entrepreneurship:fROM BUSINESS IDEA TO ACTION

What does it mean to be an entrepreneur?

A good entrepreneur needs to have several qualities and skills that might make him/her successful in his/her business. In terms of personality traits , he/she needs to be hard-working , serious , ponctual and ambitious. In terms of skills , one should have a savvy in using a computer and surfing the net. No one can deny that the Internet is the future of business world. Along with tech-savvy, organizational skills ,communication skills and time management are of paramount importance. For example, a good entrepreneur has to know how to organize his/her work. Time is a precious currency in business. He/ she must calculate his / steps with one goal : making a profit. Another illustration of entrepreneurial skills is to be a good communicator. And to be a good communicator involves active listening. A third example is how to run teamwork and how to motivate your personnel. A motivated staff means getting bright ideas that might keep your business alive.

To sum up, entrepreneurship is a hard job even if you are the boss of yourself. It requires a lot of qualities and skills.

Entrepreneurial characteristics:

Here are some important entrepreneurial characteristics. They are:

• Persistent: They keep striving towards their goal even when faced with challenges.

• Adaptable: Whilst entrepreneurs are highly persistent in achieving their goal, successful entrepreneurs are adaptable. They know when their business idea needs minor or major changes to improve their chance of success.

• Constantly learning: Many famous entrepreneurs have shared that they value continued educational learning. In fact, the average CEO reads four or five books a month.

• Creative: They make a business stand out from the crowd. Creativity can mean many things, such as how the product or service is designed, or the feel of the brand through its packaging, style and colour choice.

• Problem solvers: Successful entrepreneurs identify a need for their product or service, which is often a problem customers face.

• Visionary: Entrepreneurs can see an image of the future in their mind and how their business fits with this future.

RISK AND REWARD

Being an entrepreneur means facing many uncertainties. The most striking is not knowing if you will be successful.

Taking risk is an opportunity for growth. Witout taking any risks would affect your business negatively. Apparently, facing uncertainties with audacity and courage would help a novice entrepreneur to accumulate experience and turn it into succes with time. To conclude , risky experiences usually pay off and give birth to successful entrepreneurs . In this respect , William Faulkner said : " A man is the sum of his misfortunes ".

Becoming an independent learner

To be autonomous learner has become highly possible with the advent of the Internet. It offers an avalanche of information and knowledge . However, the Internet users need to be able to analyze and filter information so that they can choose beneficial content. The Internet is a double-edged sword. It has got blesssings and curses. Therefore , it is important to learn some techniques and tools to use the Internet effectively. For example , taking a course in media literacy would open your eyes to the abnormalites in social media such as misinformation , disinformation and malinformation.

To be independent learner shows to what extent an entrepreneur is mature and responsible. But do successful business in the world read digital books or paper-based ones?

Becoming a reflective learner

One of the entrepreneurial characteristics we have covered is learning. To support you on the path to becoming an entrepreneur, it is important to get into the habit of reflective learning.

Keeping a journal

As you learn, there will be interesting topics to remember for future reference. Therefore, having a place where all your notes are together will be helpful to return to in the future.

Understanding yourself: your interests, likes and dislikes

Understanding more about yourself can really help to develop your idea.

Activity 1: Your interests

Activity 2: Likes / Dislikes

Understanding yourself: your strengths, weaknesses and reflection

Split a page into two columns and label one ‘strengths’ and the other ‘weaknesses’, and complete each one as much as possible.

For strengths, answer the question: ‘what am I good at?’ For weaknesses, answer the question: ‘what do I struggle with when I have to do it by myself?’

I think that an entrepreneur needs to know deeply about himself/herself because of two major reasons:

*Be aware of his / her strenghts ( what he/she is good at ?) and try to improve them.

*Spot his/her weaknesses and try to work on them.

Doing this will help a novice entrepreneur to choose the sector/job which might be compatible with his/her personality traits and personal skills.

Understanding yourself as an entrepreneur

1.13_Start_with_why.pdf

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I find the video very informative and interesting. It offers some rules of success in the world of entrepreneurship. The speaker emphasizes the idea of know “why” we do something. To know the rationale behind our actions will convince people to believe in what we are doing. In the world of business, people usually buy a product not only to satisfy a need, but also because they believe in the cause / idea of the producer. For example , the Wright Brothers and Samuel Pierpont Langley worked harder to invent a manned aircraft. They had different reasons for their invention. Mr. Langley was seeking fame and profit; whereas, the Wight Brothers were working on their project with intent to serve the common good of humanity and make travel easier. That is why , people still talk about them and Mr.Langley fell in oblivion

Overall, the first step in setting up a business is to jot down the reason (s) behind your project. This may push potential customers to believe in your idea and buy your product/service.

“If Your Actions Inspire Others To Dream More , Learn More , Do More And Become More You Are A Leader.

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS

Takeaways :

Some takeaways of the previous points in this course :

It is important to know about yourself . This may give you an idea about what you can do in the business world. You may make full use of your interests to find an idea about your project. In other words, it is possible to turn your interest(s) into a business.

