By definition, entrepreneurship is the practice of starting a new business/venture or reviving an existing organization. Entrepreneurial actions vary depending on the nature of business. Entrepreneurs seek funding from venture capitalists and NGOs. Usually, such investors expect higher returns on their investments. The very reason they invested in the venture of a greenhorn is because they intend to make as much as possible out of the venture.
It is being increasingly recognized that entrepreneurship is the key to building and sustaining the growth of any economy. The success of Silicon Valley is a case in point. It demonstrates the success of start up ventures. Many entrepreneurs have chased their dreams and with innovative ideas, succeeded in the face of adversities. The local economy and the national economy have benefited from their ventures both in the short term and long term.
In the recent times, we have seen the emergence of entrepreneurs from developing countries such as China, Ireland, Israel and India daring to pursue their innovative ideas and dreams to logical conclusion. In many cases, they succeeded in their ventures. They have created business opportunities for many others such as financiers, accountants, lawyers and restaurateurs, among others.
The success of a few entrepreneurs should not blind us to the fact that for every success there are three failures. Lack of experience and direction has been the major undoing of young entrepreneurs. But, that should not hinder either the entrepreneur or the financier from starting new ventures. If they focus on the core requirements of the business, the chances of failure can be greatly reduced. We must remember that what we see today in the world of technology is the result of such entrepreneurship.
Nurturing Entrepreneurship in India – Entrepreneurship and India
Entrepreneurship is a critical element in the growth of an economy. It is estimated that there are about 20 million entrepreneurs in the US. India ranked second in Total Entrepreneurship Activity (TEA) according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report for the year 2002. Subsequently, India slipped in TEA rankings.
For its size, India has lower number of startup entrepreneurs. In spite of the shortcomings, it ranked ninth in the survey of entrepreneurial countries by Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM). India ranks the highest among a group of countries in necessity-based entrepreneurship, which is associated with developing countries. Conversely, it ranks fifth from the bottom in opportunity-based entrepreneurship.
Liberalization of economy started by the PV Narasimha Rao government in 1991 and the Information Technology boom of the mid and late 90’s have ushered in tremendous changes and set the stage for a wave of entrepreneurship taking India by storm. The capacity of Indians for entrepreneurship is substantial. However, the society and government have not been very encouraging towards entrepreneurship in India.
One of the major hindrances faced by the Indian entrepreneur is that of capital. It is worth noting that there is greater willingness among people to invest capital in enterprises that are already established than in startups. The number of venture capitalists or angel investors in India is very low. Another factor that has been hindering entrepreneurship in India is the lack of mentors – very few success stories which could inspire youngsters to become entrepreneurs.
By and large, the Indian society is averse to risk. People normally look for long-term and stable employment, such as government and public sector jobs. There is an urgent need to overhaul the physical infrastructure. Social Attitudes, lack of capital, inadequate physical infrastructure and lack of government support are major factors hindering entrepreneurship in India.
There are other factors that have been affecting entrepreneurship in India. The majority of young people coming out of college are inclined towards the IT sector, starving other sectors of critical talent. Most of the talent available in the country is considered to be mediocre and technical talent is scarce. Another factor weighing against entrepreneurship in India is that it is not perceived to be socially glamorous, though the concept is getting accepted slowly.
India’s economy has been growing at a scorching pace. Today, its economy ranks above that of France, Italy and the United Kingdom. Its GDP is the third largest in Asia. Among emerging nations, it has the second largest economy. The liberalization of the economy in the 1990s has enabled a huge number of people to become entrepreneurs. It is to India’s credit that its corporate and legal systems have been operating with greater efficiency. Government needs to make efforts and encourage entrepreneurship by providing training and also facilities, especially in the rural areas.
With a burgeoning middle class, India has a huge potential, which, if tapped, can be a vast market for products and services. Entrepreneurs can prosper by catering to the requirements of this segment. India, with its abundant pool of talent in the IT domain, management, manufacturing and pharmaceuticals, has become the choicest destination for outsourcing of services from all over the world. The scene for Indian entrepreneur is ideal. If he can seize the current opportunity, he can succeed not only in India but also globally.
For its size, India has lower number of startup entrepreneurs. In spite of the shortcomings, it ranked ninth in the survey of entrepreneurial countries by Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM). India ranks the highest among a group of countries in necessity-based entrepreneurship, which is associated with developing countries. Conversely, it ranks fifth from the bottom in opportunity-based entrepreneurship.
Liberalization of economy started by the PV Narasimha Rao government in 1991 and the Information Technology boom of the mid and late 90’s have ushered in tremendous changes and set the stage for a wave of entrepreneurship taking India by storm. The capacity of Indians for entrepreneurship is substantial. However, the society and government have not been very encouraging towards entrepreneurship in India.
One of the major hindrances faced by the Indian entrepreneur is that of capital. It is worth noting that there is greater willingness among people to invest capital in enterprises that are already established than in startups. The number of venture capitalists or angel investors in India is very low. Another factor that has been hindering entrepreneurship in India is the lack of mentors – very few success stories which could inspire youngsters to become entrepreneurs.
By and large, the Indian society is averse to risk. People normally look for long-term and stable employment, such as government and public sector jobs. There is an urgent need to overhaul the physical infrastructure. Social Attitudes, lack of capital, inadequate physical infrastructure and lack of government support are major factors hindering entrepreneurship in India.
There are other factors that have been affecting entrepreneurship in India. The majority of young people coming out of college are inclined towards the IT sector, starving other sectors of critical talent. Most of the talent available in the country is considered to be mediocre and technical talent is scarce. Another factor weighing against entrepreneurship in India is that it is not perceived to be socially glamorous, though the concept is getting accepted slowly.
India’s economy has been growing at a scorching pace. Today, its economy ranks above that of France, Italy and the United Kingdom. Its GDP is the third largest in Asia. Among emerging nations, it has the second largest economy. The liberalization of the economy in the 1990s has enabled a huge number of people to become entrepreneurs. It is to India’s credit that its corporate and legal systems have been operating with greater efficiency. Government needs to make efforts and encourage entrepreneurship by providing training and also facilities, especially in the rural areas.
With a burgeoning middle class, India has a huge potential, which, if tapped, can be a vast market for products and services. Entrepreneurs can prosper by catering to the requirements of this segment. India, with its abundant pool of talent in the IT domain, management, manufacturing and pharmaceuticals, has become the choicest destination for outsourcing of services from all over the world. The scene for Indian entrepreneur is ideal. If he can seize the current opportunity, he can succeed not only in India but also globally.
What is Intrapreneurship? – Difference, Features and Examples of Intrapreneurs
Entrepreneurship is the practice of embarking on a new business or reviving an existing business by pooling together a bunch of resources, in order to exploit new found opportunities.
What is Intrapreneurship?: Intrapreneurship is the practice of entrepreneurship by employees within an organization.
Difference between an entrepreneur and an intrapreneur:
An entrepreneur takes substantial risk in being the owner and operator of a business with expectations of financial profit and other rewards that the business may generate. On the contrary, an intrapreneur is an individual employed by an organization for remuneration, which is based on the financial success of the unit he is responsible for. Intrapreneurs share the same traits as entrepreneurs such as conviction, zeal and insight. As the intrapreneur continues to expresses his ideas vigorously, it will reveal the gap between the philosophy of the organization and the employee. If the organization supports him in pursuing his ideas, he succeeds. If not, he is likely to leave the organization and set up his own business.
Example of intrapreneurship: A classic case of intrapreneurs is that of the founders of Adobe, John Warnock and Charles Geschke. They both were employees of Xerox. As employees of Xerox, they were frustrated because their new product ideas were not encouraged. They quit Xerox in the early 1980s to begin their own business. Currently, Adobe has an annual turnover of over $3 billion.
Features of Intrapreneurship: Entrepreneurship involves innovation, the ability to take risk and creativity. An entrepreneur will be able to look at things in novel ways. He will have the capacity to take calculated risk and to accept failure as a learning point. An intrapreneur thinks like an entrepreneur looking out for opportunities, which profit the organization. Intrapreneurship is a novel way of making organizations more profitable where imaginative employees entertain entrepreneurial thoughts. It is in the interest of an organization to encourage intrapreneurs. Intrapreneurship is a significant method for companies to reinvent themselves and improve performance.
In a recent study, researchers compared the elements related to entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial activity. The study found that among the 32,000 subjects who participated in it, five percent were engaged in the initial stages of a business start-up, either on their own or within an organization. The study also found that human capital such as education and experience is connected more with entrepreneurship than with intrapreneurship. Another observation was that intraptreneurial startups were inclined to concentrate more on business-to-business products while entrepreneurial startups were inclined towards consumer sales.
Another important factor that led to the choice between entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship was age. The study found that people who launched their own companies were in their 30s and 40s. People from older and younger age groups were risk averse or felt they have no opportunities, which makes them the ideal candidates if an organization is on the look out for employees with new ideas that can be pursued.
