Benjamin Webster, age 15, of Miami, Fla., for his question:

EXACTLY WHAT IS AN ENTREPRENEUR?

An entrepreneur is a person who assumes the responsibility and the risk for a business operation with the expectation of making a profit. The entrepreneur generally decides on the product, acquires the facilities and brings together the labor force, capital and production  profits. If it fails, the entrepreneur takes the loss.

An entrepreneur is said to be an innovator, a person who develops a new product, a new market or a new means of production. One important example was Henry Ford, who radically changed the automobile industry with the development of assembly line techniques of mass producing automobiles.

In the industrial economies of the late 20th century, giant corporations and conglomerates have largely replaced the individual owner operator. However, most authorities agree that there is still a place for the entrepreneur in small businesses.