Entrepreneurship

• Changing world– All sorts of new opportunities– All businesses are facing

uncertainty• Entrepreneurs better able to handle

uncertainty

• Technology evens the playing field– Access to people and markets is

not limited by size of enterprise– Electronically, all companies can

look alike– Changing the business of business

• Globalization

Big Business• Prior to the 1970’s most people

worked for big business– Very loyal– One employer for a lifetime– Diversification

• Fall of big business– Foreign competition– Inflation

• High interest rates

– OPEC– Technical changes– Environmental concerns and other

regulation– Deregulation

• Downsizing

The Act of Entrepreneurship

• Perceiving an opportunity– New product or service– New marketing strategy– New way to deliver the goods or

services

• Assessing and risking resources to exploit the opportunity

• Managing the process of taking an idea from concept to profitable business– Growth oriented

• Different from a small business

• Creating value– New jobs– Profit for owner and investors

Entrepreneurial Environment

• Global competition

• Rapidly changing technology

• Requirement to bring products to market sooner– Windows of opportunity smaller

• Very high standards of quality and customer service– Intense competition

• Requirement of alliances– Some very strange bed fellows

• Financing sources always in short supply and can be non-traditional

Entrepreneurs• Free enterprise system

– Supply and demand

– Customer and provider

• Risk taker– Take calculated risks

• Focus on the opportunity• Desire to make things happen

– Are not afraid of failure

– Keep going to overcome failure• Failure is one of the steps to success

• Independent– Be their own boss

– Take responsibility

– Do not often delegate

• Like to control their own destiny• Deal well with ambiguity and

uncharted waters

Myths• Entrepreneurs are born not

made– Family experience is helpful but

many get the “entrepreneurial bug in middle age after full careers

• Entrepreneurs are gamblers– Willingness to risk failure

• Money is the motivation– Means to an end– Desire to build something– Desire to make a difference– Control own destiny

• The key to success is having enough money– People are more important than

money

Business Motivation• Technology driven

– New technology

– Need to find a use and/or need

– Difficult selling job• Brand new concept

• People have gotten along without it for a long time

• Need to educate

• Carefully define the customer appropriate for the product

– Usually no competition

• Market driven– Define a real need

– Speak to the customers• Determine what they really want

– Use technology to make what they want

– Highly competitive

Societal Trends• Social responsibility– Give back to the community

• Environmental issues– Basis of new business– Concerns in all businesses

• Globalization• Health

– Population is getting older– Soon more than half of the population

will be over 50

• Life-long learning – Flexibility in career and business

choices

• Availability of information– Huge amounts– Need to make if meaningful– Take advantage of it

• More woman and minority-owned business– Some special programs available