Entrepreneurship appeals to people who possess natural traits that find start ups arousing their interest. Intrapreneurs appear to be those who generally would not like to get entangled in start ups but are tempted to do so for a number of reasons. Managers would do well to take employees who do not appear entrepreneurial but can turn out to be good intrapreneurial choices.
What is Intrapreneurship?: Intrapreneurship is the practice of entrepreneurship by employees within an organization.
Difference between an entrepreneur and an intrapreneur:
An entrepreneur takes substantial risk in being the owner and operator of a business with expectations of financial profit and other rewards that the business may generate. On the contrary, an intrapreneur is an individual employed by an organization for remuneration, which is based on the financial success of the unit he is responsible for. Intrapreneurs share the same traits as entrepreneurs such as conviction, zeal and insight. As the intrapreneur continues to expresses his ideas vigorously, it will reveal the gap between the philosophy of the organization and the employee. If the organization supports him in pursuing his ideas, he succeeds. If not, he is likely to leave the organization and set up his own business.
Example of intrapreneurship: A classic case of intrapreneurs is that of the founders of Adobe, John Warnock and Charles Geschke. They both were employees of Xerox. As employees of Xerox, they were frustrated because their new product ideas were not encouraged. They quit Xerox in the early 1980s to begin their own business. Currently, Adobe has an annual turnover of over $3 billion.
Features of Intrapreneurship: Entrepreneurship involves innovation, the ability to take risk and creativity. An entrepreneur will be able to look at things in novel ways. He will have the capacity to take calculated risk and to accept failure as a learning point. An intrapreneur thinks like an entrepreneur looking out for opportunities, which profit the organization. Intrapreneurship is a novel way of making organizations more profitable where imaginative employees entertain entrepreneurial thoughts. It is in the interest of an organization to encourage intrapreneurs. Intrapreneurship is a significant method for companies to reinvent themselves and improve performance.
In a recent study, researchers compared the elements related to entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial activity. The study found that among the 32,000 subjects who participated in it, five percent were engaged in the initial stages of a business start-up, either on their own or within an organization. The study also found that human capital such as education and experience is connected more with entrepreneurship than with intrapreneurship. Another observation was that intraptreneurial startups were inclined to concentrate more on business-to-business products while entrepreneurial startups were inclined towards consumer sales.
Another important factor that led to the choice between entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship was age. The study found that people who launched their own companies were in their 30s and 40s. People from older and younger age groups were risk averse or felt they have no opportunities, which makes them the ideal candidates if an organization is on the look out for employees with new ideas that can be pursued.
Entrepreneurship appeals to people who possess natural traits that find start ups arousing their interest. Intrapreneurs appear to be those who generally would not like to get entangled in start ups but are tempted to do so for a number of reasons. Managers would do well to take employees who do not appear entrepreneurial but can turn out to be good intrapreneurial choices.
Business Startup – Risk, Opportunities, Business model and Social Significance
Starting a new business is an exciting affair. A business startup needs a lot of planning and thinking. Many important decisions need to be made about its various aspects. The business startup may deal in products or services and its operations, administration and marketing have to be taken care of. It is a challenging task. There is greater difficulty in starting a new business than taking over an existing one. There are no defined yardsticks for startups. New benchmarks need to be established once the operations get streamlined. For that, a business startup requires professional management and funding.
Personal Risk:
To start a new business, one has to take personal risks and lose the security of monthly salary if one has to leave a secure job. Banks and investors are not likely to fund startups as the incidence of risk is high. Though venture capital from an equity fund is a good option, securing it may not be easy.
Problems and Opportunities:
Problems generate new opportunities. Opportunities lie in identifying unmet wants of people and the price the customer is willing to pay for satisfying such wants. Research can help determine the amount of profit that can be generated from such ventures. In this regard, the person who wants to start the new business must be able to identify the market clearly. The new product or service must be able to satisfy the customers’ need and generate sufficient revenue to cover costs and allow for some profit margin. More than the profit, there must be sufficient demand to make the venture financially viable.
Business model:
While investing money and time, one should be very careful. Business models change with time. As new models enter the competition, older models face the heat. Hence, one has to be conscious of market dynamics. When one has to advertise, one should optimize the resources. Some of the business startups are leveraging social networking sites, reaching the targeted customers and expanding their business. Business startups have to be careful with their expenses too. Some expenses such as insurance, license and permit fee are inevitable. Similarly, technological and employee expenses are inevitable. Besides, they need to invest in equipment and supplies and need working capital. One has to keep tabs on all such expenses initially so as not to overspend.
Social Significance:
Business startups have great social significance. They may offer higher pay than established players. Moreover, they create new jobs and generate employment, which the society needs badly. For employees with considerable expertise and experience with few opportunities to progress in their current organization, business startups offer excellent opportunities to shoulder higher responsibilities and put their skills to good use. Whatever the line of business, startups usually have informal work atmosphere, which brings out the best in the employees. Such businesses also provide greater promotion opportunities as people move up the ladder to higher positions.
The reality of the market is that six out of ten business startups end up as failures. But, that does not deter newcomers. Some of the business startups a few years ago gave turned into extremely successful corporations today. Dell, Google, Intel, Apple and Amazon are some such startups that grew phenomenally over time. Notwithstanding failures among them, business startups contribute much to the industry and society.
Personal Risk:
To start a new business, one has to take personal risks and lose the security of monthly salary if one has to leave a secure job. Banks and investors are not likely to fund startups as the incidence of risk is high. Though venture capital from an equity fund is a good option, securing it may not be easy.
Problems and Opportunities:
Problems generate new opportunities. Opportunities lie in identifying unmet wants of people and the price the customer is willing to pay for satisfying such wants. Research can help determine the amount of profit that can be generated from such ventures. In this regard, the person who wants to start the new business must be able to identify the market clearly. The new product or service must be able to satisfy the customers’ need and generate sufficient revenue to cover costs and allow for some profit margin. More than the profit, there must be sufficient demand to make the venture financially viable.
Business model:
While investing money and time, one should be very careful. Business models change with time. As new models enter the competition, older models face the heat. Hence, one has to be conscious of market dynamics. When one has to advertise, one should optimize the resources. Some of the business startups are leveraging social networking sites, reaching the targeted customers and expanding their business. Business startups have to be careful with their expenses too. Some expenses such as insurance, license and permit fee are inevitable. Similarly, technological and employee expenses are inevitable. Besides, they need to invest in equipment and supplies and need working capital. One has to keep tabs on all such expenses initially so as not to overspend.
Social Significance:
Business startups have great social significance. They may offer higher pay than established players. Moreover, they create new jobs and generate employment, which the society needs badly. For employees with considerable expertise and experience with few opportunities to progress in their current organization, business startups offer excellent opportunities to shoulder higher responsibilities and put their skills to good use. Whatever the line of business, startups usually have informal work atmosphere, which brings out the best in the employees. Such businesses also provide greater promotion opportunities as people move up the ladder to higher positions.
The reality of the market is that six out of ten business startups end up as failures. But, that does not deter newcomers. Some of the business startups a few years ago gave turned into extremely successful corporations today. Dell, Google, Intel, Apple and Amazon are some such startups that grew phenomenally over time. Notwithstanding failures among them, business startups contribute much to the industry and society.
Things you must know about Entrepreneurial Thinking
Everything is considered impossible before it works. And, entrepreneurial thinking is all about doing what people say is impossible. It is about discovering new opportunities and knowing how and when to profit from them. Entrepreneurship is not a trait that is inherent in an individual. It has to be cultivated over a period of time. An entrepreneur finds opportunities that others do not find. Entrepreneurial thinking is not just a passing fad and it does not lead to quick success. In order to be effective, the entrepreneurial spirit should be incorporated into goals, strategies and values of the organization.
In recent times, corporate strategies of organizations have been honed to generate competitive advantage that stems from entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurial thinking has become central to entrepreneurial economy. The growth of entrepreneurial economy is based on four major developments. First is the promotion of entrepreneurial startups aided by technological evolution. Second is the emergence of two-salaried families, channels for adult education and ageing population that contributed to the burgeoning of newly started ventures. Third is the emergence of venture capitalists to fund entrepreneurial ventures. The fourth is the development of the industry’s ability to manage entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurs ought to be business minded, spot opportunities and develop the ability to seize such opportunities before they vanish. This scenario presents a paradoxical challenge to entrepreneurial thinking – the need to be fast enough to seize the opportunity while taking enough time to analyze risks involved. Intuition has a definitive role to play here. Entrepreneurs do possess such intuition that at times provides them with the direction to move forward. Fierce competition in the marketplace drives entrepreneurs to develop their own competitive advantage to meet the market demand in a non-conventional manner that would distinguish them from competition. In the current market situation, only customer driven organizations will be able to remain in business.
Learning how to think like an entrepreneur enables a person to stay ahead of others, whether it’s his own business or anything else. Every individual has a varying perspective of what he considers to be useful. Thinking like an entrepreneur involves utilizing that perspective to improve or generate products or services for the benefit of customers. For example, he should remember those times when he wanted such a product or service but learnt that it was not available. In case he comes across a way of doing something differently, he should make a note of it. He should remember that it could be as profitable to improve upon an existing product or service as creating a completely new one.
