Transcript Presentation 2 - Enterprise and Entrepreneurship

Skills for a Sustainable Business Enterprise
Enterprise
Enterprise is a popular word and is used in a variety of
often desirable and positive contexts.
It is often limited to a business context or just meaning
‘a business’.
Others associate with a wider meaning; an attitude to
life.
WHAT do YOU
think makes
someone an
ENTREPRENEUR
Definition of entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurs are people:
who identify opportunities
utilise them to their own benefit
and broader community’s benefit
without regard of resources currently controlled.
Principles of Entrepreneurship
Strategic orientation – focus on identifying
opportunities not on resources.
Influenced by changes in the market, e.g consumer
behaviour, social roles that change and political
influences
Commitment to opportunity – action orientated
Commitment to resources – do it in multi-stages
Control of resources – not the most important (OPB
and OPM)
Management structures – stay in direct contact
Reward philosophy – cannot achieve everything on
their own
Entrepreneurial
Behaviours
Entrepreneurial
Attributes
Entrepreneurial
Skills
Opportunity seeking and grasping
Achievement of ambition
Creative problem solving
Taking initiatives to make things
happen
Self confidence and self belief
Persuading
Solving problems creatively
Perseverance
Negotiation
Managing autonomously
High internal locus of control
Selling
Taking responsibility for and
ownership of things
Action orientation
Proposing
Seeing things through
Preference of learning by doing
Holistically Managing business/
projects/situations
Networking effectively
Hardworking
Strategic thinking
Putting things together creatively
Determination
Intuitive decision making under
uncertainty
Using judgment to take calculated
risks
Creativity
Networking
SMEs AND ECONOMY
Small businesses in the UK….
3.7 million small businesses
99.8% of all businesses
over 50% of economic activity
56% of non-governmental jobs (excluding financial services)
52% of UK turnover (GDP)
(BERR, 2008)
SMEs AND ECONOMY
In Europe…
Small firms, no matter how they are defined, constitute at
least 95% of all firms in the European Community
(BERR, 2008)
DEFINITION AND CLASSIFICATION
European Commission definition of Small
and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs):
Micro-enterprises: Less than 10 employees
Small enterprises: 10 – 99 employees
Medium enterprises: 100 – 499 employees
(BERR, 2008)
FACTS ABOUT SMEs
How are SMEs different from large businesses?
Dominated and controlled by one person
Heavily reliant on a small number of customers
Small market share means they cannot influence their market
More difficult to raise capital for e.g. expansion
Tend to restrict/focus their product/service offering, could be
vulnerable to changes in market conditions
Why do so many SME fail in the early years?
Finance
Demand forecasting
Management
Marketing
Business Planning
Idea not viable
Bad luck
Poor timing
Inadequate training
SUMMARY
Small business are not necessarily just smaller versions of
business, some may remain small.
For some individuals SME success means growth and high
achievement, for others its about lifestyle and adequate income
levels.
WHAT do YOU
think is an
example of an
ENTREPRENEUR
Exercise
Discuss your entrepreneur and their
CHARACTERISITCS, ATTRIBUTES and SKILLS.
Which single individual possesses the most ideal
combination of CAS’s and why?
Food for thought
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4FJMJtt8dk