Entrepreneurship - Economic theory (Vasilieva E.V.). Entrepreneurship - what is it? Small and medium enterprises

Today many people know what entrepreneurship is. Why this knowledge? Yes, because it can open a person’s path to happiness, as well as to financial well-being. Business and entrepreneurship are independent activities that are carried out by subjects at their own risk. It is aimed at making a profit from the provision of services or the sale of goods. What is it that becomes possible only after passing a certain state registration. It is complex and versatile, and not everyone can do it. Certain knowledge is simply necessary.

What is entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurs carry out economic activities and also enter into relationships with other entities. Note that the areas of their activities are different. It all depends on the focus, the expected result, and the objects of capital investment. In some cases, a businessman can carry it out through an individual enterprise.

In general the following:

Insurance;

Commercial and trade;

Production;

Mediation.

An entrepreneur carrying out production activities creates certain goods with the help of objects and tools. This also includes the provision of services. Businessmen can do all this themselves or through the labor of hired workers.

In our country it is considered a risky occupation. The reason for this lies in the instability of the country's economic situation.

Commercial entrepreneurship is a business in the sphere of circulation. The most common commercial and trade entrepreneurship. In this case, businessmen do not produce goods, but only resell them. The opportunity to sell a product at a higher price than it was purchased for has always attracted people. Is the risk high? Yes, but it can be avoided. To do this, you need to spend a lot of time studying the product market, the needs of the population, advanced technologies, and so on. Please note that this type of activity is flexible and mobile.

Based on the repurchase of money and securities. Such activities are complex and require special knowledge in the field of economics. It is carried out through special institutions: currency exchanges, commercial banks, and so on.

In intermediary entrepreneurship, the businessman acts solely as an intermediary. He doesn't produce or sell anything. In other words, he is a link between the parties to transactions and represents the interests of one of the parties.

The main task of the mediator is to bring together two parties who are interested in cooperation with each other. At first glance, it may seem that such activities are unclaimed, but in fact this is not the case. As an example, let’s take mediation in the sale of an apartment. It is difficult to find suitable housing and difficult to sell the existing one. Both will require a lot of effort. You can avoid them by entrusting the matter to an intermediary, who will do all the work for his client.

Entrepreneurs specializing in insurance activities enter into an agreement with clients under which they undertake to pay the other party a sum of money in a certain situation. The risk for a businessman here is always great; you can “burn out” instantly.

Anyone who thinks about what entrepreneurship is should take the time to study various kinds of laws, because they are the basis of everything. They contain all the basic provisions that every businessman simply needs to know.

CHAPTER 1. ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND ITS PLACE IN THE COUNTRY’S ECONOMY

Entrepreneurship as a process of organizing the production of goods and services to meet constantly renewed demand and make a profit, as well as a function of managing this process, has its own history and dynamics of development.

A fairly simple and very comprehensive definition of entrepreneurship is given by V.I. Dahl. In particular, he writes that “undertake” means “to undertake, to decide to carry out some new business, to begin to accomplish something significant”: hence “entrepreneur” means “to undertake” something.

It is generally accepted that one of the first to become seriously interested in entrepreneurship was A. Smith. However, ten years before him, he was very intensively working on these problems. R. Cantillon. It was he who formulated the thesis according to which discrepancies between supply and demand on the market enable individual subjects of market relations to buy goods cheaper and sell them more expensive. It was he who called these market subjects entrepreneurs (“entrepreneur” is translated from French as “intermediary”).

In modern economic literature there is no clear definition of the essence of entrepreneurship. In most cases, the essence of this phenomenon is replaced by the purpose of entrepreneurial activity. So, for example, in the “Big Economic Dictionary” under the general editorship of A.N. Azriliyan gives the following definition: “Entrepreneurship is an initiative independent activity of citizens aimed at generating profit or personal income, carried out on their own behalf, under their own property responsibility or on behalf and under the legal responsibility of a legal entity.” Unfortunately, this approach prevails today in Russia and is enshrined in our legislation, in particular, in the law “On State Support of Small Business in the Russian Federation”, the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, etc., in the works of domestic scientists dealing with the problem of entrepreneurship.

According to modern Russian legislation, entrepreneurial activity (or entrepreneurship) is an independent activity carried out at one’s own risk, aimed at systematically obtaining profit from the use of property - the sale of goods, the performance of work or the provision of services, by persons registered in this capacity in the manner prescribed by law. However, this definition is not complete.

Entrepreneurship can be defined from various perspectives, such as:

· activities aimed at maximizing profits;

· initiative activities of citizens, consisting in the development of goods and services aimed at making a profit;

· direct function of property sale, its main production function;

· the process of organizational innovation in order to make a profit;

· actions aimed at increasing capital, developing production and appropriating profits;

· a specific type of activity aimed at the tireless search for changes in the existing forms of life of enterprises and society, the constant implementation of these changes.