Flexibility is another critical component of entrepreneurial thinking. It helps them cope with the changing market dynamics, customer demands, competition and partnerships. Entrepreneurs need to build their business plan flexibly and adapt to environmental changes as they occur. This would help them tide over tough times without much impact. Entrepreneurial Thinking represents a beacon guiding the organization, its road map, and is the inspiring force as the organization finds its path forward.
Encouraging entrepreneurial thinking among employees can change their attitude towards the organization and themselves. This can get translated into a positive work atmosphere leading to employee satisfaction and profit for the organization as demonstrated in the case of many companies. Entrepreneurial thinking is important today in order to tackle increased and sophisticated competition, enable change and facilitate an environment that brings out the best in an employee.
In recent times, corporate strategies of organizations have been honed to generate competitive advantage that stems from entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurial thinking has become central to entrepreneurial economy. The growth of entrepreneurial economy is based on four major developments. First is the promotion of entrepreneurial startups aided by technological evolution. Second is the emergence of two-salaried families, channels for adult education and ageing population that contributed to the burgeoning of newly started ventures. Third is the emergence of venture capitalists to fund entrepreneurial ventures. The fourth is the development of the industry’s ability to manage entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurs ought to be business minded, spot opportunities and develop the ability to seize such opportunities before they vanish. This scenario presents a paradoxical challenge to entrepreneurial thinking – the need to be fast enough to seize the opportunity while taking enough time to analyze risks involved. Intuition has a definitive role to play here. Entrepreneurs do possess such intuition that at times provides them with the direction to move forward. Fierce competition in the marketplace drives entrepreneurs to develop their own competitive advantage to meet the market demand in a non-conventional manner that would distinguish them from competition. In the current market situation, only customer driven organizations will be able to remain in business.
Learning how to think like an entrepreneur enables a person to stay ahead of others, whether it’s his own business or anything else. Every individual has a varying perspective of what he considers to be useful. Thinking like an entrepreneur involves utilizing that perspective to improve or generate products or services for the benefit of customers. For example, he should remember those times when he wanted such a product or service but learnt that it was not available. In case he comes across a way of doing something differently, he should make a note of it. He should remember that it could be as profitable to improve upon an existing product or service as creating a completely new one.
Flexibility is another critical component of entrepreneurial thinking. It helps them cope with the changing market dynamics, customer demands, competition and partnerships. Entrepreneurs need to build their business plan flexibly and adapt to environmental changes as they occur. This would help them tide over tough times without much impact. Entrepreneurial Thinking represents a beacon guiding the organization, its road map, and is the inspiring force as the organization finds its path forward.
Encouraging entrepreneurial thinking among employees can change their attitude towards the organization and themselves. This can get translated into a positive work atmosphere leading to employee satisfaction and profit for the organization as demonstrated in the case of many companies. Entrepreneurial thinking is important today in order to tackle increased and sophisticated competition, enable change and facilitate an environment that brings out the best in an employee.
Idea Generation for a new Business
Our brain uses almost 20 percent of our body’s energy. Such energy is generated from highly oxygenated blood supply in the body. Generally, people gather around a table in order to generate ideas. When we are seated, blood settles down in the lower portion of our body, away from the brain. This affects the process of idea generation. Just by standing up, we improve blood circulation to our brain by almost 15%. Improved blood circulation in the brain leads to improved oxygen levels. Improved oxygen levels lead to increased brain power. This helps generate more ideas.
When we think, our brain cells named neurons converse using the process of electrochemistry. The neurons fire through the neural pathways. When we face a tough challenge that is similar to the ones we faced earlier, neurons are fired from the same natural pathway as earlier. Hence, it is essential to break the trap and find an innovative way to arrive at a solution. That’s where idea generation plays a critical role.
As part of our planning strategy, we generate checklists to help us remember what we decided to do during the day. Checklists help us remember in case we forget something. Similarly, a set of pertinent questions can help us generate ideas. There are many ways of generating ideas. In order to generate ideas, one has to exploit all senses. Telling a story of the challenge engages the auditory senses. Creating a collage involves visual senses and generating a 3D model entails better perception.
Our thinking can get ‘accustomed’ to predictable environments, formats and settings. We may go to a particular ‘brainstorming’ session, in the same old room with the same paint, led by the same leader and possibly, nothing new will come up at the end of the session and it will be a waste of time. The anchors in such sessions can generate similar negative reaction from us, which is not desirable. Hence, it is essential to eliminate such situations.
Generating new ideas can be a very burdensome task. Putting them into practice can be much harder. Once an idea strikes you, you have to fill in all the details of what you want to achieve and how you are going to go about it. You need to be careful at this stage. Spending too much time in its analysis will stifle creativity and your initiative will lose steam.
Human brain tends to get lazy and prefers to find patterns in things. Once people find a way of doing something that works, they keep repeating it. Businesses do such things, generating procedures to perform their routine. Attention is turned on the pattern and if there is a change in the environment, it does not get noticed and they miss the problem. For this reason, new companies in the marketplace are more adept at identifying problems and finding solutions than established players.
Coming up with a new idea is usually easy. Getting it accepted and bringing it to usage is much harder. You are clear about what you want. But, you may require some assistance in getting there. If you can get yourself a high level sponsor, your job becomes easy. Otherwise, you need to publicize your idea and get feedback and make necessary adjustments. You need to be cautious about real motives of people when they give their feedback. You need to be patient and persistent in pursuing the idea that you generated.
When we think, our brain cells named neurons converse using the process of electrochemistry. The neurons fire through the neural pathways. When we face a tough challenge that is similar to the ones we faced earlier, neurons are fired from the same natural pathway as earlier. Hence, it is essential to break the trap and find an innovative way to arrive at a solution. That’s where idea generation plays a critical role.
As part of our planning strategy, we generate checklists to help us remember what we decided to do during the day. Checklists help us remember in case we forget something. Similarly, a set of pertinent questions can help us generate ideas. There are many ways of generating ideas. In order to generate ideas, one has to exploit all senses. Telling a story of the challenge engages the auditory senses. Creating a collage involves visual senses and generating a 3D model entails better perception.
Our thinking can get ‘accustomed’ to predictable environments, formats and settings. We may go to a particular ‘brainstorming’ session, in the same old room with the same paint, led by the same leader and possibly, nothing new will come up at the end of the session and it will be a waste of time. The anchors in such sessions can generate similar negative reaction from us, which is not desirable. Hence, it is essential to eliminate such situations.
Generating new ideas can be a very burdensome task. Putting them into practice can be much harder. Once an idea strikes you, you have to fill in all the details of what you want to achieve and how you are going to go about it. You need to be careful at this stage. Spending too much time in its analysis will stifle creativity and your initiative will lose steam.
Human brain tends to get lazy and prefers to find patterns in things. Once people find a way of doing something that works, they keep repeating it. Businesses do such things, generating procedures to perform their routine. Attention is turned on the pattern and if there is a change in the environment, it does not get noticed and they miss the problem. For this reason, new companies in the marketplace are more adept at identifying problems and finding solutions than established players.
Coming up with a new idea is usually easy. Getting it accepted and bringing it to usage is much harder. You are clear about what you want. But, you may require some assistance in getting there. If you can get yourself a high level sponsor, your job becomes easy. Otherwise, you need to publicize your idea and get feedback and make necessary adjustments. You need to be cautious about real motives of people when they give their feedback. You need to be patient and persistent in pursuing the idea that you generated.
Opportunity Evaluation
An entrepreneur would like to evaluate the opportunities for his products, both goods and services, in the market. He needs to take into account various factors based on which he evaluates opportunities and how such factors are likely to influence those evaluations. He should critically asses his business ideas for their effectiveness. According to experts, opportunity evaluation is meant to assess future opportunities and identify wealth creating resources that can be controlled and utilized by the entrepreneur.
The entrepreneur may possess what appears to be an excellent idea, but whether it can be turned into a profitable opportunity has to be explored. The difference between an idea and an opportunity is whether the entrepreneur can turn it into a product/service and take it to market, whether it will attract customers’ attention and bring profits to the entrepreneur. Before pursuing an idea into a commercial opportunity, the entrepreneur must analyze it critically by bringing up all possible questions. He should try to expand his idea, brainstorm and develop it considerably. He should not just follow established rules but question and examine his assumptions and test them. He should innovate and come up with unconventional ideas.
To evaluate opportunities, the entrepreneur has to assess a number of factors. He should ascertain if his product/service is likely to provide a solution to a problem, who the customer is, whether the product/service can bring financial rewards, if there are any barriers to its entry into the market, competition and quality of competition, the cost involved in launching the product/service in the market, marketing strategy, time needed to break even, expected market share and investment opportunities, among other things. The major factors that need to be considered before evaluating an opportunity are the time the entrepreneur is willing to spend on a project, the preliminary investment, the working capital, the daily activities, its cash flow and profitability.
