Application of the «Lifecycle» concept to the process of becoming an entrepreneur

The article is devoted to the history of the term entrepreneur. It covers the period from the economist Richard Cantillon to scientists of present days. A special place among the scientists is occupied by Joseph Alois Schumpeter, who stated that not only independent actors in the market system, but also all those who combine factors of production should be named entrepreneurs. The key characteristics of an entrepreneur are determined as follows: aiming for profit, innovative approach to searching for opportunities and implementation of ideas, taking risks and responsibility for their activity. The authors present their critical point of view on the formation of entrepreneurship in our country, suggest their own model concerning development of entrepreneurship, and structure the possible ways of this development. Comparison of different approaches to distinguishing the stages of an entrepreneur's development is provided. The a u-thors suggest their own definition of the lifecycle in terms of entrepreneurship. The stages of an enterprise's lifecycle, the stages of an entrepreneur formation and development are given in juxtaposition of the ideas of different scientists. The authors give their own description of an entrepreneur's lifecycle, which adds two new stages to the well-known models. One is the stage of decision-making, which goes prior to the initiation of the entrepreneurial activity. The other is the stage of termination of the activity, when an entrepreneur retires and stops participating in realization of business projects. The proposed description of the lifecycle characterizes the stages of an entrepreneur's formation and develo p-ment in detail, which can be useful while constructing various mechanisms and systems aimed at the development and support of entrepreneurship. Each stage of its development requires specific supportive measures, which should match the content of the business activity and the entrepreneur's competences.