Attributes, skills and knowledge of fashion entrepreneurs: an integrated perspective

Abstract

Fashion entrepreneurship development is a means to a country's economic development, which implies developing a competent entrepreneurial population. The aim of this study was to acquire a perspective on the personal attributes of fashion entrepreneurs and to assess their levels of expertise in skills and knowledge, as well as to offer recommendations for the training and development of potential and existing entrepreneurs in the fashion world. A self-administered, structured questionnaire was used to gather the information. A range of desirable entrepreneurial attributes were investigated and ranked in the following order: leadership and courage; commitment and determination; motivation to excel; creativity, self-reliance and ability to adapt; opportunity obsession; tolerance of risk, ambiguity and uncertainty. The entrepreneurs possessed most of the required skills and knowledge, but lacked training in specific areas.