Opportunity evaluation carried out by management experts demonstrated that such activity is future focused, indicating that the entrepreneur evaluates each opportunity as a resource and weighs the wealth that resource can create if it were utilized. Experts reckon that opportunity evaluation reflects assessment on a first-person basis. The entrepreneur’s evaluations of a potential opportunity are not based on the calculation whether the opportunity appears profitable to ’someone’ or ‘anyone’, but whether such an opportunity is profitable to ‘me’.
Entrepreneurs find opportunities more enticing if such opportunities match their existing skills, knowledge and capabilities. However, they may get equally strongly attracted to opportunities even if they are inconsistent with their abilities if they perceive them to be rare and profitable with least competition. When they face such conditions, entrepreneurs develop the willingness to learn something new and move beyond their existing sphere of activity.
In the final analysis, the entrepreneur must evaluate an opportunity based on the risks and rewards involved in it. He should also assess if the market is ready for the product/service. He should also ensure that his team is the right one for the assignment and the members are knowledgeable in matters related to the business. Ultimately, he has to make sure that business concept matches the objectives of the team to ensure the success of the business opportunity.
The entrepreneur may possess what appears to be an excellent idea, but whether it can be turned into a profitable opportunity has to be explored. The difference between an idea and an opportunity is whether the entrepreneur can turn it into a product/service and take it to market, whether it will attract customers’ attention and bring profits to the entrepreneur. Before pursuing an idea into a commercial opportunity, the entrepreneur must analyze it critically by bringing up all possible questions. He should try to expand his idea, brainstorm and develop it considerably. He should not just follow established rules but question and examine his assumptions and test them. He should innovate and come up with unconventional ideas.
To evaluate opportunities, the entrepreneur has to assess a number of factors. He should ascertain if his product/service is likely to provide a solution to a problem, who the customer is, whether the product/service can bring financial rewards, if there are any barriers to its entry into the market, competition and quality of competition, the cost involved in launching the product/service in the market, marketing strategy, time needed to break even, expected market share and investment opportunities, among other things. The major factors that need to be considered before evaluating an opportunity are the time the entrepreneur is willing to spend on a project, the preliminary investment, the working capital, the daily activities, its cash flow and profitability.
Opportunity evaluation carried out by management experts demonstrated that such activity is future focused, indicating that the entrepreneur evaluates each opportunity as a resource and weighs the wealth that resource can create if it were utilized. Experts reckon that opportunity evaluation reflects assessment on a first-person basis. The entrepreneur’s evaluations of a potential opportunity are not based on the calculation whether the opportunity appears profitable to ’someone’ or ‘anyone’, but whether such an opportunity is profitable to ‘me’.
Entrepreneurs find opportunities more enticing if such opportunities match their existing skills, knowledge and capabilities. However, they may get equally strongly attracted to opportunities even if they are inconsistent with their abilities if they perceive them to be rare and profitable with least competition. When they face such conditions, entrepreneurs develop the willingness to learn something new and move beyond their existing sphere of activity.
In the final analysis, the entrepreneur must evaluate an opportunity based on the risks and rewards involved in it. He should also assess if the market is ready for the product/service. He should also ensure that his team is the right one for the assignment and the members are knowledgeable in matters related to the business. Ultimately, he has to make sure that business concept matches the objectives of the team to ensure the success of the business opportunity.
15 Essentials of Business Acumen
Doing business is not an easy proposition. Any Tom, Dick and Harry cannot be a businessman. It requires certain skills, bent of mind and aptitude to make a success of a particular business venture. Business acumen needs to be geared towards shrewdness, adaptability and mental alertness.
Business means taking risks, heavy financial investments, facing stiff competition from others in the business arena and ensuring that one made maximum profit from the minimum resources available. One must be able to comprehend what lies ahead.
Business is always very unpredictable. A person who is familiar with the nuances of business has of course an upper hand as compared to a novice. Sometimes you learn by committing mistakes. A person who does not possess the necessary skills for business cannot make a success of the venture on hand. One must have the requisite business acumen.
Let us try to understand what business acumen is by enumerating the essentials of it.
What is business acumen?
One needs to be focused.
The goal needs to be clear.
Aiming at achieving targets is essential.
Mental sharpness and alertness is essential to study the market and make necessary investments.
To be able to understand the intentions of one’s rival.
One needs to be able to face competition with other competitors in business.
Ability to manage one’s finances well. One needs to maximize one’s profits with the limited resources on hand.
Positive mind is essential as one must hope for the best results.
Ability to take up challenges. The road to success maybe rough but one must be willing to ride on it without backing out.
Confidence level has to be high. One must be sure of oneself.
One must be decisive.
Enthusiasm to make a success of the business must be there.
One must be able to study the market well.
One must develop the ability to identify the skill of a potential employee.
Adaptability is essential. One must not be rigid about issues. A flexible attitude will allow one to be success in business.
A businessman has to be shrewd, very clear in his goals and be able to take decisions with full confidence. He or she must be familiar with the nuances of business. One has to sharpen one’s business acumen. Risks may be there in business, but if one is successful, then one has much to gain.
Business means taking risks, heavy financial investments, facing stiff competition from others in the business arena and ensuring that one made maximum profit from the minimum resources available. One must be able to comprehend what lies ahead.
Business is always very unpredictable. A person who is familiar with the nuances of business has of course an upper hand as compared to a novice. Sometimes you learn by committing mistakes. A person who does not possess the necessary skills for business cannot make a success of the venture on hand. One must have the requisite business acumen.
Let us try to understand what business acumen is by enumerating the essentials of it.
What is business acumen?
One needs to be focused.
The goal needs to be clear.
Aiming at achieving targets is essential.
Mental sharpness and alertness is essential to study the market and make necessary investments.
To be able to understand the intentions of one’s rival.
One needs to be able to face competition with other competitors in business.
Ability to manage one’s finances well. One needs to maximize one’s profits with the limited resources on hand.
Positive mind is essential as one must hope for the best results.
Ability to take up challenges. The road to success maybe rough but one must be willing to ride on it without backing out.
Confidence level has to be high. One must be sure of oneself.
One must be decisive.
Enthusiasm to make a success of the business must be there.
One must be able to study the market well.
One must develop the ability to identify the skill of a potential employee.
Adaptability is essential. One must not be rigid about issues. A flexible attitude will allow one to be success in business.
A businessman has to be shrewd, very clear in his goals and be able to take decisions with full confidence. He or she must be familiar with the nuances of business. One has to sharpen one’s business acumen. Risks may be there in business, but if one is successful, then one has much to gain.
10 Effective Convincing Techniques for Business deals
In today’s fast business world, we need to get our ideas across well and effectively. Making deals, undoing them require very effective communication skills, such as the ability to convince a person to accept a particular deal or concept. Business runs on convincing techniques.
People do not accept your ideas so easily. They doubt them, test them and see if they are of any use to them. The person selling the ideas has to come across as a genuine person who is interested in the progress and benefit of the other party. He or she has to convince the party that he or she has no selfish motive in striking a deal and that the other party’s interests are uppermost in his or mind.
Business deals require convincing skills. The seller has to convince the buyer about the product on hand. Any company promoting its products has to convince the people that its products are of high standard. Unless and until the other person is sure of what he or she is getting into, it is difficult to for him or her to accept anything.
What convincing techniques one needs to adopt for Business deals?
One must be sure of the product or idea one is selling. Any hesitation can deter the person from accepting the idea.
One must be sure of what one is saying. If one vacillates, then one will lose out on the person. He or she will not believe in your word.
One must be truthful. The other person must trust you. Faith in a person is essential.
In case, he has pre- conceived notions about what you have to say, then you have to try to make him disbelief what he or she firmly believes in.
One must be confident and assertive about what one is saying.
One must be persistent. It takes time to convince a person.
You must get your facts correct. In case, what you say has no truthful basis, then the other person may not believe in your word.
One must not underestimate the other person. One must be fully aware that the person one is dealing with is also fairly well versed in the subject on hand. He or she is not a novice.
Do not be condescending. One must not look down upon the person.
Be polite and courteous .It is does not help to lose one’s temper and get agitated about the issue on hand.
Business deals require convincing techniques. A shrewd businessman is one who can convince his or her client and strike a deal. One has to be persuasive, truthful and sincere in getting across a message.
People do not accept your ideas so easily. They doubt them, test them and see if they are of any use to them. The person selling the ideas has to come across as a genuine person who is interested in the progress and benefit of the other party. He or she has to convince the party that he or she has no selfish motive in striking a deal and that the other party’s interests are uppermost in his or mind.
Business deals require convincing skills. The seller has to convince the buyer about the product on hand. Any company promoting its products has to convince the people that its products are of high standard. Unless and until the other person is sure of what he or she is getting into, it is difficult to for him or her to accept anything.
What convincing techniques one needs to adopt for Business deals?
One must be sure of the product or idea one is selling. Any hesitation can deter the person from accepting the idea.
