Who is an Entrepreneur?

Who is an Entrepreneur?

• An entrepreneur identifies a community need and creates a solution through commerce, industry, or service
• Alaezi (2007) defines an entrepreneur as someone who risks time, energy, and capital to meet a community need for profit
• Morris defines entrepreneurship with three dimensions, innovativeness, risk-taking, and proactiveness determine success levels
• Entrepreneurs are creative and innovative, always seeking new opportunities in existing or new enterprises
• An entrepreneur is a risk-taker, also referred to as a business person, manager, producer, etc
• Entrepreneurs are independent-minded, passionate about their ventures, and continuously seek to improve

Entrepreneur vs Intrapreneur

• An intrapreneur deploys abilities within an existing enterprise rather than starting a new one
• Intrapreneurs favor the stability like salaries and resources of existing enterprises over the uncertainties of new ventures

Successful Entrepreneur Characteristics and Skills

• Successful entrepreneurs need business knowledge and management skills
• A fashion designer must have knowledge of materials, target audience, and be artistic, creative, receptive, and cheerful
• Skills, expertise, and aptitude alone are insufficient for business success
• Skills include manual work like carpentry, electrical work, or computer operation
• Entrepreneurs should have an understanding of their talents and aptitude
• Starting an enterprise in a familiar or trained area is preferable; otherwise, hire or train someone
• Functional management skills involve understanding and performing important tasks
• These skills include general management, production/operations, financial, purchasing, human resources, marketing, administrative, and external relations
• Management skills include planning, possessing general skills, and using technology
• Other skills needed are efficient customer service, market orientation, bookkeeping, quality products/services, and judicious use of income

Benefits of Entrepreneurship

• Potential for huge profits
• Being master of your own destiny
• Reaching your full potential
• Contributing to society and gaining recognition
• Doing what you enjoy and improving quality of life

Demerits of Entrepreneurship

• Risk of investment loss
• Risk of theft, damage, and vandalism
• Uncertainty of income

Types of Entrepreneurs

• Small business entrepreneurship involves less than 500 people, focuses on profit with limited resources
• Large business entrepreneurship employs over 500 people, requires significant investment and experienced professionals
• Focus is on rapid expansion and venture capital is often sought
• Scalable startup entrepreneurship involves rapid growth and market scaling
• Intrapreneurship starts ventures within existing companies, using company resources
• Social entrepreneurship addresses social problems for profit, providing solutions like clean water or education
• Innovative entrepreneurship creates new products or services, often technology-based
• Hustler entrepreneurship focuses on sales and marketing, driven by economic factors like COVID
• Entrepreneurs identify markets and sell products or services for profit
• Buyer entrepreneurship involves buying an existing business to make it profitable
• This option is attractive for those lacking startup skills, allowing them to skip early stages and focus on growth

Theories of Entrepreneurship

• Opportunity Theory focuses on exploiting market gaps
• Resource-Based Theory succeeds using unique skills and knowledge to create competitive advantage
• Psychological Trait Theory links risk-taking, innovation, and persistence to entrepreneurship
• Social Network Theory uses social connections for resources and support
• Innovation Theory drives business through new products, processes, or services
• Cultural and Institutional Theory shapes entrepreneurial activities through societal norms and legal frameworks

Wage Employment vs Self Employment

• Wage employment involves working for a company, receiving a salary with taxes and social security deducted
• Employers provide benefits like health insurance and retirement plans, offering job security
• Self-employment involves working for oneself, responsible for generating income and controlling schedules
• Income is variable, depending on success
• This carries financial risks, and self-employed individuals manage their taxes and benefits

Role of Entrepreneurship in Wealth Creation

• Entrepreneurs address unemployment by creating jobs when their ventures succeed
• Ventures require help, thus employing more people
• Venture capital allows for even larger businesses and more employment

Additional Elements

• Training and human resource development is needed to retrain new employees
• Innovation involves visionary entrepreneurs exploiting market trends
• This brings financial rewards and creates new markets and products
• Population density is maintained when entrepreneurs provide jobs and amenities in rural areas
• Wealth is redistributed when new or improved products move wealth toward entrepreneur, investors, and employees
• Education & Mentorship are crucial, as experience isn't taught in schools
• Experienced entrepreneurs must mentor new entrepreneurs and educate the public

The Entrepreneurial Journey

• Entrepreneurs go through steps to create new ventures
• Long-term success prepared through each step
• Success involves exploring, learning, and applying experiences
• The entrepreneurial journey requires confidence, courage, determination, resilience, and opportunity recognition
• Adaptability, resilience, and commitment contribute to business growth and sustainability

Idea Generation

• This stage starts by identifying a market problem or need
• Creative brainstorming results when entrepreneurs find the best solutions

