The definition of an entrepreneur has evolved over time as the world's economic structure has changed and become more complex. In this text, entrepreneurship is defined as the process of creating something new with value by devoting the necessary time and effort; assuming the accompanying financial, psychological, and social risks and uncertainties; and receiving the resultant rewards of monetary and personal satisfaction and independence.

The entrepreneur then goes through the entrepreneurial process, which involves finding, evaluating, and developing opportunities for creating a new venture. Each step is essential to the eventual success of the new venture and is closely related to the other steps. There are both formal and informal mechanisms for identifying business opportunities. Although formal mechanisms are generally found within a more established company, most entrepreneurs use informal sources for their ideas, such as being sensitive to the complaints and chance comments of friends and associates. Once the opportunity is identified, the evaluation process begins. Basic to the screening process is understanding the factors that create the opportunity: technology, market changes, competition, or changes in government regulations. From this base, the market size and time dimension associated with the idea can be estimated. It is important that the idea fit the personal skills and goals of the entrepreneur, and that the entrepreneur have a strong desire to see the opportunity brought to fruition. In the process of evaluating an opportunity, the required resources should be clearly defined and obtained at the lowest possible cost.

This process requires that the individual and the firm have an entrepreneurial mindset. We started our discussion of this mind-set with the concept of effectuation, which challenges traditional notions of the way that entrepreneurs think about their tasks. Although entrepreneurs think about some tasks in a causal way, they also are likely to think about some tasks effectually (and some entrepreneurs more so than other entrepreneurs). Rather than starting with the desired outcome in mind and then focusing on the means to achieving that outcome, entrepreneurs sometimes approach tasks by looking at what they have-their means-and selecting among possible outcomes. Who is to say whether the "causal chef" that starts with a menu or the "effectual chef" that starts with what is in the cupboard produces the best meal? But we can say that some expert entrepreneurs think effectually about opportunities.

Thinking effectually helps entrepreneurs make decisions in uncertain environments. When dealing with uncertainty, entrepreneurs must remain flexible in the way that they think and in their actions. In this chapter we introduced the notion of cognitive flexibility and emphasized that it is something that can be measured and learned. By asking questions related to comprehension, connection, strategy, and reflection, entrepreneurs can maintain an awareness of their thought process and in doing so develop greater cognitive adaptability.

Despite the way that he or she thinks (causally or effectually) and despite being cognitively flexible, an entrepreneur's firm or project may still fail. Failure represents an opportunity to learn, but that learning is typically not automatic or instantaneous. Rather, learning from failure is difficult because failure causes a major loss to the entrepreneur. Most are likely to feel bad, which interferes with the learning process. Entrepreneurs who are able to recover from their negative emotional reaction to the loss more quickly will be in a better position to learn from the experience. The good news is that there is something that entrepreneurs can do to enhance their recovery and learning process. By using a dual process that oscillates between a loss- and a restoration-orientation, entrepreneurs can maximize their processing of information and minimize the emotional interference to that process. Obviously, the feelings associated with failure are more complicated than we have presented here, but there are benefits to be gained in simply knowing that it is natural to feel bad when something important is lost, that most people recover, and that there is a process that can enhance that recovery.

The study of entrepreneurship has relevance today, not only because it helps entrepreneurs better fulfill their personal needs but because of the economic contribution of the new ventures. More than increasing national income by creating new jobs, entrepreneurship acts as a positive force in economic growth by serving as the bridge between innovation and the marketplace. The study of entrepreneurship and the education of potential entrepreneurs are essential parts of any attempt to strengthen this link so essential to a country's economic well-being.