Search for Free 150,000+ Essays

Find more results for this search now!
CLICK the BUTTON to the RIGHT!

Need a Brand New Custom Essay Now?  click here

Origins Of Enterprise: Business Leadership In The Industrial

Origins Of Enterprise: Business Leadership In The Industrial Revolution

Katrina Honeyman’s book is an impressive source of information about the rise of the entrepreneur in England at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Her main objective is to test the commonly-held view that was fueled by Samuel Smiles in his popular book, Self-Help, published in 1859, which held that men of humble means had “unprecedented opportunities. . . to attain the role of entrepreneur” (p. 10). She does not begin by outwardly denying this hypothesis or accepting it, but rather sets up a complex cross-section study of three industries -- lead mining, cotton, and lace – in order to test whether Samuel Smiles’ view holds true or not.

Honeyman finds similar results in the origins of the entrepreneurs of the three industries studied. Although there were many opportunities to invest minimal capital in order to begin a business venture, especially in the lace industry, success was often short-lived if there were any profits made at all. Lead mining appears to have been the most difficult industry to enter as it was unpredictable and risky, thus making it difficult for the small man to gain the credit needed to purchase or even to rent the initial equipment required which was very costly. Also, the risky nature of lead mining caused a lag time between initial investment and eventual profits, therefore making a small investment less likely to sustain itself in the short term. Only the larger investors, Honeyman reports, were likely to achieve success because their large initial capital could sustain them through the lag time and into long-term financial gain. And indeed this is what her research shows. She also found that because the lead mining industry was so uncertain, many men used it as a “potentially lucrative ‘hobby’ rather than a means of subsistence” (p.51).

In contrast with the expensive costs of beginning a lead mining business was the lace industry. Honeyman reports that there was a “fever” of investment in the industry from 1823-1826. However this “fever” eventually collapsed due to overproduction, and in the end the small man could not afford to stay in the business, some even regressing back the their initial position or worse depending on their losses.

Investigation into the cotton industry provided similar results. Honeyman’s investigation in the three industries studied in her book included extensive research on the lives of the entrepreneurs, numbering...

Sign In Now to Read Entire Essay

Not a Member?   Create Your FREE Account »

Comments / Reviews

read full essay >>

Already a Member?   Login Now >

This essay and THOUSANDS of
other essays are FREE at eCheat.

Uploaded by:  

Date:  

Category:   Business

Length:   4 pages (1,000 words)

Views:   3059

Report this Essay Save Essay
Professionally written essays on this topic:

Origins Of Enterprise: Business Leadership In The Industrial

View more professionally written essays on this topic »