One must be sure of what one is saying. If one vacillates, then one will lose out on the person. He or she will not believe in your word.
One must be truthful. The other person must trust you. Faith in a person is essential.
In case, he has pre- conceived notions about what you have to say, then you have to try to make him disbelief what he or she firmly believes in.
One must be confident and assertive about what one is saying.
One must be persistent. It takes time to convince a person.
You must get your facts correct. In case, what you say has no truthful basis, then the other person may not believe in your word.
One must not underestimate the other person. One must be fully aware that the person one is dealing with is also fairly well versed in the subject on hand. He or she is not a novice.
Do not be condescending. One must not look down upon the person.
Be polite and courteous .It is does not help to lose one’s temper and get agitated about the issue on hand.
Business deals require convincing techniques. A shrewd businessman is one who can convince his or her client and strike a deal. One has to be persuasive, truthful and sincere in getting across a message.
Top 15 Decision Making Techniques
Several decisions have to be taken while doing business; some on the spur of the moment, some perhaps after long deliberations. Nevertheless, decisions cannot be avoided. Entrepreneurs need to have the knack to take the correct decisions. Often one cannot consult or have the time to do so. Independent decision-making is required.
Decisions are important to carry out daily tasks as well as professional tasks. A decisive person is very successful in life. He or she is able to reach set goals. A weak decision can be a disaster. A person who vacillates while taking decisions and is not firm about them cannot be a successful businessman or woman.
Decision Making Techniques:
Workout the basic details before taking a decision.
Get your facts correctly before finalizing a decision.
Try to take your decisions independently if required. At times you may have to consult somebody.
One must weigh the pros and cons of a given situation.
Avoid being rash in your decisions. Sometimes it is better to think it over, or seek somebody else’s opinion.
Be sure and confident about your decision. You must not doubt them.
One must be sure of the course of the action that one is following.
Brainstorming session helps before taking a decision.
One must never regret one’s decision.
Clarity in assessing a situation is essential before taking a decision.
Avoid impaired judgment.
Effective implementation is essential.
One must not hesitate while taking a decision. It indicates one is not sure of things.
Know what you want. There is no point in taking a decision about something you yourself are not very familiar with.
Be cautious while taking major decisions, particularly pertaining to business.
Decision-making comes naturally to some. They are confident in taking them. Others hesitate and vacillate and are unable to take firm decisions.
Decisions are important to carry out daily tasks as well as professional tasks. A decisive person is very successful in life. He or she is able to reach set goals. A weak decision can be a disaster. A person who vacillates while taking decisions and is not firm about them cannot be a successful businessman or woman.
Decision Making Techniques:
Workout the basic details before taking a decision.
Get your facts correctly before finalizing a decision.
Try to take your decisions independently if required. At times you may have to consult somebody.
One must weigh the pros and cons of a given situation.
Avoid being rash in your decisions. Sometimes it is better to think it over, or seek somebody else’s opinion.
Be sure and confident about your decision. You must not doubt them.
One must be sure of the course of the action that one is following.
Brainstorming session helps before taking a decision.
One must never regret one’s decision.
Clarity in assessing a situation is essential before taking a decision.
Avoid impaired judgment.
Effective implementation is essential.
One must not hesitate while taking a decision. It indicates one is not sure of things.
Know what you want. There is no point in taking a decision about something you yourself are not very familiar with.
Be cautious while taking major decisions, particularly pertaining to business.
Decision-making comes naturally to some. They are confident in taking them. Others hesitate and vacillate and are unable to take firm decisions.
What Makes Entrepreneur Successful?
The success of a business depends much upon the entrepreneur. Certain qualities are required for an entrepreneur to make a go of his or her venture. Just the thought of doing business does not help. One must be cut out for it. What makes entrepreneur successful? – What qualities are essential to make a businessman successful?
The inner drive to be a success – The businessman or woman should have the desire to churn out profits and to ensure that his or her business does well. The need to be ambitious and set up goals, which they should strive hard to reach.
Confidence in their abilities – They must believe in themselves and have confidence in their abilities. They must be assertive and be able to achieve their set targets with complete optimism. The air of self-confidence may appear as arrogance at times, but that is the way with businessman.
Open to new ideas and concepts – A successful businessman has to be innovative and open to new avenues of business. He or she has to also be willing to change outmoded ways of doing business and adopt new techniques.
Motivated and very energetic – The zeal to do business must be strong. The businessman should be well motivated to carry out the task on hand. His or her energy levels must be high. The urge to succeed must be strong.
Competitive spirit – Successful businessmen need to be willing to face competition. In fact, they cannot do without competition. Outwitting another businessman is what the game is all about. They are able to deliver better when they are in competition.
Acceptance of healthy and constructive criticism as well as rejection. A businessman should be able to take criticism and change plans accordingly. Constructive criticism helps to build up business. It needs to be taken in the right spirit. Plans may get rejected at times. This may be good sometimes in case the criticism is correct regarding the feasibility of the plan. A new plan may have to be chalked out, which the entrepreneur has to come up with for his or her own good.
Be innovative – A successful entrepreneur has to be innovative. He or she should be able to come up with new plans. He or she must be full of new ideas and concepts.
Willing to take risks – In order to be successful, a businessman or woman has to be willing to take certain risks. His or her investments may be high, but unless and until a person takes some risks, he or she cannot make profits. One might be sure of things at the initial stage, but in due course one will find the results will turn out to be good.
Business acumen – One needs to have the acumen to undertake business. One must be intelligent enough to make the right kind of investments in order to make the maximum profits.
Adept at taking decisions – A successful businessman or woman must be able to take the right decisions, be firm about them and not vacillate. At every stage of the business many decisions have to be taken.
A businessman or woman in order to be successful in their respective venture need to possess certain qualities. Doing business and being successful at it, is not an easy proposition.
The inner drive to be a success – The businessman or woman should have the desire to churn out profits and to ensure that his or her business does well. The need to be ambitious and set up goals, which they should strive hard to reach.
Confidence in their abilities – They must believe in themselves and have confidence in their abilities. They must be assertive and be able to achieve their set targets with complete optimism. The air of self-confidence may appear as arrogance at times, but that is the way with businessman.
Open to new ideas and concepts – A successful businessman has to be innovative and open to new avenues of business. He or she has to also be willing to change outmoded ways of doing business and adopt new techniques.
Motivated and very energetic – The zeal to do business must be strong. The businessman should be well motivated to carry out the task on hand. His or her energy levels must be high. The urge to succeed must be strong.
Competitive spirit – Successful businessmen need to be willing to face competition. In fact, they cannot do without competition. Outwitting another businessman is what the game is all about. They are able to deliver better when they are in competition.
Acceptance of healthy and constructive criticism as well as rejection. A businessman should be able to take criticism and change plans accordingly. Constructive criticism helps to build up business. It needs to be taken in the right spirit. Plans may get rejected at times. This may be good sometimes in case the criticism is correct regarding the feasibility of the plan. A new plan may have to be chalked out, which the entrepreneur has to come up with for his or her own good.
Be innovative – A successful entrepreneur has to be innovative. He or she should be able to come up with new plans. He or she must be full of new ideas and concepts.
Willing to take risks – In order to be successful, a businessman or woman has to be willing to take certain risks. His or her investments may be high, but unless and until a person takes some risks, he or she cannot make profits. One might be sure of things at the initial stage, but in due course one will find the results will turn out to be good.
Business acumen – One needs to have the acumen to undertake business. One must be intelligent enough to make the right kind of investments in order to make the maximum profits.
Adept at taking decisions – A successful businessman or woman must be able to take the right decisions, be firm about them and not vacillate. At every stage of the business many decisions have to be taken.
A businessman or woman in order to be successful in their respective venture need to possess certain qualities. Doing business and being successful at it, is not an easy proposition.
Top 5 Contributions of Entrepreneurship in Society
Entrepreneurs have much to give to society. Their contribution to the welfare of society is of high order. A business person apart from making money for him or herself also helps the society in many ways financially and socially.
Financially, of course the respective country benefits by the business carried out by entrepreneurs. At the same time many of the welfare activities of the businessman improve the living conditions of the people of that particular society.
How does an entrepreneur help the society?
Donations – A business person donates a lot of money for charity purposes. From his or her earnings, he or she would like to help the downtrodden and try to improve their living conditions.
Charitable institutions – A businessman or woman sets up various educational, medical and vocational training institutions to provide the less privileged with benefits which they normally cannot afford. The fees may be less or waived in the case of a meritorious student. Hospitals are also run by these charitable institutions.
Sponsorship – Many business people sponsor a candidate for higher education or fund a child in an orphanage. In fact, many orphanages are backed by these business people. Scholarships are provided to a poor student for him or her to avail of better educational opportunities.
Welfare programs – A businessman or woman financially contributes to various welfare programs, like helping the blind, orphans, widow etc. In times of crisis, they help by donating items such as blankets, clothes, medicines etc.
