better Entrepreneurs need the finances to support their new ideas Setting out to create new products or services is not without risk Not all new startups survive In fact many successful successful entrepreneurs have experienced failure This very failure may be what spurs them onward to work harder and succeed at a second or third attempt There are a growing number of people interested in becoming entrepreneurs Statistics show that in the United States a new business is started every minute Some experts predict that more than half of all American workers will be self-employed by 2020 This trend demonstrates that entrepreneurship entrepreneurship and innovation are crucial for the market economy 6 Innovation and Entrepreneurship
CHAPTER ONE INNOVATION OR INVENTION In the United States entrepreneurs inventors and innovators play an important role in the economic system of capitalism or the free market economy People depend on others to produce produce goods and services such as iPhones wireless internet or the morning cups of coffee they enjoy in their lives WORK FOR A BOSS OR BE THE BOSS Every day millions of people report to jobs where they work hard for their bosses and earn a paycheck People at factories factories companies schools hospitals organizations offices and many other types of places make products or provide services that are purchased and used by others At the same time there are individuals who earn money by working for themselves 7
themselves by offering services or making products that others will buy These people entrepreneurs tend to be passionate about their new products or services and their efforts form the backbone of new startup businesses Entrepreneurs may in turn employ staff to help run their businesses Inventors create new methods machines and gadgets to solve old problems Innovators take these new creations and turn them into something that has economic value A single person can be an entrepreneur inventor and innovator innovator but oftentimes different people fill these roles and work together to bring a new product or service to the market Working people are important to the economy whether they work for others or as entrepreneurs entrepreneurs in their own startups Small businesses like this coffee shop depend on workers 88 Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Innovation or Invention PROGRESS THROUGH INVENTION The world’s progress is largely the result of inventions inventions When the Industrial Revolution came along it was a time of great inven tion and innovation Starting Starting in England it gradually spread to other countries in Europe and eventually to the United States The creative creative process flourished as new machines new meth ods and new products blossomed Each new creation creation jump-started several more James Watt devised and developed the rotative steam engine with sun-and-planet sun-and-planet gear It is shown here in an original drawing from 1788 Inventions in the textile industry the development of the steam engine and the construction of railroads and canals for steamboats pushed society ahead to bigger and better creations Electric lights the telephone and cars were invented and they changed the way people lived This significant significant and rapid progress also changed the US economy 9