Most practitioners and researchers focus on making a profit, considering it as the ultimate goal of entrepreneurship. However, entrepreneurship has as its ultimate goal not so much profit as the continuity of the reproduction process associated with the reproduction of demand and the satisfaction of the constantly changing, ever-increasing needs of an individual or social group, society as a whole.

In this regard, entrepreneurship is more correctly defined as a process of continuous search for changes in the needs, demand of the end consumer for products and services, satisfying this need by organizing production, sales, marketing, logistics, management, focused on the best innovations that bring maximum productivity in each of them. stages of the reproduction process.

In this definition, the emphasis is not on maximizing profit, but on the consumer, on his needs, the satisfaction of which, thanks to the high level of business organization, can bring maximum profit.

Entrepreneurship is not just any business; it is a style of management that is characterized by the principles of innovation, anti-bureaucracy, constant initiative, and a focus on innovation in the processes of production, marketing, distribution and consumption of goods and services. Whereas business is a reproductive activity in the sphere of organization, production, distribution and sale of goods and services without innovation, without initiative in the development of innovative processes. This is the implementation or organization from year to year of the same production, sales, distribution or other activities within the framework of proven technologies, norms and rules to meet existing needs.

The content of entrepreneurship and the boundaries of its implementation are closely related to the forms and types of entrepreneurial activity (Table 1.1). In accordance with the accepted structure of the reproduction process (production, exchange, distribution, consumption), four main spheres of entrepreneurship are distinguished: production, commercial, financial and consumption. Other types of business activities, for example, innovation, marketing, are included in the four main areas of entrepreneurship.

Table 1.1

Classification of business activities

The evolution of the terminological, substantive essence of an entrepreneur and entrepreneurial activity is connected with the history of the formation of exchange, production and distribution of goods and services, with the level of development of scientific and technological progress (Table 1.2).

Table 1.2

The evolution of the concepts of “entrepreneur” and

"entrepreneurship"

Currently, entrepreneurship is considered from different points of view: as a style of management, as a process of organizing and carrying out activities in market conditions, as interaction of market subjects, etc.

Analyzing different points of view on this issue, we can conclude that entrepreneurial activity is the realization of the special abilities of an individual, expressed in the rational combination of production factors based on an innovative risk approach. The entrepreneur uses the latest equipment and technology in production, organizes labor in a new way, and manages differently, which leads to a reduction in individual production costs, on the basis of which the price is set. The entrepreneur organizes marketing activities as efficiently as possible. He, better than others, determines the market in which it is most profitable to purchase means of production; more precisely, he “guesses” which product, at what time and in which market segment there will be the greatest effective demand. As a result, he makes more profit than ordinary businessmen. In addition, an entrepreneur constantly takes risks. He does not avoid risk, as is usually done, but takes it consciously in order to receive more income than others - a kind of compensation for this risk.

Entrepreneurship acts as a special type of economic activity, because its initial stage is associated, as a rule, only with an idea - the result of mental activity, which subsequently takes on a materialized form.

The entrepreneurial environment (Fig. 1.4) is a social economic situation, including the degree of economic freedom, the presence (or the possibility of emergence) of an entrepreneurial corps, the dominance of the market type of economic relations, the possibility of forming entrepreneurial capital and using the necessary resources. An indicator of the degree of public freedom of entrepreneurship is the number of newly emerging (over a certain period) independent (independent) organizations.

The effectiveness of the functioning and development of entrepreneurship is largely determined by the external environment (Table 1.4.):
· state policy in this area;
· activities of local (regional) legislative and executive authorities;
· external conditions of specific regions. A certain favorable state of the external environment is necessary, which is achieved through appropriate regulatory influences generated by the subjects of management.

For the development of entrepreneurship, a transition to more subtle and effective regulation of this process, adequate to the current conditions, is necessary. In this case, it is necessary to take into account specific features and opportunities, the priority of the goals of socio-economic development of the country, regions and individual socio-demographic groups of the population.

Entrepreneurship as a special form of economic activity, a specific form of ensuring self-employment for a part of the population and creating new jobs, enjoys government support in all industrialized countries (in countries where there is no government support for entrepreneurship, so-called street entrepreneurship is becoming widespread). The essence of state (government) support most often comes down to the development of specific measures in three areas:
· consulting support for the process of creation and functioning of new business organizations at the initial stage (1-3 years from the date of formation of the organization);
· providing certain financial support to a newly created structure or providing such a structure with certain benefits (usually in the field of taxation);
· providing technical, scientific, technical or technological assistance to financially weak business structures.

State support covers usually created business structures until they transition from small to large business organizations.

For the Russian economy, which is going through the difficult path of reform, the task of developing and supporting entrepreneurship by the state, especially its small forms in the production sector, is one of the main ones. There are various forms of support:
a) creation of a system of information support, training and retraining of personnel, regulatory framework, financial infrastructure, etc.;
b) tax benefits and concessions;
c) trust funds, financing from the federal and local budgets, foreign financial assistance to support business structures in Russia.