Advisors to respective government – Many successful business people participate in government activities in order to promote the well-being of the citizens. The government often seeks their advice on certain social and economic activities.
Business is essential for the progress of a nation. A successful businessman or woman is an asset to the society. He or she can contribute to the wellbeing of a society in several ways that improve the living conditions of the people.
Financially, of course the respective country benefits by the business carried out by entrepreneurs. At the same time many of the welfare activities of the businessman improve the living conditions of the people of that particular society.
How does an entrepreneur help the society?
Donations – A business person donates a lot of money for charity purposes. From his or her earnings, he or she would like to help the downtrodden and try to improve their living conditions.
Charitable institutions – A businessman or woman sets up various educational, medical and vocational training institutions to provide the less privileged with benefits which they normally cannot afford. The fees may be less or waived in the case of a meritorious student. Hospitals are also run by these charitable institutions.
Sponsorship – Many business people sponsor a candidate for higher education or fund a child in an orphanage. In fact, many orphanages are backed by these business people. Scholarships are provided to a poor student for him or her to avail of better educational opportunities.
Welfare programs – A businessman or woman financially contributes to various welfare programs, like helping the blind, orphans, widow etc. In times of crisis, they help by donating items such as blankets, clothes, medicines etc.
Advisors to respective government – Many successful business people participate in government activities in order to promote the well-being of the citizens. The government often seeks their advice on certain social and economic activities.
Business is essential for the progress of a nation. A successful businessman or woman is an asset to the society. He or she can contribute to the wellbeing of a society in several ways that improve the living conditions of the people.
Top 7 Personal Competencies of an Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur has to have certain cultivated and inherent qualities in him or her in order to make a success of his or her venture. Not any person can be a successful businessman or woman. Hard work and determination to win have made many successful business people to reach their aspired goals.
Personal competencies of a successful businessman or woman
Leadership qualities – A businessman or woman must be able to lead his or her staff members as well as other associates. He or she must be able to guide others in carrying out business and make a success of it.
Decisive – A successful businessman or woman has to be very decisive. He or she has to take many decisions sometimes on the spur of the moment. Any vacillation in decisions could affect their business. They have to be very firm in their decisions. Also, while taking decisions they must not get influenced by others. They should be able to take decisions independently.
Risk-taking – Business involves many risks, which a business person must not hesitate to take. Lot of financial involvement is there and obviously one has to be careful with investments. Yet risks have to be taken in money matters as well. Sometimes a businessman may lose out on his or her venture, but when he or she make a success of it then he or she has much to gain, both financially and from a personal satisfaction point of view.
Confident – Achieving success in business requires confidence. A businessman or businesswoman has to be sure of him or herself about reaching the set targets of success. Diffidence does not help. Self-image is enhanced, when one is confident.
Willingness – A businessman or woman must be willing to undertake any matters concerning their business venture. He or she must not hesitate for personal or other reasons. Willingness to extend a helping hand is very essential.
Enterprising – One has to be enterprising in order to achieve significant results in business. He or she has to have the zeal to do things. A laid- back approach will not help.
Innovative – New ideas help make a business venture successful. A successful businessman or woman must be innovative and always strive for something better. New concepts must be formulated and new ways of doing business must be thought of.
A businessman or woman has to very competent to achieve scale the ladder of success. Certain attributes are essential for him or her to establish their business on sound footing.
Personal competencies of a successful businessman or woman
Leadership qualities – A businessman or woman must be able to lead his or her staff members as well as other associates. He or she must be able to guide others in carrying out business and make a success of it.
Decisive – A successful businessman or woman has to be very decisive. He or she has to take many decisions sometimes on the spur of the moment. Any vacillation in decisions could affect their business. They have to be very firm in their decisions. Also, while taking decisions they must not get influenced by others. They should be able to take decisions independently.
Risk-taking – Business involves many risks, which a business person must not hesitate to take. Lot of financial involvement is there and obviously one has to be careful with investments. Yet risks have to be taken in money matters as well. Sometimes a businessman may lose out on his or her venture, but when he or she make a success of it then he or she has much to gain, both financially and from a personal satisfaction point of view.
Confident – Achieving success in business requires confidence. A businessman or businesswoman has to be sure of him or herself about reaching the set targets of success. Diffidence does not help. Self-image is enhanced, when one is confident.
Willingness – A businessman or woman must be willing to undertake any matters concerning their business venture. He or she must not hesitate for personal or other reasons. Willingness to extend a helping hand is very essential.
Enterprising – One has to be enterprising in order to achieve significant results in business. He or she has to have the zeal to do things. A laid- back approach will not help.
Innovative – New ideas help make a business venture successful. A successful businessman or woman must be innovative and always strive for something better. New concepts must be formulated and new ways of doing business must be thought of.
A businessman or woman has to very competent to achieve scale the ladder of success. Certain attributes are essential for him or her to establish their business on sound footing.
Top 5 major Risk Factors of an Entrepreneur
Business is a risky venture. Unless and until an entrepreneur takes risk, he or she cannot make profits. Win or lose is the name of the game. A businessman or woman can either make a success of his or her venture or suffer from many losses.
Risks have to be taken by businessman or woman. It is part of the game. If he is able to cross these bridges, then he or she gains monetarily. If not then he or she has to close down the venture and face problems in paying off debts.
Risks of Business in Entrepreneurship
Chances of suffering from heavy losses. A businessman or woman faces setbacks in business in case the market is not favorable or there is general economic decline. Recession, for example, causes much setbacks to business people. Products do not get sold in the market as the purchasing power of the individual comes down. Business people cannot sell their products and as a result are unable to make profits.
Market fluctuations – Market does not always remain stable. It fluctuates. Many variables cause this. Steady profits may not always be there.
Loan payments – A businessman is usually in debt as he or she has to borrow a lot of money to invest. Often he or she suffers losses and is unable to pay up the loans. Debts can cause much worry.
Strikes and Lockouts – Workers go on strike for either increased salaries or for being maltreated by management. Valuable production time is lost. An entrepreneur loses out on money on such occasions. Time is money for them.
Competition – Stiff competition at times can wipe out a business completely. Many times small ventures cannot survive the onslaught of big ventures. The latter have money to advertise and publicize their products.
A business without risks is not business at all. An entrepreneur loves taking risks. He or she gets much thrill in venturing into unknown domains.
Risks have to be taken by businessman or woman. It is part of the game. If he is able to cross these bridges, then he or she gains monetarily. If not then he or she has to close down the venture and face problems in paying off debts.
Risks of Business in Entrepreneurship
Chances of suffering from heavy losses. A businessman or woman faces setbacks in business in case the market is not favorable or there is general economic decline. Recession, for example, causes much setbacks to business people. Products do not get sold in the market as the purchasing power of the individual comes down. Business people cannot sell their products and as a result are unable to make profits.
Market fluctuations – Market does not always remain stable. It fluctuates. Many variables cause this. Steady profits may not always be there.
Loan payments – A businessman is usually in debt as he or she has to borrow a lot of money to invest. Often he or she suffers losses and is unable to pay up the loans. Debts can cause much worry.
Strikes and Lockouts – Workers go on strike for either increased salaries or for being maltreated by management. Valuable production time is lost. An entrepreneur loses out on money on such occasions. Time is money for them.
Competition – Stiff competition at times can wipe out a business completely. Many times small ventures cannot survive the onslaught of big ventures. The latter have money to advertise and publicize their products.
A business without risks is not business at all. An entrepreneur loves taking risks. He or she gets much thrill in venturing into unknown domains.
How Entrepreneurs help Alleviate Poverty?
Businessman or women have also social commitments apart from running their business establishments. They like to share their profits with the less fortunate. It is not being condescending. Some businessmen or women do have concern for the poor. Of course, at times such acts are done as part of their tax relief measures.
In many less developed countries, severe poverty causes much misery to the people living there. Disparities exist between the have and have nots. Nevertheless, the rich do share their wealth through various measures meant to better the society, if not all, some do.
Poverty is a major issue in underdeveloped and developing countries such as India, Bangladesh, the African countries etc. Let us see how business people help improve the conditions of the poor.
How Entrepreneurs help Alleviate Poverty? – Entrepreneurship and Poverty
Charity work – Business people share their prosperity through charity. They run establishments such as orphanages, provide widows with pension, and also provide food and clothes for the poor. Charitable hospitals are run for improving the health of the poor. All expenses are free of cost.
Schools are set up – Many business houses set up school for the children of the poor. Such children are provided with an opportunity to better themselves. Scholarships are given for higher education.
Slum development – Houses are built for the poor and the sanitary conditions of the slums are improved upon. Programs are sponsored whereby health and social workers go to various slums to educate the poor about hygiene. Even the slums are cleaned up.
Employment opportunities – Often employers of a business try to provide an opportunity to one member of the poor family so that he or she is able to support the family.
Setting up of Foundation – Business establishments set up foundations to divert their profits towards community development. It could be perhaps for tax relief, but the money diverted are used to eradicate poverty. These foundations focus on social work.
