreneurship is a great place to start. The presenter goes through all the basics: what it is, who is likely to identify as such, what are the advantages, what are the disadvantages. All this with a cheeky style that kept me entertained for the full 10 min. The narrator is a fast talker, so I would suggest turning the CC on and slowing the video down. Also, please feel free to use this note-taking handout.
Warm-up
- Do a word association Mind Map with the word ‘entrepreneur’
- Have you ever tried to start a business or a side-gig?
The Video: Who Even In An Entrepreneur by Crash Course
Discussion Questions
- Do another word association Mind Map and compare it with the first.
- What are some examples of entrepreneurship? In other words, what examples of ideas, products and business does the presenter give to help illustrate what an entrepreneur is?
- Who is not an entrepreneur?
- What does the presenter say about failure?
- What is the “gig-economy”?
- Steady employment can be fulfilling because…
- Entrepreneurship can be fulfilling because…
- What are some of your thoughts on entrepreneurship? Do you see yourself in this description? Why or why not?