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"Entrepreneur - a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk" He is the very definit

by loso 15y ago

"Entrepreneur - a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk" He is the very definition of an entrepreneur. Most of the stuff you see selling in the streets of NYC is not "legal" because of not having the proper permits or any number of bureaucratic issues but you damn sure are not going to tell me these people are not entrepreneurs.

gerggerg 15y ago
See my further comment in this discussion made about this topic. TLDR: shouldn't have redefined entrepreneur.
wtvanhest 15y ago
a person who organizes and manages any enterprise (He is not managing or organizing anything.) especially a business (It is a business) usually with considerable initiative and risk" (He went to the store, bought some candy, sold it. No risk, limited initiative, certainly not considerable imitative.) The world would be a better place without a guy selling candy on a subway.
- memset 15y ago
  I disagree with this criticism. The very act of going to the store and buying candy in the hopes that it will bring in more cash is risk. He's risking money that he could otherwise spend on a new television, a 401(k), or M&Ms for the kids. That he planned a route for selling and segmented the population and carries different products to meet demand is the core of what managing an enterprise is. This is to make no comment on whether what he is doing is good or even legal; but clearly there is 55k worth of demand for a service that he is providing so it is difficult for me to accept that the world would be a better place without this particular gentleman selling candy on a subway.
- CPlatypus 15y ago
  The world would also be a better place without a lot of social-media crap startups with "sell more ads" business models using other people's money to bid up the price of talent and office space. Nonetheless, the people starting those companies are entrepreneurs and so is this guy. That's a lean startup, right there. ;)
- loso 15y ago
  Enterprise - 1. "A project or undertaking, typically one that is difficult or requires effort." 2. "Initiative and resourcefulness." He at least fits one of the requirements for the word enterprise. As someone said previously in this thread, most of the people on this site have no idea what it means to actually "sell" something. Anytime you put your own money on the line to gain a profit you are taking a risk. "Limited initiative"? Do you have any idea what it takes to go out in public and get rejected 90% of the time to make that one sale? His initiative is definitely not limited. Do you know why Jason Fried's article http://www.inc.com/magazine/20110301/making-money-small-business-advice-from-jason-fried.html http://www.inc.com/magazine/20110301/making-money-small-busi... in Inc was so on point? It was because selling is a skill and you really do have to practice to be good at it. I would say for most people its harder to learn how to sell than it is to learn how to become a programmer. Humans have more variables. Why would the world be a better place without a guy selling candy on the subway? I can see where it could be a problem if the subway became overwhelmed with these guys but that's not the case. I ride the subway all of the time and you know what, I ignore these guys just like most New Yorkers do. Are the guys selling water bottles on the sidewalk during a hot day a nuisance as well?

by loso 15y ago

gerggerg 15y ago

See my further comment in this discussion made about this topic. TLDR: shouldn't have redefined entrepreneur.

wtvanhest 15y ago

a person who organizes and manages any enterprise (He is not managing or organizing anything.) especially a business (It is a business) usually with considerable initiative and risk" (He went to the store, bought some candy, sold it. No risk, limited initiative, certainly not considerable imitative.) The world would be a better place without a guy selling candy on a subway.

memset 15y ago
I disagree with this criticism. The very act of going to the store and buying candy in the hopes that it will bring in more cash is risk. He's risking money that he could otherwise spend on a new television, a 401(k), or M&Ms for the kids. That he planned a route for selling and segmented the population and carries different products to meet demand is the core of what managing an enterprise is. This is to make no comment on whether what he is doing is good or even legal; but clearly there is 55k worth of demand for a service that he is providing so it is difficult for me to accept that the world would be a better place without this particular gentleman selling candy on a subway.
CPlatypus 15y ago
The world would also be a better place without a lot of social-media crap startups with "sell more ads" business models using other people's money to bid up the price of talent and office space. Nonetheless, the people starting those companies are entrepreneurs and so is this guy. That's a lean startup, right there. ;)
loso 15y ago
Enterprise - 1. "A project or undertaking, typically one that is difficult or requires effort." 2. "Initiative and resourcefulness." He at least fits one of the requirements for the word enterprise. As someone said previously in this thread, most of the people on this site have no idea what it means to actually "sell" something. Anytime you put your own money on the line to gain a profit you are taking a risk. "Limited initiative"? Do you have any idea what it takes to go out in public and get rejected 90% of the time to make that one sale? His initiative is definitely not limited. Do you know why Jason Fried's article http://www.inc.com/magazine/20110301/making-money-small-business-advice-from-jason-fried.html http://www.inc.com/magazine/20110301/making-money-small-busi... in Inc was so on point? It was because selling is a skill and you really do have to practice to be good at it. I would say for most people its harder to learn how to sell than it is to learn how to become a programmer. Humans have more variables. Why would the world be a better place without a guy selling candy on the subway? I can see where it could be a problem if the subway became overwhelmed with these guys but that's not the case. I ride the subway all of the time and you know what, I ignore these guys just like most New Yorkers do. Are the guys selling water bottles on the sidewalk during a hot day a nuisance as well?