In modern educational and scientific literature, the problem of entrepreneurship is often considered within a narrow framework. Teaching aids, as a rule, are devoted to the activities of individual entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs operating in the private sector. However, the principles of entrepreneurship can and should be used in the state (public) sector of the economy.

Without going into details, we can talk about two forms of entrepreneurship:
· private;
· state.

Table 1.4

Characteristics of external environmental factors of the marketing system

Public entrepreneurship is a form of carrying out economic activity on behalf of an enterprise established by: a) state authorities that are authorized (in accordance with current legislation) to manage state property (state enterprise) or b) local government bodies (municipal enterprise).

Private enterprise is a form of carrying out economic activity on behalf of an organization (if it is registered as such) or an entrepreneur (if such activity is carried out without hiring labor, in the form of individual labor activity).

Of course, each of these types - public and private entrepreneurship - has its own distinctive features, but the basic principles of their implementation largely coincide. In both cases, engaging in such activities presupposes initiative, responsibility, an innovative approach, and the desire to maximize profits. The typology of both types of entrepreneurship is also similar (see Fig. 2.2).

The main difference between public entrepreneurship and private entrepreneurship is that its activities are not aimed solely at making a profit. The state sets certain socio-economic goals for its organizations, in addition to commercial ones.

State entrepreneurship has its own specific potential sources of excess profits, due to the relatively large size of state-owned enterprises, the authority and economic power of the state. In this regard, what comes to the fore is not so much risky issues (mostly represented in small businesses), but factors such as: 1) significant and stable volumes of purchases of raw materials, materials, components, etc., implying preferential payment parameters and discounts; 2) availability of loans on especially favorable terms; 3) economies of scale; 4) ample opportunities to obtain new equipment, including leasing; 5) a stable network of business connections, access to sources of comprehensive information about potential markets and partners, including foreign ones. These advantages of state-owned commercial enterprises as subjects of market relations can be the basis for reducing their individual costs compared to public ones and thereby for extracting excess profits.

Of course, we can talk about collective, family and other entrepreneurship, but all of these will be derivatives of the two indicated forms.

Let's summarize:

1. Entrepreneurship is a special form of economic activity based on an innovative independent approach to the production and supply to the market of goods that bring the entrepreneur income and awareness of his importance as an individual.

2. The effect of entrepreneurship is based on the innovative, proactive activity of a person who mobilizes all his strength, purposefully uses all opportunities to achieve his goal and bears full responsibility for his actions.

3. The goal of entrepreneurship comes down to generating income through the production and supply of goods, works or services to the market, as well as to public recognition and awareness of one’s importance as an individual.

4. Entrepreneurial activity begins at the level of thinking - from the birth of a business idea to decision-making.

5. The main subject of entrepreneurial activity is the entrepreneur, who interacts with other participants in this process - consumers, the state, partners, employees.

6. The objects of entrepreneurial activity are goods, work or services.

7. There are two main forms of entrepreneurship - private and public, which are based on many general principles.

In Western economic theory, the introduction to entrepreneurship and its development is associated not only with R. Cantillon, but also with A. Turbot, F. Quesnay, A. Smith, J. B. Say, as well as with K. Marx, I. Schumpeter, A. Marshall F. Hayek, L. Mises, I. Kirzner, M. Weber, W. Sombart, P. Drucker and other researchers. These scientists and the schools they led identified the main points and characteristics of entrepreneurship - bearing risk and economic uncertainty (R. Cantillon and F. Knight), removing the system from a state of equilibrium and bringing it to this state (L. Mises and F. Hayek), revolutionary change of factors of production (J.B. Say and I. Schumpeter), organization of the practical implementation of an innovative idea (I. Timmons and P. Drucker, F. Taussig and G. Schmoller), the use of various types of innovations in the production process in order to increase the difference in the value of the individual and market value of goods (K. Marx).

Large economic dictionary. M.: Institute of Economics, 1994. P. 313.

Law of the Russian Federation "On state support of small businesses in the Russian Federation" dated July 14, 1995 No. 88-F3.

Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

“What a company thinks about its products is not the most important thing, especially for the future of the business or for its success. What the consumer thinks about his purchase, what he sees as its value - that is what is decisive, determines the essence of the business, its direction and chances of success" [Drucker P. Market: how to become a leader. M., Progress, 1992].

Current Russian practice has led to the fact that the definition of “entrepreneur” is assigned to every person who has entered or is entering the sphere of business activity. And this is obviously true, because during a period of social transformation, risk, responsibility, etc. are inherent in any individual commodity producer and intermediary who independently organizes a business.

The market is a set of interests and actions of real and potential buyers and sellers, as well as conditions characterizing the state and changes in their interests and actions.

