Syllabus: Pearson Edexcel AS Business
Module: Entrepreneurs and Leaders
Lesson: 1.5.2 Entrepreneurial Motives and Characteristics

Introduction

This topic forms a critical part of Theme 1: Marketing and People within the Pearson Edexcel AS Business syllabus. Section 1.5.2 focuses on entrepreneurial motives and characteristics, helping students understand the varied drivers behind enterprise creation and what makes some individuals more likely to succeed as entrepreneurs. As part of the broader theme, it underpins knowledge about how businesses start, grow, and are led. For teachers, this is a high-leverage concept—rooted in exam specification but rich in practical application, ideal for driving classroom discussion, case study work, and independent reflection.

Key Concepts

According to the Pearson Edexcel AS Business specification, students must understand:

• Entrepreneurial Characteristics:

  • Risk-taking

  • Creativity and innovation

  • Resilience

  • Determination and initiative

  • Leadership and decision-making skills

• Motives for Becoming an Entrepreneur:

  • Financial motives: Profit maximisation, return on investment, independence

  • Non-financial motives: Personal satisfaction, social entrepreneurship, desire for autonomy, ethical or community objectives

• The difference between profit maximisation and profit satisficing:
  Many entrepreneurs aim for a sustainable income rather than maximum profit – key in understanding long-term business viability and personal trade-offs.

• The role of entrepreneurship in the economy:
  Entrepreneurs drive innovation, job creation, and competition.

This topic connects to behavioural economics concepts such as rational vs emotional decision-making, and the opportunity cost of employment vs self-employment.

Real-World Relevance

Recent entrepreneurial success stories highlight the diversity of motives and traits involved:

• Steven Bartlett (Social Chain) embodies non-financial motives, building his business around personal storytelling and social impact while also achieving financial success.

• Tessa Clarke (OLIO) launched a food-sharing app to tackle environmental waste – her motivation wasn’t profit-first, but purpose-led, aligning with ethical and community objectives.

• Ben Francis (Gymshark) began his business to solve a personal problem – finding the right fitness apparel. His characteristics include persistence, innovation, and adaptability.

By analysing these examples, students can distinguish between financial and non-financial motivations and explore how entrepreneurial characteristics show up in the real world.

How It’s Assessed

Assessment for this topic will appear primarily in:

• Theme 1 exam questions as part of Paper 1 (Marketing and People)

• Section A/B short answers or data response questions, testing AO1 (knowledge), AO2 (application), AO3 (analysis), and AO4 (evaluation)

Common command words include:

• Identify – e.g. a characteristic of an entrepreneur

• Explain – e.g. how a particular motive can influence business behaviour

• Analyse – e.g. the impact of non-financial motives on business growth strategy

• Evaluate – e.g. the relative importance of financial vs non-financial motives for a given entrepreneur

Top tip: Encourage students to use mini case studies in longer responses for AO2 and AO3 marks, and to challenge assumptions for AO4.

Enterprise Skills Integration

This topic lends itself well to active integration of key enterprise skills:

• Problem-solving – exploring why some businesses fail and others thrive based on their founder’s mindset

• Decision-making – weighing up motivations, e.g. taking a job offer vs starting a business

• Resilience and risk tolerance – explored through simulation tasks or roleplay around business start-up decisions

• Leadership and communication – class activities that mirror real-life entrepreneurial pitches or decision scenarios

Enterprise Skills’ internal tool Pitch Deck Analyser is ideal here. Teachers can simulate a business pitch scenario and use the analyser to evaluate how entrepreneurial traits and motives influence decisions and strategy – directly linked to syllabus content.

Careers Links

This section supports Gatsby Benchmarks 2, 4, and 5:

• Gatsby Benchmark 2 (Learning from career and labour market information): Introduce pathways like self-employment, social enterprise, and intrapreneurial roles within firms

• Gatsby Benchmark 4 (Linking curriculum learning to careers): Use real entrepreneur case studies tied to subject content

• Gatsby Benchmark 5 (Encounters with employers and employees): Bring in a local entrepreneur or alumni founder for Q&A – focus on their motives and challenges

Relevant roles include:

• Small business owner

• Social entrepreneur

• Business development officer

• Start-up accelerator or incubator mentor

• Innovation lead in larger organisations

Teaching Notes

Common pitfalls to address:

• Students often assume all entrepreneurs are purely financially motivated – challenge this early with examples.

• Overuse of clichéd characteristics like “hardworking” without specific application – push for contextualised examples.

• Confusing entrepreneurial characteristics (who they are) with skills (what they can do) – build a classroom glossary.

Extension opportunities:

• Mini debates: “Is profit maximisation ever ethical?”

• Research project: Profile a local entrepreneur and assess their motives and traits

• Use MarketScope AI to evaluate how consumer trends (e.g. sustainability) are influencing entrepreneurial motives in different sectors

Time-saving tip: Link this topic to personal development or PSHE by inviting students to reflect on their own motivations and strengths. A short “build your entrepreneur profile” task can create crossover value.