Determination of factors affecting risk-taking skills of entrepreneur in burdur

Entrepreneurship has a big contribution to the development of the country's economy and the society's welfare. For that reason, societies need entrepreneurs. A great number of studies on enterprise and entrepreneurship have been done so far. In this study, risk taking skills of entrepreneurs, some demographic characteristics and environmental factors on risk taking skills have been analysed. With this aim, in order to evaluate the entrepreneurs' ideas and thoughts on their risk taking and some administrative features, a questionnaire has been prepared. A face-to-face questionnaire has been carried out with 406 entrepreneurs who are proprietor/shareholder/administrator at the enterprises which operate in the city centre of Burdur and they have been designated coincidentally. The data obtained from the survey has been analysed. According to the results obtained, it has been determined that the entrepreneurs' desire to be successful and to think differently, to dream and characteristics to be courageous affect their risk taking skills in a positive way. Moreover, the entrepreneurs' being sophisticated about exposure management affect their risk taking skills positively. It has been inferred that the education status of the entrepreneurs has also influence in their risk taking skills. It has also been concluded that risk taking skills of the entrepreneurs who graduated from higher education programs is higher than the entrepreneurs who did not graduate from any higher education programs. It has been designated that of the properties, having risk management department at enterprises influences the entrepreneurs' risk taking skills affirmatively. The operating period of enterprises is also one of the determiners of entrepreneurs' risk taking skills. As the operating period has increased, the increase in the risk taking skills of the entrepreneurs has been observed.