The fears that exist in some part of our society that an entrepreneur in such conditions acts only in his own interests are groundless. An entrepreneur in a market environment cannot help but focus on the consumer, on whom his profit, well-being and prospects depend.

This refers not so much to the fact that the state acts as an entrepreneur, but to the fact that state or public enterprises operate on the principles of entrepreneurship.

According to some estimates, the state owns up to half of all assets in the country, including more or less large stakes in privatized enterprises.

The essence and role of entrepreneurship

Basic conditions for the existence of entrepreneurial activity:

1. availability of market space;
2. developed commodity-money relations;
3. relative isolation and economic freedom of the entrepreneur.

An entrepreneur is not only a profession, but also a certain qualitative characteristic of a person with his inclinations, habits, intelligence, and education. In modern conditions, an entrepreneur must be armed with knowledge of many branches of science and practice, and must be an intellectual. However, knowledge of economic science is completely insufficient to become an entrepreneur. Of course, they become entrepreneurs. At the same time, in a certain sense, entrepreneurs are born. Therefore, only combining certain character traits with acquired knowledge can give the desired effect.

For entrepreneurship, fixed assets are required: land, buildings, premises, machinery, equipment. They are needed not only directly for production, but also for storage, transportation, sale of products, and for business management. Without office premises equipped with communications equipment, office equipment, and computers, it is impossible today to conduct any serious business. To run a business, you also need expendable working capital and material resources: raw materials, materials, energy.

Business also requires cash capital, and not just initial capital. Moreover, money for business purposes is not needed in itself; physical capital is needed: fixed and working capital.

Factors of entrepreneurship include information resources, without which an effective business is unthinkable. The concept of “information resources”, or more precisely, “scientific information” resources, includes knowledge about the subject and methods of doing business, data on analogue products, projects, technologies, i.e. information of a very different nature, without which business is simply impossible .

There are three leading actors involved in running a business: the entrepreneur himself; those who supply him with the resources of entrepreneurial activity in the form of business factors, i.e. the owners of these factors; persons purchasing a business product in the form of goods and services, i.e. buyers.

The result of entrepreneurship is that a businessman running a business manages, with a certain benefit for himself, to satisfy the needs of a specific circle of consumers in goods and services, selling goods to them G and receiving money in return M from buyers of goods. The final product of entrepreneurial activity, sold as a product, is diverse. I. Schumpeter (1883–1950) in his work “The Theory of Economic Development” draws attention to the fact that an entrepreneur is a businessman who does not do what others do, and not in the same way as others do. In accordance with this characteristic, entrepreneurs can be divided into conditional groups.

First, The lowest rung in the hierarchy of entrepreneurs is occupied by those businessmen who basically base their activities on the basis of elementary solutions and trivial ways of implementing them. The motivation for their activities is clearly profit maximization. Making a profit for them acts as a means of improving living conditions, especially material conditions.

On second On the next step there are people who are quite proactive, but within the framework of traditional thinking, unable to fully critically comprehend the real situation. The motivation for the activities of these entrepreneurs is similar to the first group - obtaining maximum profit, but they also have an element of another motivation, albeit small, - ensuring self-expression, internal satisfaction with their activities.

third The step of the hierarchical ladder is occupied by entrepreneurs, for whom the organic need is to develop completely unconventional solutions and implement them in unconventional ways and means. The motivation for their activities is not only to obtain maximum profit, but equally important for them is receiving satisfaction from their activities, the thirst for struggle, victory over competitors, the desire to have power, and often charity.

And finally fourth, the highest group of entrepreneurs, which is the “elite”. Ensuring profit maximization is not at all the main thing for them, since this is already a passed stage. Their entrepreneurial activity is a constant self-expression: it is the satisfaction of the thirst for fighting with competitors for new ideas, for their implementation, for public recognition, the struggle for power, which is the basis for the formation of a small, but their own private empire.

Currently, theoretical research pays attention not only to entrepreneurship as a way of doing business on an independent, independent basis, but also to intrapreneurship, or intrapreneurship. The term “intrapreneur” was coined by the American researcher G. Pinchot. He was also the first to use another term, derived from the first one, “intracapital”.

The emergence of intrapreneurship is associated with the fact that many large production structures are switching to an entrepreneurial form of production organization. Since entrepreneurship presupposes the obligatory presence of freedom of creativity, the divisions of integral production structures receive the right to freedom of action, which also implies the presence of intracapital - the capital necessary for the implementation of the ideas underlying intra-company entrepreneurship.

Thus, entrepreneurship- this is a special type of economic activity (by which we mean expedient activity aimed at making a profit), which is based on independent initiative, responsibility and an innovative entrepreneurial idea.

Entrepreneurship acts as a special type of economic activity, since its initial stage is associated, as a rule, only with an idea - the result of mental activity, which subsequently takes on a materialized form.

Entrepreneurship is characterized by the obligatory presence of an innovative moment - be it the production of a new product, a change in activity profile, or the founding of a new enterprise. A new production and quality management system, the introduction of new methods of organizing production or new technologies are also innovative moments.

