Cambridge O Level Business Studies · Syllabus 7115 · Understanding Business Activity
Entrepreneur
What is Entrepreneur?
A person who organises the factors of production, makes the decisions about how a business is run, and accepts the financial risk of starting or operating it. The entrepreneur supplies the factor of production called enterprise and bears the loss if the venture fails.
This definition is part of the Understanding Business Activity chapter in Cambridge O Level Business Studies.
Entrepreneur in context
Business activity exists because resources are scarce and human wants are not. Every business takes scarce inputs, combines them, and produces goods or services worth more than the bought-in materials it started with — that difference is added value. Somebody must organise those inputs and accept the risk of being wrong: the entrepreneur. The legal form they choose decides who owns the business, who controls it and how much of their own money is exposed if it fails. The objectives they set decide what “success” even means — and different stakeholder groups will judge that success by different, sometimes conflicting, standards.