Jobs .. Economy and Business .. Internet Entrepreneur
Education programmes of job
Business Administration MBA
Business Administration

Nature of work

An Internet entrepreneur is an entrepreneur, an owner or manager of an Internet based business enterprise who makes money through risk and/or initiative. This list includes internet company founders, and people brought on to companies for their entrepreneurship skills, not simply for their general business or accounting acumen, as is the case with some CEO's hired by companies started by entrepreneurs.

Internet entrepreneurs are individuals who are familiar with the culture and technology of the Internet and are able to apply their knowledge to sell products or services via the Internet. In general, these entrepreneurs exploit the World Wide Web (the Web)—the portion of the Internet where users post "pages" of text, images, audio, and video using the HTML programming language. On a basic level the Web provides individual entrepreneurs and business organizations with an inexpensive means to offer documents and software to a worldwide audience.

Commercial Web sites fall into two basic types: pay sites and free sites. Pay sites offer subscribers proprietary information for a fee. The information can range from financial analysis to software applications to sports statistics. Free sites attract users with interesting content, then make money through advertising or sales generated through the site.

Environment of work

Internet entrepreneur works for large companies. He/she  generally works in clean, well-lighted, modern offices. Small-time entrepreneur often works out of their homes. Entrepreneurs of all types are dedicated individuals willing to work extremely long hours to make their dreams a reality. Stress and anxiety are part of the entrepreneur's daily experience.
Some online entrepreneurial ventures succeed, but many fail. However, due to the increase of open source technology and of other tools of digital production, the financial risk once associated with these ventures is significantly lower.

Professional life

The Internet has shown spectacular growth over the past few years and will almost certainly continue to grow. On the other hand, the failure rate of Internet businesses is high, because the medium evolves in ways that are impossible to predict.

Like other new industries, the Internet offers high-risk opportunities. Individuals with the right idea and the skills necessary to capitalize on it can earn a fortune. At the same time, far more Internet-based businesses will fail rather than succeed.
Compensation for Internet entrepreneurs depends on the success, size and industry of the entrepreneurial venture. Often, Internet entrepreneurs are engaged in numerous projects simultaneously, providing multiple streams of income.

The earnings of self-employed entrepreneurs depend upon the relative success of their businesses. Personal earnings, of course, come out of sales after product and marketing costs have been subtracted. Successful online businesses generate much larger sales. Unfortunately, most Internet businesses are not huge successes.

Getting the job

No formal academic training is required of Internet entrepreneurs, though many have education backgrounds in business, marketing and computer science.

On the other hand, individuals interested in starting a business on the Internet need only the training and education necessary to realize their own ambitions. Knowledge of the HTML programming language and an understanding of Web architecture are basic prerequisites. Internet entrepreneurs must also come up with good ideas. Often the best way to do this is to look for valuable services that the Internet could provide but does not. Internet entrepreneurs should strive to understand the core business that they hope to break into, whether it is electronics retailing, floral arrangements, or movie memorabilia. They should conduct market research and put together a solid financial plan before launching their business.

Skills

Generally, successful Internet entrepreneurs must have a keen business sense, an understanding of web technologies, and intimate knowledge of the venture's target clientele or audience.

 

Sources and references

If you need any further information on what is included in this file, you can visit the following websites:

  www.isoc.org, Internet Society

   

Summary

An Internet entrepreneur is a business person who organizes funding and talent to create an online business, with the hope that this investment of labor and capital will eventually return a profit.
Responsibilities of an Internet entrepreneur vary widely based on the nature of the venture and the organizational elements in place. Generally, Internet entrepreneurs conceive or develop the business concept, locate sources of funding, hire employees to build and maintain business operations, and do whatever they can to establish and grow the business.