aces where people wanted electric light bulbs, like houses, stores, factories, etc. So Edison developed a system for generating electricity and sending it to other places.
Innovation is the introduction of an invention into a use that has economic value. Although the telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876, Bell's telephone only operated over distances of about 3 miles. Edison took that invention, improved it and discovered a way to transmit speech across great distances. What a great innovation!
Do you think Edison saw that his electric light bulb had economic value? You bet he did! He had been working over a year on this invention. He spent all that time, used up all that energy, and sacrificed all that it cost so that he could finally invent a light bulb that would stay lit for a long period of time. But he didn't stop there. He planned how to sell it to people, to business owners, to whole cities. He was an entrepreneur. He was willing to take the risk to put it on the market.
An entrepreneur is someone who is willing to take risks in order to develop new products and start new businesses. Entrepreneurs recognize opportunities, enjoy being their own boss, and accept challenges. You can only imagine how much time, money, and energy Thomas Edison spent in developing his system for getting the electric light bulb to light whole cities. He had to develop an underground power station that could supply power to 2,000 homes. Why would he spend so much time, money, and energy to do that?
Eventually Edison's Electric Lighting Company led to the development of utility companies we have today. His invention of the phonograph led to the music recording business. Edison's invention of a camera that recorded pictures in motion led to the motion pictures we view today when we go to the movies. Edison made a lot of money from the profits of the industries that his inventions started.
Not all of Edison's inventions made money. Read about some of his failures like a motion picture with sound! Eventually someone took his idea, improved on it, marketed it, and now we go to movies that have sound.
Thomas Edison was a great inventor and a great entrepreneur. You don't have to be an inventor to be an entrepreneur. An entrepreneur takes the risk to bring a product to market with the hope of making a profit. Entrepreneurs have certain characteristics that make them willing to take the risks.
Print off lists of character traits to complete the following activity.
Read the quotes from Thomas Edison, as you read the quotes, check off what character traits you think he has.
Then mark your own character traits; after comparing your traits to Edison's, write a paragraph on whether you think you would make a good entrepreneur or not.
Use the following link to view a Pictorial History of the Edison Lamp .