Business Related Articles
One of the most striking aspects of entrepreneurial literature is that so much of it is comprised of stories.
One finds only a limited amount of basic research, partly because so much of what we do is a seat-of-your pants,
discover-as-you-go-along venture. There is no right path for any individual in any venture. Instead,
entrepreneurism is more a culture where stories are handed down, passing on wisdom from generation to generation.
And these stories can serve as a guideposts as well as being an inspiration.
Entrepreneurs have been breaking new ground for many centuries. From the earliest inventors and explorers
entrepreneurs have been seeking new paths and new solutions for the world of business. Early entrepreneurism was
espoused as early as by Horace in ancient Rome and was certainly practiced by the Italian traders in late medieval
Italy. The real rise of the commercial entrepreneur began, however, with the industrial revolution.
In America the first entrepreneur to use industrialized manufacturing was Samuel Slater, a British mechanic, who
opened the first cotton-spinning mill in 1790. In a sense, since then, entrepreneurism has been the hallmark of
American business. It is hard to name a business in the United States today that was not founded as an
entrepreneurial venture. Many of these business' histories are an inspiration - and highlight the incredible odds
that individuals have overcome to become the businesses that exist today.
Here are a few stories from our contemporaries about how they have gone about starting and making a success of
their businesses:
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