Entrepreneurship as one of the specific forms of manifestation of social relations contributes not only to increasing the material and spiritual potential of society, not only creates favorable conditions for the practical implementation of the abilities and talents of each individual, but also leads to the unity of the nation, the preservation of its national spirit and national pride.

Business entities

In the Russian Federation, the structure of economic and legal forms is determined by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, which divides all participants in business activities by legal status into individuals and legal entities, and by purpose of activity into commercial and non-profit organizations. TO individuals citizens carrying out entrepreneurial activities without forming a legal entity are classified under their own property liability. They are represented by individual entrepreneurs and peasant farms.

Legal entities organizations are recognized, including those created by individual citizens, which have separate property, an independent balance sheet, can acquire property and non-property rights and are liable with their property for obligations arising in their regard.

commercial organization- entrepreneurial education, the main goal of which is to make a profit. Commercial organizations include business partnerships and societies, unitary enterprises, and production cooperatives.

Non-profit organization An entity is considered to be one that does not have profit as its main goal and does not distribute the resulting profit among its participants. Non-profit organizations include: consumer cooperative, public and religious organizations, charitable foundations, institutions, unions and associations of legal entities.

The entire diversity of entrepreneurial structures is a manifestation of the specific differences between three organizational forms of entrepreneurship: sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation.

These forms can be divided into two groups: private and public. The first group includes sole proprietorships and partnerships, and the second group includes corporations.

For sole proprietorship and partnerships, firstly, are characterized by a direct unification of the functions of ownership and management, while a corporation is characterized by complete isolation of these functions. Secondly, with regard to private forms, economic responsibility for carrying out business activities, as a rule, extends to the owners themselves. Here, the property of the enterprise is not separated from the property of the owner - unlike a corporation, where such separation is clearly stated and limits the liability of its owners. Thirdly, if corporations are required to operate in an open manner to the public, publishing an annual report on the results of their financial activities, then sole proprietorships and partnerships have the right to maintain confidentiality in this regard, providing such information only to authorized bodies.

A sole proprietorship is the simplest and most common form of business. This type of firm is also called a one-man business, or sole proprietorship. The owner has or acquires the material resources and capital equipment necessary for production activities, and also personally controls the activities of the enterprise. The advantages and disadvantages of this form of entrepreneurship are given in table. 18.1.

Table 18.1.

Partnership is a form of business organization that is a natural development of sole proprietorship.

The Partnership Act 1890 defined a partnership as a voluntary association of 2 to 20 people who come together to do business together for the purpose of making a profit. However, in some areas of activity (lawyers, accountants, brokers), more than 20 participants are now allowed to form partnerships.

Partnerships vary in the degree of participation in the activities of the enterprise. In some cases, all partners play an active role in the functioning of the enterprise, in other cases, one or more participants may play a passive role. This means that they invest their financial resources in the company, but do not actively participate in its management. The advantages and disadvantages of this form of entrepreneurship are given in table. 18.2.

Table 18.2.

Corporation is a legal form of business, an association based on equity participation, the legal rights and obligations of which are separate from the rights and obligations of its participants. The main economic feature of a corporation is that it acts as a complete form of separation of ownership from management and is economically and legally separated from its founders and participants. The advantages and disadvantages of this form of entrepreneurship are given in table. 18.3.

Table 18.3.

The corporate form of organization emerged at the end of the 19th century. It was precisely the form that, on the one hand, expanded the base for attracting financial resources, ensuring the mobilization of capital, and on the other hand, limited the level of personal risk, which had increased enormously in connection with large-scale financial investments. In the modern economy, it is corporations that play a key role: having a share in the structure of organizational forms of no more than 20–25%, corporations provide 80–90% of economic turnover.

The same type of organization of entrepreneurial activity may include relations of property rights that are heterogeneous in nature, principles of organization and management, which requires their appropriate legal registration. Therefore, in practice, entrepreneurial activity is carried out in specific economic and legal forms, reflecting not only the functional characteristics of the organizational forms themselves, but also the national characteristics of the country’s legal regime.

The conditions and procedure for conducting various types of activities are provided for by law, taking into account the nature and characteristics of the types of activities. In addition to the classification of enterprises by organizational and legal forms of ownership and industry affiliation, it also plays an important role classification of enterprises according to the degree of concentration of production. In the conditions of the Russian economy, all cost indicators (the cost of production products and services, the cost of authorized capital) are unreliable, therefore, the indicator that is used to a greater extent is the number of personnel of the organization, which characterizes the size of the company. As a rule, a small company is considered to have fewer than 100 employees, and a large company is considered to have more than 500 employees.

1. Entrepreneurship is a special type of economic activity aimed at making a profit and based on independent initiative, responsibility and an innovative entrepreneurial idea.

