Present Day Entrepreneurs: A World of Change

Entrepreneurs now come in increasingly diverse forms. For example, lists of modern successful entrepreneurs can include individuals such as Elon Musk, who has created a unique physical product, as well as Mark Zuckerberg, who has created a new form of social media. Both are examples of how entrepreneurs in the present day in particular must harness modern technology to realize their aims. According to Gitman (et al., 2018), entrepreneurs develop new models and ways of doing business. Unlike a small business owner, Jeff Bezos generated a new way to sell goods and services via his creation of Amazon, in a way that previous bookstores and retailers did not, and thus Amazon fits the classical definition of entrepreneurship, using new technology and ideas.
Today’s economy, particularly the fluidity of technology, the relatively low cost of starting an online business, and the ability to crowdfund, all makes it easier than ever to start an entrepreneurial venture. It has also made it easier for socially conscious businesses to advertise their output using the positive impact their green technology will have on the world (Nemeth, 2019). On the other hand, it has also made the marketplace far more competitive, given the ease of Googling lower prices. The dominance of large retailers like Amazon and Walmart online has also forced many businesses to conform to their needs, given the very real necessity of selling on these portals (Berthiaume, 2020).
Present day entrepreneurship is thus in a state of flux. Customers demand hyper-responsiveness to the market environment. Things are in a constant state of change. Even the social media people use to communicate on, and businesses use for the purpose of promotion is ever-shifting, as Snapchat and TikTok have replaced many older forms of social media for a new generation of consumers. Businesses must be hyper-aware of the media use of their core demographic of consumers and ready to exploit every opportunity they see.
References
Berthiaume, D. (2020). Competition breeds familiarity in Amazon, Walmart offerings. Chain Store Age. Retrieved from: https://chainstoreage.com/competition-breeds-familiarity-amazon-walmart-offerings
Gitman, L., McDaniel, C., Shah, A., Reece, M., Koffel, L., Talsma, B. & Hyatt, J. (2018). Chapter 35: Entrepreneurship today. In Introduction to business. Retrieved from: https://opentextbc.ca/businessopenstax/
Nemeth, C. (2019). What’s the difference between entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship? Moving Words Blog. Retrieved from: https://blog.movingworlds.org/whats-the-difference-between-entrepreneurship-and-intrapreneurship/