Memory Verse: “Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before Kings. He will not stand before unknown men”-Proverbs 22:29 (NKJV).

Bible Passage: Acts 16:14-15.

Introduction

Entrepreneurship has been described as the capacity and willingness to develop, organise and manage a business venture along with any of its risks in order to make a profit. Christian entrepreneurs are needed to live out a Christ-like ethic in the business world. The Bible has many examples of entrepreneurs who in their time exhibited Godly characters. It is important to know what should characterise an ideal entrepreneur.

BIBLICAL EXAMPLES OF ENTREPRENEURS

There are many biblical entrepreneurs within scripture. For instance, Abraham was a prosperous businessman trading in livestock, silver and gold (Gen. 13:1-3). Isaac was an outstanding farmer that was mightier than a whole nation (Gen. 26: 12-16). Jacob was a creative livestock manager (Gen. 3o: 31-43).

Elisha was a successful farmer before he was called into full-time ministry( 1 Kings 19:19). The Apostle Peter was a commercial fisherman. He was in partnership with his brother Andrew to build a fishing business (Matt. 4:18).

The Apostle Paul had a tent-making business (Acts 18:3). Lydia, the first convert to Christianity in Europe, was a self-employed merchant, selling purple-expensive clothing material (Acts 16:14-15). Job was a very industrious farmer. The livestock Job had in his enterprise would have allowed him to launch many business ventures (Job 1:2-3).

The epitome of Biblical entrepreneurship is the Saviour of humanity, Jesus Christ. Jesus’s entrepreneurial passion in the social area of life (Acts 10:38). Today, we call this area the “not-for-profit industries”. Jesus employed his purpose to transform humanity. Jesus was a change catalyst in the life-transformation industry.

CHARACTERISTICS OF AN IDEAL ENTREPRENEUR

Ability to recognise opportunity: Entrepreneurs recognise opportunities that are bypassed by others. These opportunities may include meeting the demand that is not currently met, pushing up a product that is much better than what is currently in the market and solving a problem or annoyance that consumers have. Entrepreneurs recognise opportunities where they are and utilise them by producing products or rendering services that will fill the vacuum identified.
The desire for independence: One of the consistent characteristics of an entrepreneur is his desire for independence. What it means is that an entrepreneur would want to work for himself/herself rather than work for others. They want to make decisions on their own (Prov. 18:1).
Self Confidence: There are two characteristics of an entrepreneur that lead him into having self-confidence (1 Samuel 17: 32-37)

a. Self-Motivation: Entrepreneurs set their own goals rather than having them set by their bosses. Since these goals are set by entrepreneurs, it means they will be motivated to achieve those goals.

b. Self-discipline: Every entrepreneur should have self-discipline. if not, the business will fail. These are confident people who believe in what they are doing and believe that the job is worth doing.

4. Willingness to take risks:

Any entrepreneur is a risk-taker; they take calculated risks, whether formally or informally. Mostly, they take risks informally because they make calculations within their brain on what to buy, keep and sell later. They equally try to figure out the probability of success of their business. Once they are convinced that it is high, they will go into such a business. Entrepreneurs are not tired of trying. If they invest in a business and they fail, they can try again or venture into another business so they can succeed (Prov. 24:16; Ecl. 11:1).

5. Constantly learning: There is always something you do not know and something else that has just been discovered. Both are essential for entrepreneurs. You cannot build a business around something you do not know about, and you cannot improve products and services using outdated methods. Entrepreneurs are always on the prowl to learn more about what they do and what their competitors are working on.