2. The main subjects of business: the entrepreneur himself, consumers, the state, employees.

There are three organizational forms of entrepreneurship: sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, which can be divided into two groups - private and public. The first group includes sole proprietorships and partnerships, and the second group includes corporations. A sole proprietorship and partnership are characterized by a direct unification of the functions of ownership and management, while a corporation is characterized by complete isolation of these functions.

3. In relation to private forms, economic responsibility for carrying out business activities, as a rule, extends to the owners themselves. Here, the property of the enterprise is not separated from the property of the owner - unlike a corporation, where such separation is clearly stated and limits the liability of its owners.

Entrepreneurial activity is carried out in specific economic and legal forms, the structure of which is determined by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, which divides all participants in entrepreneurial activity by legal status into individuals and legal entities, and by purpose of activity into commercial and non-profit organizations.

For the majority of the population, the concepts of “business” and “entrepreneurship” are nothing more than synonyms. However, from the point of view of economic sciences, these concepts should still be separated. This article will help you easily understand the differences and similarities between business and entrepreneurship, as well as find practical application of this information.

First of all, if you do not go into deep disputes between various scientists and economists, comprehensive information about the official interpretation of the concept of entrepreneurship can be obtained from the legislation of the Russian Federation.

Thus, laws define entrepreneurship as a permanent activity for the sale of goods or services, carried out by a person independently, at his own peril and risk, with the aim of making a profit in the prescribed manner with appropriate registration with government agencies. Thus, entrepreneurship is an activity that must be:

1. Legal (registered);
2. Commercial (imply making a profit);
3. Independent (the final beneficiary is the entrepreneur himself);
4. Permanent (one-time sale of goods or provision of services is not considered entrepreneurship);
5. Risky (no one guarantees the entrepreneur a profit).

And to understand what business is, you can turn to the English-Russian dictionary, or, if you yourself are familiar with the English language, then you will find the definition of business in the works of representatives of the Western school of economics. In generally accepted terms, according to the most common view, business is any activity aimed at making a profit.

How is business different from entrepreneurship?

Thus, the main differences between business and entrepreneurship are that entrepreneurship a priori cannot be illegal, while business can. And also that the business sphere includes one-time and non-permanent transactions, while entrepreneurship implies constant activity.

But in general, not only representatives of economics are actively involved in business research issues in the Western economic school. Business is viewed from the point of view of political technologies, and as a psychological aspect of human life, and as a social mechanism - therefore, many different definitions and studies on this topic can be found. As an example, we can only say that in sociology, the key aspect of business is that it should ultimately be aimed at bringing benefit to society, and from the point of view of psychology, it should bring satisfaction and comfort to its organizer.

Types of business activities

First of all, according to the type of business activity, it is divided into owners and can be:

• Individual. Subjects of individual entrepreneurship include individual entrepreneurship, as well as (de facto, but not de jure) other organizational forms, such as an LLC with one founder who manages his own business.
• Collective. This type of entrepreneurship includes joint-stock companies, partnerships, cooperatives, LLCs, and partnerships.
• State. Such business activities include state-owned enterprises, wholly or partly managed by appointed specialists.

Also, in the basics, entrepreneurial activity can be divided into the following areas:

• Production;
• Provision of services.

Of course, these areas are not always separate. Moreover, most large enterprises, in one way or another, combine both the presence of production and the provision of a number of services to their clients.

In terms of scale, entrepreneurship is divided into small, medium and large, and these characteristics can be calculated both from the number of workers employed directly at this enterprise and from the turnover of funds passing through it.

In addition, business activities can also be divided by industry, target audience and a number of other indicators.

Features of entrepreneurship

After considering the question of what entrepreneurship is, it becomes clear that the activities carried out by the entrepreneur are identified at the state level with economic activity. This feature has led to the emergence in the budgets of some countries of a special expenditure item aimed at allocating start-up capital to economically active citizens. The status of an entrepreneur can be assigned to almost any person who expresses such a desire. Different states have developed different lists of restrictions in this area. Creative people who are prone to making non-standard decisions and who know how to listen to constructive criticism are able to achieve their goals. The development of weekly, monthly and quarterly plans helps increase the likelihood of bringing your plans into reality.

Carrying out activities in accordance with the requirements set forth by legislative acts is not capable of causing damage to the country’s economy and the citizens living in it. The main function of high-ranking officials working in developed countries is to provide assistance to entrepreneurs who have lost their support. An honestly built business that takes part in the development of the state economy can count on financial and other support. The state is fully aware of the importance of such undertakings, since the burden of filling the budget falls on the shoulders of entrepreneurs.

Running your own business will appeal to purposeful individuals who are inspired by the desire to create and have sufficient strength to implement bold plans. As practice shows, a business chosen to one’s liking can turn out to be so profitable that it will save the owner from routine trips to a job he doesn’t like. It is quite difficult for most citizens to dare to take such a decisive step. The difficulties that lie in wait for an inexperienced entrepreneur stop many people from giving up the prospects that open up to them. At the same time, we should not forget that even the craziest ideas can be transformed into something reasonable and in demand, bringing a stable daily income.