Market Research

• Validating ideas requires comprehensive and honest research
• Understand the target audience, analyze competitors, and assess the product/service feasibility
• Focus must be fluid to expanding differentiate benefits from competitors

Business Plan

• A business plan is the road map for the intended business
• It involves articulating vision, mission, target market, business model with financial projections, marketing strategies, and operational plans

Legal Structure

• Select the appropriate legal structure like sole proprietorship, LLC, or corporation
• Register the business and ensure compliance with licenses and permits

Funding

• Determine financial needs and explore options such as self-funding (bootstrapping), loans, investors, or crowdfunding

Product/Service Development

• Develop product/service, building a prototype or minimum viable product (MVP) with feedback

Brand Development

• Creating a brand identity and and a comprehensive marketing strategy

Launch

• Launch product/service using the business plan with an exciting event when opening the business.

Customer Acquisition

• Concentrate on acquiring initial customers and understanding their needs

Scaling

• Evaluate the business processes and increasing Production, entering new markets, or diversifying product/service offerings.

Adaptation

• Businesses should be responsive to changes

Risk Management

• Strategies to manage and mitigate risks with contingency plans

Networking

• Establish a strong network to provide assistance throughout the your journey.

Learning and Growth

• Embrace a mindset of continuous learning

Exit Strategy

• Create long terms goals

Challenges and Risks

• Entrepreneurship driven by passion, creativity, and independence can encounter challenges
• Lack of a clear roadmap requires entrepreneurs to create their own path
• This can cause uncertainty overcome by setting specific goals
• Managing risk and financial matters are potential hurdles
• Entrepreneurs must calculate market research, contingency plans, and adapt for changing circumstances

Essential Elements for Survival

• Seek financial advice, solid financial plan, and monitor expenses to handle this problem
• Building a team needs hiring talent, managing dynamics, and developing positive work culture
• invest time and effort in building a team with aligned values

Work-life Balance

• Long hours and stress causes physical and mental burdens
• Prioritize self-care and delegate responsibilities

ABC Analysis

• This analysis groups inventory/customers based on value to a company
• Its goal is to improve optimization of time and resources serving customers -The ABC analysis is similar to the Pareto Principle that separates the top 20% of criteria from the bottom 80%

ABC Analysis Categories

• Category A includes the top 20% of product or customers this provides the most value
• Category B includes 30-50% of inventory and customes that is less important then category A
• Category C items are 5% of the customer or inventory base. This makes up close to half or inventory items

Inventory Analysis Steps

• Define categories to show data that relates to a specific business
• Sort Products depending on its value which gives an understanding of the companies categories for inventores
• Data interpreation tells how much a company spends to have a specific item

Pros of ABC Analysis

• Compatibility helps understand the segments
• Insight is for products, customer can help a company build applicable strategies
• Accessibility is for small business

Cons of ABC Analysis

• Inflexibility is with inventory with little shift in market
• Instability happens when the groups change every 3- 6 months
• Insignificance means data provides a customer segment or a class in data

Practical Approach to Handling Business Constraints

• Constraints are anything that restricts decision-making or operational capabilities
• Internal constraints arise from the organization
• External constraints are outside the companies influence

Internal Constraints

• Limited finance and Skilled labour technology

External Constraints

• the Economy Downturn, Legal Regulations, and Market Competition

Managing Constraints

• The four steps are, Identification, analyze their business operation impact, improve solutions and monitor results

The Mentor & Mentee

• Role of mentorship provides benefits to everyone

Sounding Board & Networking

• Mentor provides onjective advice
• Mentors give connetions

Personal & Resource Growth

• Mentorship causes people to develop skills such as leadership, communications that helps increase motivation
• These avoid mistakes and provides mentorship

Key Competencies Required

• To succeed in small business
• Small and medium enterprises which are companies whose employee # fall below certain limits

Three Categories

• Micro entities ( <10 )
• Small Companies ( <50 )
• Med sized enterprise (< 250)

Skills Needed

• All skills must include accountability, ethics, and competitiveness to be success

What Focus Entails

• Core competency in building an SME is alignment of vision, visualizing goals, and clear communication with the company

Entreprenuerial Empowerment

• Building Entrepreneur Skills to ensure the ability to work independtly

Communication

• Ensure Employees are kept informs with multiple communication methods

Other Must Have Qualities

• Opportunity recognition to make decisions
• Innovation to grow with new ideas
• Stress management to handle a job
• Flexibility with different tasks

Effective Nursing Entrepreneurs

• Integrate communication skill seamlessly in analytical skills

Business Development

• Nurse Entreps must see Healthcare Exp for business success
• Example Seattle Sutton delivers nutrition every week
• Pat Bemis built a car based empire book
• DNP Helps you to achieve skill

Independence

• The ability to work independently
• Having the will to motivate to create plans

Passion

• channel passion into a specific field.

Flexibility

• Embracing and the role which leads to having the way to create time.