Posted: March 11th, 2015

Entrepreneurship and Small Business Ventures

Entrepreneurship and Small Business Ventures

Objectives:

You must provide evidence of an ability to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, qualities, skills and other attributes in the following areas

1.    Demonstrate an understanding of the theories surrounding SME development/growth/survival and how they relate to the wider environment of business support and economic development.
2.    Develop and evaluate business plans taking into account issues such as time management, business/market research, team management (including co-ordination and delegation), and presentation skills.
3.    Demonstrate critical self-reflection and self-evaluation of their personal development and through team experiences and activities.

Outlining your personal reflection and evaluation of the whole experience through business plan development:

These three questions should be answered and include in the essay.
•    What is the hardest challenge that you’ve faced when developing a business plan? Why?
•    How do you overcome this challenge?
•    What is the most important lesson that you’ve learnt after developed a business plan as an entrepreneur?

Suggestions for answering those questions:
•  Hardest: from the formulation of the business plan, from the beginning to the end
•  Overcome: your role or contribution
•  Learnt: what did you learn about team work, leadership, time management, cultural difference management; what it taught you about yourself and your potential to be an entrepreneur, what it taught you about yourself and your role in a new venture.

Related theory or suggestion of theory in the report: (Please apply if applicable)
(1) Entrepreneurial growth and exit strategies
– Managing Growth, Life cycle of firm, Internal or external cause of failure
Exit Strategies, “Harvesting”, Liquidation, Share power, Form a limited partnership, Set up Trust

(2) Creativity related to Entrepreneurship

(3) Innovation and Intellectual Property management
– Enterprise Cultural Heritage (ECH), four pillars of management (Brand Management, Change Management, Heritage Management and Intellectual Property Management.)

(4) Gender and Entrepreneurship

(5) Entrepreneurship and Economic Development
– Classical views of economists (Arbitrage, Innovative), Innovation and the link    with Entrepreneurship

(6) Psychology of Entrepreneur
Adversity – Behavior when adversity strikes
Eleven Core Characteristics
•    Commercial Orientation
•    Conceptual Orientation
•    Independence
•    Need for Achievement
•    Risk Tolerance
•    Confidence
•    Persuasive Ability
•    Resilience
•    Reliability
•    People Orientation
•    Integrity
Individually
•    What traits do you have?
•    How do they come across to others?
•    How will it show up on your report?