Risk is voluntary. Overcoming your own fears can be marked by the introduction of ideas that are useful for a wide range of people. The number of attempts before achieving the status of a successful businessman is unlimited. The process of achieving what you want can turn out to be much more interesting than the final result. The implementation of global ideas can result in the formation of a group of like-minded people, each of whose participants will contribute to the final result. With this approach, material benefits can fade into the background, giving way to a creative incentive.

To understand what entrepreneurship is, you should know what social and economic conditions are necessary for its development. Thus, the key pillar for its successful existence in the country is the recognition of private property. The state is also obliged to support small and medium-sized businesses so that their economy develops and the funds raised by representatives of these structures regularly flow into the treasury.

Entrepreneurship concept

Entrepreneurship is its own business, a private enterprise that produces certain goods and provides certain services to the population. It is the key to the successful development of a market economy, in particular its small and medium forms.

Entrepreneurship, regardless of its form, represents a certain activity of the subject (entrepreneur) and is in one way or another associated with economic risks for him. The main task of an entrepreneur is not only to be able to produce goods or provide this or that service, but also to understand whether there is a demand for them and to ensure supply. From this point of view, entrepreneurship is always a certain risk.

This type of activity is universal; it can be carried out in different areas that are closer to the owner. Among them:

• industrial sector;
• scientific;
• informational;
• consumer;
• service and others.

What conditions are most comfortable for the development of entrepreneurship?

It is worth understanding that entrepreneurship is a concept entirely dependent on the state system. At the same time, the most successful system for the normal development of entrepreneurial activity on the territory of the state is capitalism, where, first of all, private property dominates and there is no state hegemony, as was the case in the Soviet Union.

As you know, in Soviet times in our country, private property and own business were not only not encouraged, but were also criminally punishable, as a result of which business went into the shadows, and the economy still declined. Successful entrepreneurship is impossible without decent competition, as well as without the recognition of private property as its basis.

Among other conditions that are necessary for the normal development of entrepreneurial activity in the state, the following can be mentioned:

• stability of the economic situation in the country;
• preferential tax treatment;
• developed support for entrepreneurship from the state;
• an effective system to protect intellectual property;
• access to foreign markets for entrepreneurs;
• affordable lending to small and medium-sized businesses.

What is a small business

A small business or small entrepreneurship is an enterprise that does not claim to be a leader in its field and is limited to a small staff and a sole manager. However, in some cases there may be two owners, or the business may be a family business, where the manager is a figurehead.

Small businesses do not require significant financial investments, technical equipment and other needs are kept to a minimum, but the ability to create demand for their products and regularly pay taxes to the state treasury make small businesses key in shaping the state’s economy.

Many small companies have social significance and make it possible to unite socially vulnerable groups of citizens, providing them with jobs, which is very important both for unemployment rates and for the social protection of citizens.

Features of medium-sized businesses and significance for the country’s economy

A medium-sized business differs from a small business, first of all, in that its owner is not also the main investor, but is under the control of the company's investor-shareholders, performing exclusively managerial functions. In addition, the manager can simultaneously be one of the shareholders of the company. Naturally, in a medium-sized business we are talking about larger investments than in a small one, so efforts are combined and a joint-stock company is created.

Enterprises of this type are very important for the successful development of the country, because the economy and entrepreneurship are always interconnected, regardless of what features of its operation exist on the territory of a particular state.

Naturally, the development of small and medium-sized businesses in different countries has its own mental characteristics and forms, and they are also influenced by the industrial level of the state, social conditions and other factors.

The undoubted advantages of working in small companies are:

• flexibility in making business decisions;
• rapid adoption of market innovations and implementation of global trends;
• operational turnover of funds;
• high level of production and labor productivity.

Types of small and medium-sized businesses

The choice of field of activity depends on many factors, in particular on the location, on the social and economic characteristics of the region, standard of living, infrastructure and other factors.

Thus, the most common areas in which small and medium-sized businesses in Russia are represented are the following:

• retail and wholesale trade in food and general non-food products;
• real estate transactions;
• transport services (private and corporate transportation, cargo transportation);
• communication services (for example, Internet);
• utility and personal services (apartment renovation and household repair services);
• construction (private and multi-apartment);
• catering;
• services;
• childcare services (private kindergartens, early development centers, nanny and babysitter exchanges);
• leisure sector (amusement parks);
• health and beauty sector;
• mini-production (clothing, food, consumer goods);
• social business.

Entrepreneurship in Russia

Many people, out of ignorance, believe that entrepreneurship is a relatively new phenomenon for our country, and before the collapse of the USSR, this simply did not exist in our country, but this is not so.