Entrepreneurs are also concerned about society. Either for personal or religious reasons they like to share their prosperity with the less fortunate. Various measures are adopted by them to reduce poverty levels in their respective countries..
In many less developed countries, severe poverty causes much misery to the people living there. Disparities exist between the have and have nots. Nevertheless, the rich do share their wealth through various measures meant to better the society, if not all, some do.
Poverty is a major issue in underdeveloped and developing countries such as India, Bangladesh, the African countries etc. Let us see how business people help improve the conditions of the poor.
How Entrepreneurs help Alleviate Poverty? – Entrepreneurship and Poverty
Charity work – Business people share their prosperity through charity. They run establishments such as orphanages, provide widows with pension, and also provide food and clothes for the poor. Charitable hospitals are run for improving the health of the poor. All expenses are free of cost.
Schools are set up – Many business houses set up school for the children of the poor. Such children are provided with an opportunity to better themselves. Scholarships are given for higher education.
Slum development – Houses are built for the poor and the sanitary conditions of the slums are improved upon. Programs are sponsored whereby health and social workers go to various slums to educate the poor about hygiene. Even the slums are cleaned up.
Employment opportunities – Often employers of a business try to provide an opportunity to one member of the poor family so that he or she is able to support the family.
Setting up of Foundation – Business establishments set up foundations to divert their profits towards community development. It could be perhaps for tax relief, but the money diverted are used to eradicate poverty. These foundations focus on social work.
Entrepreneurs are also concerned about society. Either for personal or religious reasons they like to share their prosperity with the less fortunate. Various measures are adopted by them to reduce poverty levels in their respective countries..
Top 5 Mistakes An Entrepreneur Makes
An entrepreneur is also prone to make mistakes in running his or her venture. After all, he or she is human. But making mistakes in business can prove to be an expensive affair. Lot of money is involved.
Organizing a business venture requires skills and talent to ensure that profits flow in easily. A businessman or woman requires a sharp mind, willing to take risks and intelligent enough to ensure that his or her product is sale able in the market to fetch high money returns.
Business is not always a smooth affair. Ups and downs are there. An entrepreneur at times makes mistakes, which can cost him or her lot, monetary wise. Let us observe what these mistakes are:
Using business money for personal works. This must be avoided at all costs. Many times, entrepreneurs are in need of money for personal use. And borrow this amount from the amount set aside for business .Such habits can lead to losses. One must be strict in money matters.
Bad staff relations – Often a businessman or woman fails to meet up to the expectations of a staff member. The staff has to be taken care of in terms of good salary and other work-related benefits. An unhappy staff cannot perform well. Many times, an entrepreneur fails to appreciate the sentiments of his or staff and does not share his or her profits with them. In fact, they may be even treated badly.
Wrong investment – Although this is rare, at times an entrepreneur fails to make the right investment. His or products may not be very saleable in the market. The competition may be so stiff that his or product may not be of superior enough to face up to the competition. His or calculation may not be right. Small ventures face this problem often as they are unable to compete with the larger establishments. The latter have more money, technology and manpower to run their business successfully.
Selection of staff member may not be right – A business may fail if their staffs are not productive. Often the employer may not select the right candidates for his or her work. They may be lacking in skills and education. Perhaps the employer wants to pay less and may compromise on quality. Such decisions affect profits.
Not adopting new technology – A businessman or woman may fail to adopt new technology either due to lack of funds or sheer lack of initiative. This would also lower the profit level.
An entrepreneur also tends to make mistakes while running his or her business. The mistakes can prove to be very expensive.
Organizing a business venture requires skills and talent to ensure that profits flow in easily. A businessman or woman requires a sharp mind, willing to take risks and intelligent enough to ensure that his or her product is sale able in the market to fetch high money returns.
Business is not always a smooth affair. Ups and downs are there. An entrepreneur at times makes mistakes, which can cost him or her lot, monetary wise. Let us observe what these mistakes are:
Using business money for personal works. This must be avoided at all costs. Many times, entrepreneurs are in need of money for personal use. And borrow this amount from the amount set aside for business .Such habits can lead to losses. One must be strict in money matters.
Bad staff relations – Often a businessman or woman fails to meet up to the expectations of a staff member. The staff has to be taken care of in terms of good salary and other work-related benefits. An unhappy staff cannot perform well. Many times, an entrepreneur fails to appreciate the sentiments of his or staff and does not share his or her profits with them. In fact, they may be even treated badly.
Wrong investment – Although this is rare, at times an entrepreneur fails to make the right investment. His or products may not be very saleable in the market. The competition may be so stiff that his or product may not be of superior enough to face up to the competition. His or calculation may not be right. Small ventures face this problem often as they are unable to compete with the larger establishments. The latter have more money, technology and manpower to run their business successfully.
Selection of staff member may not be right – A business may fail if their staffs are not productive. Often the employer may not select the right candidates for his or her work. They may be lacking in skills and education. Perhaps the employer wants to pay less and may compromise on quality. Such decisions affect profits.
Not adopting new technology – A businessman or woman may fail to adopt new technology either due to lack of funds or sheer lack of initiative. This would also lower the profit level.
An entrepreneur also tends to make mistakes while running his or her business. The mistakes can prove to be very expensive.
What is Entrepreneurship? (part 2)
What is Entrepreneurship?: An entrepreneur is an individual who owns a firm, business, or venture, and is responsible for its development. Entrepreneurship is the practice of starting a new business or reviving an existing business, in order to capitalize on new found opportunities.
Generally, entrepreneurship is a tough proposition as a good number of the new businesses fail to take off. Entrepreneurial activities differ based on the type of business they are involved in. It is also true that entrepreneurial ventures create a number of new job opportunities. A large number of entrepreneurial projects look for venture capital or angel funding for their startup firms in order to finance their capital requirements. Besides, government agencies and some NGOs also finance entrepreneurial ventures.
Entrepreneurship is often associated with uncertainty, particularly when it involves creating something new for which there is no existing market. Even if there is a market, it may not translate into a huge business opportunity for the entrepreneur. A major aspect in entrepreneurship is that entrepreneurs embrace opportunities irrespective of the resources they have access to.
Entrepreneurship involves being resourceful and finding ways to obtain the resources required to achieve the set objectives. Capital is one such resource. Entrepreneurs need to think out-of-the-box to improve their chances of obtaining what they need to succeed. According to management experts, vast majority of entrepreneurs desire to be in control of their own life and they can’t find this beyond entrepreneurship. Studies have demonstrated that people derive great satisfaction from their entrepreneurial work.
A number of entrepreneurs are of the opinion that managing their own business offers far greater security than being an employee elsewhere. They feel entrepreneurship enables them to acquire wealth quickly and cushion themselves against financial insecurity. Additionally, an entrepreneur’s future is not at peril owing to the faulty decisions of a finicky employer. So, while some people feel that being employed is less risky, entrepreneurs feel that they are better off starting a business of their own.
Today, there is the increasing awareness about entrepreneurship. People aren’t confining themselves to one business. They are following one business with another. Such entrepreneurs are referred to as “serial entrepreneurs.” Sometimes these entrepreneurs become angel investors and invest their money in startup companies. As a person gains greater insight into business and entrepreneurship, his chances of succeeding in business improve.
Generally, entrepreneurship is a tough proposition as a good number of the new businesses fail to take off. Entrepreneurial activities differ based on the type of business they are involved in. It is also true that entrepreneurial ventures create a number of new job opportunities. A large number of entrepreneurial projects look for venture capital or angel funding for their startup firms in order to finance their capital requirements. Besides, government agencies and some NGOs also finance entrepreneurial ventures.
Entrepreneurship is often associated with uncertainty, particularly when it involves creating something new for which there is no existing market. Even if there is a market, it may not translate into a huge business opportunity for the entrepreneur. A major aspect in entrepreneurship is that entrepreneurs embrace opportunities irrespective of the resources they have access to.
Entrepreneurship involves being resourceful and finding ways to obtain the resources required to achieve the set objectives. Capital is one such resource. Entrepreneurs need to think out-of-the-box to improve their chances of obtaining what they need to succeed. According to management experts, vast majority of entrepreneurs desire to be in control of their own life and they can’t find this beyond entrepreneurship. Studies have demonstrated that people derive great satisfaction from their entrepreneurial work.
A number of entrepreneurs are of the opinion that managing their own business offers far greater security than being an employee elsewhere. They feel entrepreneurship enables them to acquire wealth quickly and cushion themselves against financial insecurity. Additionally, an entrepreneur’s future is not at peril owing to the faulty decisions of a finicky employer. So, while some people feel that being employed is less risky, entrepreneurs feel that they are better off starting a business of their own.
Today, there is the increasing awareness about entrepreneurship. People aren’t confining themselves to one business. They are following one business with another. Such entrepreneurs are referred to as “serial entrepreneurs.” Sometimes these entrepreneurs become angel investors and invest their money in startup companies. As a person gains greater insight into business and entrepreneurship, his chances of succeeding in business improve.
What Is Entrepreneurship?
