PLEASE refer to the slides and instructions attached below to complete this BUSINESS REPORT!
Approaches to the entrepreneurial process
Consider the various “schools of thought” around entrepreneurship outlined in chapter 1,both from the macro and micro perspectives. From which perspective(s) did your subjec tapproach the start-up of his or her business venture? That is, what were the motivating and enabling factors that suggested a start-up might be viable? Discuss and get their perspective on at least two of the entrepreneurial “myths” outlined in the text.
Michael Gerber’s E-Myth (see page 7) discusses the three types of people in small business: the entrepreneur, the manager, the technician. Which do you think is the predominant function of your subject? Explain.
Refer to these “schools of thought”:
Macro view:
– Environmental School of Thought
– Financial/Capital School of Thought
– Displacement School of Thought
Micro view:
– Entrepreneurial trait School of Thought (People School)
– Venture Opportunity school of Thought
– Strategic Formulation School of Thought
Myths about entrepreneurs:
• Myth 1: Entrepreneurs Are Doers, Not Thinkers
• Myth 2: Entrepreneurs Are Born, Not Made
• Myth 3: Entrepreneurs Are Always Inventors
• Myth 4: Entrepreneurs Are Academic and Social Misfits
• Myth 5: Entrepreneurs Must Fit the Profile
• Myth 6: All Entrepreneurs Need Is Money
• Myth 7: All Entrepreneurs Need Is Luck
• Myth 8: Entrepreneurship Is Unstructured and Chaotic
• Myth 9: Most Entrepreneurial Initiatives Fail
• Myth 10: Entrepreneurs Are Extreme Risk Takers
Entrepreneurial mindset/ Personality characteristics
What are the main characteristics and essential skills that the founder(s) of this company has employed that have led to success? Give brief examples as evidence. (REFER TO CHAPTER 2 SLIDES ATTACHED BELOW) Do the traits you perceive in this person align with the traits he/she attributes to themselves? Explain. Discuss the potential negatives of entrepreneurship with your subject. To what extent has he/she ever had to deal with failure? With ethical issues? With high levels of risk and/or stress? How have they handled these issues, or how might they handle them should they occur in future?
Innovation: the creative pursuit of ideas
Sources of innovative ideas: Where did the idea for this business come from? Examine the entrepreneur’s “internal environment”. What role did your subject’s prior knowledge and experience play in the creation of their business idea? Their entrepreneurial mindset,level of creative thinking and innovation?Describe the nature of, and changes within, the external business environment that led this entrepreneur to start the company at the time.Review the “Arenas of Creativity” section on page 117. Discuss which of these creative arenas your subject acted on. Give examples.Review the “Types of Innovation” section on pages 118-119. How original was your subject’s business idea at the time of start-up? Would you consider them to be a trueinnovator or an adaptor?
Critical factors/challenges/feasibility
Review the New-Venture Idea Checklist (page 128). Discuss with your subject whether he/she went through a similar process to determine the feasibility of their venture. Analyze your subject’s business according to the “feasibility criteria” in chapter 6. Recognizing opportunities and creatively addressing them provide a good start, but whatare the key resources and strategies that will allow this company to continue to maintain asustainable competitive advantage (SCA) in this market? That is, what are the key factorsfor success in this industry and what really sets this business apart? From chapter 9, discuss whether there are any legal safeguards in place, such as proprietary technologie sand processes, trademarks, patents, etc. With regards to the list of first-year problems and reasons why new businesses fail, whatare your subject’s thoughts on their own ability to manage their venture past the first year?
Pathways to entrepreneurial ventures
From chapter 7, discuss with your subject why he/she chose the path that they did (thatis, new-new, new-old, acquisition of an existing business, franchising.) From chapter 9, discuss the form of business that they chose (sole proprietor, partnership, corporation). What were the key decisions involved and what advantages did they deduce? [Bear in mind that the textbook is US-based, so some of the details around forms of business,taxation and other factors will vary slightly in Canada. I don’t expect you to be an expert in these differences.
Future goals and insights
What are the goals or vision of the company’s founder? Do you believe that this company will succeed in accomplishing its long-term goals? Why or why not? What are your recommendations? Discuss how you think any of the above-mentioned concepts and strategies could have been strengthened in the past, or might be refined forfuture success. (This is where you show me your critical analysis skills.)
Assignment Format:
You may wish to avoid interviewing someone closely related to you, so that you can gather objective information for your report. (“Swapping” parents with someone else mightbe helpful.)
This is not an essay, but a formal business report. Use section headings and concise business language. Bullet points and/or charts may be used where appropriate. Be sure to cite sources of information other than the actual interview.
Your report will be approximately 6-8 pages long, 1.5x spacing, and 12 point font size. Do not include a transcript of the actual interview. What I am looking for is your synthesis and strategic analysis of the information gathered.
You may include collateral material, such as product samples, brochures or ads, as long as they are referenced in your report. These can be returned to your entrepreneur, if required. Additionally, I recommend you pass it through SafeAssign in order for you to pre-check the originality of your work.
YOU CAN MAKE UP YOUR OWN INTERVIEWEE AS LONG AS THE REPORT FOLLOWS ALL THE CRITERIA AND IS DONE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE OUTLINE WRITTEN ABOVE
PLEASE MENTION WHO YOU “INTERVIEWED”
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