You should be honest with yourself and jot down "why" you opt for a project. You should have a reason for your project ( Changing the status quo ) such making people lead an easier life or helping people to go over some difficulties . This makes your potential customers believe in what you are doing.

legal structure :Liability

2.15_Legal_structure.pdf

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Some business owners are liable for the debts of the business. This means they have to find money to pay the debts if things go wrong. But countries usually want to encourage businesses, so they try to take away the danger of making owners lose all their money if their businesses have problems. They do this by making laws that allow certain business structures and help reduce risk for business owners. Let’s have a look at the main business structures.

In most countries there are many business types, but the three main business structures are these:

• sole trader (where you are self-employed)

• partnership (where two or more people are personally liable for the business, reflective of their percentage of ownership)

• limited company (where the business is separated from the entrepreneur, and the business, not the entrepreneur, becomes responsible for liabilities).

Pitching skills for entrepreneurs

Whether you’re looking to raise finance, get suppliers, or obtain customers, public speaking skills are important for entrepreneurs. Don’t worry if the thought of standing in front of a group of people to present your idea makes you nervous. The more that you practise this skill, the better and more confident you will become! The good news is that by this stage in the course, your idea has been through some refinement, you have your business model canvas, vision and mission statements, and you also have an improved understanding about yourself ready as support. You can use these documents as notes when you want to pitch your business to raise finance or to grab the attention of customers. Here are some tips to think about as you practise your pitching skills:

• Be clear and understandable – speak slowly and take pauses and breaths – this will also help calm your nerves!

• Keep to time – especially if your pitch opportunity gives you a specific one.

• Body language – you may sometimes talk and use your hands, but be careful to not always be using your hands throughout your pitch, as this could be distracting for the listener. If you are standing, stand with your shoulders relaxed and arms unfolded. This gives the impression of someone who is open and welcoming.

• Eye contact – take a glance at different people in your audience as you speak. This builds a connection.

• Watch yourself – You can stand in front of a mirror and practise pitching out aloud, or you can record yourself and watch it back. You’ll be able to easily identify areas that you can improve.

Record your pitch:

Prepare your pitch as if you are speaking to an investor or to a potential customer.

For your pitch, you should cover the following:

• Introduce yourself.

• Mention the theme for your pitch (ie targeted at investors or potential customers).

• Share the basic idea of your business.

• Explain what makes your business unique.

Week 3

In this week, we will cover:

• the roles of a leader and a manager

• how to use feedback for self-development and the development of your enterprise

• how the family business model works

• working in a team

• the role of customer servicer

• networking for entrepreneurs

• marketing basics

Networking

Networking is a great skill that entrepreneurs use to build contacts, create business opportunities, and to learn more information. It is a ‘soft skill’ that improves with practice. Good networking requires you to be aware of your surroundings and to have good communication skills. Always keep an open mind about the new contact you have made. Get to know them better and help them where you can to build a trusting relationship before asking anything from others. That way, they are more likely to work with you. Opportunities to connect with others might come unexpectedly (for example, when commuting) or be more planned (for example, at an event). When meeting new people for the first time, it’s important to explain simply who you are and what you do. It is also important to get a good understanding of who the other person is, what they do and how they may ‘fit’ into your network of contacts. For example, they might become a new customer or supplier over time. It is helpful to have business cards on hand early in your entrepreneurship journey. This is because after networking with a new contact, it is an easy way to pass on your contact details so that they will remember you and may be in touch at a later time. Business cards typically contain information about you that includes:

• your name

• your title

• the name of your business

• the business address

• your contact information (telephone and/or email).

It is also important that you ask for some basic details from them too (such as an email address or telephone number) so that you can follow up and build the relationship.

Marketing basics

What is marketing? Marketing involves the promotion, buying and selling of the business’ products and/or services. It is essentially how the entrepreneur communicates their products and services to the world. Before you go out and sell your product/service, it’s important to make a plan of action. The five Ps of marketing There are five main areas that you’ll need to consider when creating a marketing plan. It helps that they all start with the letter P – and so they are collectively called the Five Ps! ProductPricePlacementWhat features of the product stand out that would make a customer want to buy it?How much would it cost the customer to buy?When is your product or service available to customers? Also, where could they access it?PromotionPeopleHow could you advertise your product? Think about online resources and hard copy material, such as booklets.Who is involved along the way for your product/service to reach the target customers?Creating your marketing plan Think carefully about each of the five Ps and write down your plan. At this point, it is helpful to look into how other businesses promote their products and/or services. For example, if you would like to use leaflets as part of your marketing promotion, get some leaflets from other businesses and decide for yourself what you like about them and what you would change.

Why bookkeeping really matters?

Bookkeeping is important because it helps you budget (to keep a record of your business finances). When income and expenses are properly organized, it makes it easier to review financial resources and expenses. A budget creates a financial roadmap for your business.