What is entrepreneurship? It is not just starting a business. It is not just timing. It is not just instinct. It is a lot more.
The most simple definition of entrepreneurship is an individual�that organizes, operates, and�takes on the�risks of a business. Of course, there is also social entrepreneurship, where one takes on the risk of a social organization or charity.
But does it really end there? The study of entrepreneurship has grown exponentially over there years, from a simple definition, to journals and magazines. In fact, the Entrepreneur magazine is readily available and read by thousands.
If you want to get in touch with what it means to be an entrepreneur, you should read that magazine and peruse this site. My articles and those of fellow entrepreneurs across this community provide great resources to learning exactly what is entrepreneurship.
So what is entrepreneurship? What is an entrepreneur? Well, if you really want to figure it out, you need to get down and dirty and learn for yourself! And you have started at the right place!
Entrepreneur and self made man. Johanson is a teacher, trainer, educator, and entreprenuer
The most simple definition of entrepreneurship is an individual�that organizes, operates, and�takes on the�risks of a business. Of course, there is also social entrepreneurship, where one takes on the risk of a social organization or charity.
But does it really end there? The study of entrepreneurship has grown exponentially over there years, from a simple definition, to journals and magazines. In fact, the Entrepreneur magazine is readily available and read by thousands.
If you want to get in touch with what it means to be an entrepreneur, you should read that magazine and peruse this site. My articles and those of fellow entrepreneurs across this community provide great resources to learning exactly what is entrepreneurship.
So what is entrepreneurship? What is an entrepreneur? Well, if you really want to figure it out, you need to get down and dirty and learn for yourself! And you have started at the right place!
Entrepreneur and self made man. Johanson is a teacher, trainer, educator, and entreprenuer
who is an Entrepreneurs?
Before we can talk about who is an entrepreneur, we first need to understand what entrepreneurship is. Most older textbooks talk about the three production factors: land, capital and labor. Now, these don't always mean what we think they do. Land is more than just the real estate a business builds its factory or offices on. In economic terms, land is all the natural resources used in an enterprise, so this includes the ores and minerals mined from the ground and the native plants and animals.
It does not include the manmade or organized resources such as an orchard or a herd of cattle. These are examples of the second factor of production: capital. Even though most people think of money as capital, it's really the least important form of capital. In economic terms, capital is the human creations that produce wealth, such as a car used as a taxi, an oven used to bake food for sale, a furnace used to make steel, as well as the interest that money can earn.
The third factor is labor. This refers to all human endeavors that produce wealth, both physical and mental. Some people believe that it is the sole source of wealth, that labor alone creates value. Others believe that land is the only factor that creates wealth. Still others believe that capital is the key to wealth. But land, labor and capital have always been around, though widely unused or misused. What, then, has made these three factors of production work together to create wealth and improve people's lives?
The answer is the fourth factor of production: entrepreneurship. This is the ability to see what others who came before missed, to make connections between things that others had not, to get all three other factors to work together to create that which had not existed before. It is this insight, this creativity, that makes the other three factors productive.
Now, who is an entrepreneur? One example was a young man who was born in Bavaria in 1829 and emigrated in 1847 with his family to New York City, where his older brother opened a dry goods store (a store selling clothes, cloth, shoes, hats, almost anything but food). In 1853, he became a U.S. citizen and sailed to San Francisco to open a branch of his brother's store and become a supplier to the increasing number of miners following the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill.
He was a good businessman and his store thrived. He was so trustworthy and successful that one of his customers, Jacob Davis of Reno, Nevada, came to him with an idea. Davis was a tailor, and his customers complained that their pants started to come apart in the same places over and over, the pockets and seams. He had developed a way to rivet these stress points and used a strong fabric often used for work clothes, serge. He thought it was a good idea but lacked the $68 it took to file a patent. The San Francisco merchant saw the possibilities and became Davis' partner, and their patent was granted on May 20, 1873.
The merchant had been born Loeb Strauss, but when he became a citizen in 1853, he changed it to Levi. Similarly, the pants he made were originally called "waist overalls," and it was not until about 1960 that they were popularly called jeans. Even though much of the company's early history was destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco Fire, May 20 is still celebrated by the company as the birthday of blue jeans.
Often the entrepreneur is not the person or persons who actually create the new good or service. Rather, he or she is the one who has the vision of how that idea can be turned into reality for the benefit of everyone. For example, Oliver Winchester was a successful shirt maker, but he bought the patents for the Henry lever-action repeating rifle. His faith in this invention, along with his efforts in marketing it, made it the most widely known rifle of its day and earned it the nickname of "The Gun That Won the West."
Does this mean that entrepreneurs aren't creative? Not at all! Quite the opposite, but theirs is a different kind of creativity. Often an inventor, an artist, a composer, a writer will know his or her area of interest but not know how to make others aware of their creations.
The entrepreneur's creativity finds ways for the ideas to enter the marketplace and be of benefit to all of society. Incidentally, entrepreneurs also reward those who came up with the new ideas in the first place, which encourages them to make more and better creations. People are much more likely to be creative and productive when they are promised a reward than when they are threatened with punishment if they don't create. This promise of a reward is called incentive, and incentives are possible only when there is profit.
The entrepreneur makes sure this situation happens, because when the others profit, so does the entrepreneur. He or she is no different from other members of society: The entrepreneur wants a comfortable life, and he or she realizes that the best way to do this is to get the cooperation of others. That is achieved by appealing to what motivates others, because people tend to do what's in their best interest. In a free market, no one can be forced to do anything against their interest, so the entrepreneur must motivate and organize for everyone's benefit.
It does not include the manmade or organized resources such as an orchard or a herd of cattle. These are examples of the second factor of production: capital. Even though most people think of money as capital, it's really the least important form of capital. In economic terms, capital is the human creations that produce wealth, such as a car used as a taxi, an oven used to bake food for sale, a furnace used to make steel, as well as the interest that money can earn.
The third factor is labor. This refers to all human endeavors that produce wealth, both physical and mental. Some people believe that it is the sole source of wealth, that labor alone creates value. Others believe that land is the only factor that creates wealth. Still others believe that capital is the key to wealth. But land, labor and capital have always been around, though widely unused or misused. What, then, has made these three factors of production work together to create wealth and improve people's lives?
The answer is the fourth factor of production: entrepreneurship. This is the ability to see what others who came before missed, to make connections between things that others had not, to get all three other factors to work together to create that which had not existed before. It is this insight, this creativity, that makes the other three factors productive.
Now, who is an entrepreneur? One example was a young man who was born in Bavaria in 1829 and emigrated in 1847 with his family to New York City, where his older brother opened a dry goods store (a store selling clothes, cloth, shoes, hats, almost anything but food). In 1853, he became a U.S. citizen and sailed to San Francisco to open a branch of his brother's store and become a supplier to the increasing number of miners following the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill.
He was a good businessman and his store thrived. He was so trustworthy and successful that one of his customers, Jacob Davis of Reno, Nevada, came to him with an idea. Davis was a tailor, and his customers complained that their pants started to come apart in the same places over and over, the pockets and seams. He had developed a way to rivet these stress points and used a strong fabric often used for work clothes, serge. He thought it was a good idea but lacked the $68 it took to file a patent. The San Francisco merchant saw the possibilities and became Davis' partner, and their patent was granted on May 20, 1873.
The merchant had been born Loeb Strauss, but when he became a citizen in 1853, he changed it to Levi. Similarly, the pants he made were originally called "waist overalls," and it was not until about 1960 that they were popularly called jeans. Even though much of the company's early history was destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco Fire, May 20 is still celebrated by the company as the birthday of blue jeans.
Often the entrepreneur is not the person or persons who actually create the new good or service. Rather, he or she is the one who has the vision of how that idea can be turned into reality for the benefit of everyone. For example, Oliver Winchester was a successful shirt maker, but he bought the patents for the Henry lever-action repeating rifle. His faith in this invention, along with his efforts in marketing it, made it the most widely known rifle of its day and earned it the nickname of "The Gun That Won the West."
Does this mean that entrepreneurs aren't creative? Not at all! Quite the opposite, but theirs is a different kind of creativity. Often an inventor, an artist, a composer, a writer will know his or her area of interest but not know how to make others aware of their creations.
The entrepreneur's creativity finds ways for the ideas to enter the marketplace and be of benefit to all of society. Incidentally, entrepreneurs also reward those who came up with the new ideas in the first place, which encourages them to make more and better creations. People are much more likely to be creative and productive when they are promised a reward than when they are threatened with punishment if they don't create. This promise of a reward is called incentive, and incentives are possible only when there is profit.
The entrepreneur makes sure this situation happens, because when the others profit, so does the entrepreneur. He or she is no different from other members of society: The entrepreneur wants a comfortable life, and he or she realizes that the best way to do this is to get the cooperation of others. That is achieved by appealing to what motivates others, because people tend to do what's in their best interest. In a free market, no one can be forced to do anything against their interest, so the entrepreneur must motivate and organize for everyone's benefit.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