The development of entrepreneurial activity in Russia dates back to the merchant class, when merchants were engaged in the sale of certain overseas goods back in tsarist times. In addition, the beginnings of private property and business in the Soviet Union were noted in the late 1920s during the NEP. However, from the 30s until the 80s, private enterprise was prohibited and punished by law, sometimes even capital punishment was used as a punishment.

And only during “perestroika”, already in 1987, was a law regulating individual labor activity adopted, which marked the beginning of the modern development of entrepreneurship in our country. It was then that the foundations of entrepreneurship were born in the Soviet Union, which later allowed private business to develop in Russia.

State and business

It is quite natural for a market economy when the state is considered a full-fledged subject and owns enterprises that are not profitable for private structures from an economic point of view, but have one or another strategic importance for the country. This type of activity is state entrepreneurship, which involves full financing of certain enterprises.

Among the areas that most often fall into this sphere of influence are the following:

• science and technology;
• energy;
• defense;
• connection;
• roads;
• transport;
• ecology and much more.

It is worth adding that even if a particular enterprise is under the full control of the state, it can still have its own shareholders; the state has a controlling stake in the company. In addition, there are often cases when such enterprises operate on a concession basis and lease out natural and industrial resources owned by the country on a commercial basis.

How the state promotes entrepreneurship development

In Russia, there are a number of laws and programs according to which state support for entrepreneurship is provided. These include subsidies and loans, as well as various regional programs to support young businessmen.

Business support programs include the following:

• subsidies for loan funds that were taken out for the purchase of equipment for a business;
• compensation for the participation of young entrepreneurs in industry exhibitions;
• subsidies for opening innovative business projects;
• social entrepreneurship subsidies;
• subsidizing projects in the field of folk crafts and handicrafts;
• other programs.

Concept for the development of small and medium-sized businesses in Russia

The Industry Ministry has developed a special concept for the development of small and medium-sized businesses in Russia, which will accelerate the development of entrepreneurship in the country and its state of the economy. So, according to this concept, by 2020 the Russian Federation will have the following indicators in this area:

• the total share of small and medium-sized businesses will be about 50% of the country's GDP;
• their share in the number of existing business entities will increase to 90%;
• the share of small enterprises that operate in the trade sector will decrease, and the share in such areas as social entrepreneurship, healthcare, information technology, science, etc. will increase.

State plans for the development of business entities

As mentioned earlier, successful entrepreneurship is a concept that is inextricably linked with the conditions that the state creates for it, and the key to the development of the country’s economy.

The plans of the Russian government on the way to the development of entrepreneurial activity of small and medium-sized businesses include the following measures:

• assistance in the creation of facilities that will provide assistance to entities engaged in such activities;
• special programs to support entrepreneurship focused on the export of goods;
• microfinance;
• development of a lending system for small and medium-sized businesses;
• a more advanced regulatory framework, which provides for a reduction in administrative restrictions when opening a small business;
• creation of a developed network of business incubators and much more.

Features of doing business in the social sphere

Social entrepreneurship in Russia is one of the most developing areas of business. According to representatives of the Social Business Development Fund, such an area appeared in our country less than ten years ago, and now there is already a developed infrastructure of entities and there are many who want to invest in this area of ​​activity, the main task of which is mutual assistance.

However, for most Russians this concept is still unclear. What is this, let's figure it out.

Thus, social business is a business that not only provides profit to its owner, but is also capable of solving certain problems of a social nature. Social work can be carried out by representatives of any form of activity, including small and medium-sized businesses.

The following points can be called signs of this direction of entrepreneurial activity:

• solving certain social problems, for example, employing people with disabilities or providing them with certain services;
• application of unique solutions to solve public problems;
• ability to study the market and ensure the return on investment of the project.

Examples of social business in Russia and in the world are:

• private clinic for the poor;
• enterprise for the collection and processing of hazardous waste;
• travel company for people with disabilities;
• other projects that allow the owner to make a profit and at the same time solve certain social problems, in particular waste disposal and help the poor and people with disabilities.

Prospects for business development in crisis conditions

We learned what entrepreneurship is and how it interacts with the government apparatus, and also found out what small and medium-sized businesses are.

However, it is worth noting that the classical approach to doing business in times of crisis may turn out to be completely ineffective, as well as the selection of the area in which the entrepreneur plans to operate.

That is why in times of crisis you should study the market especially carefully, pay attention to the economic and social situation in the state and calculate in advance the possible risks that starting your own business may entail.

Many people mistakenly assume that opening your own business during a crisis is dangerous, but this is not at all true. As at any other time, there will be a high demand for something, and a lower demand for something, and it is important to be able to create it exactly for what, theoretically, can be in demand even in difficult times.

Thrift stores, budget cafeterias, second-hand stores and other things are all products that appeared against the backdrop of crisis situations. They are in demand both during a crisis and in a completely prosperous one. It is only important to find the right time for your implementation in order to make a profit from it, regardless of the economic situation in the country or in the world.