Friday 11 December 2020

What Is An Entrepreneur? - How Do I Become An Entrepreneur?

What Does it mean to be an entrepreneur?

An entrepreneur is an individual who

creates a new business, bearing most of the risks and enjoying most of the rewards. The entrepreneur is commonly seen as an innovator, a source of new ideas, goods, services, and business/or procedures.

So it's being a person who sets up a business or businesses ,taking on financial risks in the hope of making profit.

What is Entrepreneurship?

Entrepreneurship is an act of being an entrepreneur, or "the owner or manager of a business enterprise who, by risk and initiative ,attempts to make profits".

Entrepreneurship is the process by

which either an individual or a team identifies a business opportunity and acquires and deploys the necessary resources required for its exploitation.

What is the Job of Entrepreneurs?

Entrepreneurs act as managers and over-see the launch and growth ofan enterprise.

Also read Business Owners Elements

So what is an enterprise?

Enterprise is another word for a for-profit business or company, but it is most often associated with entrepreneurial ventures. People who have entrepreneurial success are often referred to as “enterprising.”

Entrepreneurs create something new, something different—they change or transmute values. Regardless of the firm size, big or small, they can partake in entrepreneurship opportunities.

How To become an entrepreneur?

The opportunity to become an entrepreneur requires four criteria. First, there must be opportunities or situations to recombine resources to generate profit. Second ,entrepreneurship requires differences between people, such as preferential access to certain
individuals or the ability to recognize information about opportunities. Third, taking on risk is a necessity. Fourth, the entrepreneurial process requires the organizationof people and resources

The exploitation of entrepreneurial opportunities
may include:

Developing a business plan ,Hiring the human resources Acquiring financial and material resources , Providing leadership ,Being responsible for both the venture's
success or failure

Entrepreneurs exhibit positive biases towards finding new possibilities and seeing unmet market needs, and a tendency towards risk-taking that makes them more likely to exploit business opportunities .

What are Entrepreneurial resources?

An entrepreneurial resource is any company-owned asset that has economic value creating capabilities. Economic value creating both tangible and intangible sources are considered as entrepreneurial resources. Their economic value is generating activities or services through mobilization by entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurial resources can be divided into two fundamental categories:
tangible and intangible resources.

Tangible resources are material sources such as equipment, building, furniture, land, vehicle, machinery, stock, cash, bond and inventory that has a physical form and can be quantified. On the contrary, intangible resources are non physical or more challenging to identify and evaluate, and they possess more value creating capacity such as human resources including skills and experience in a particular field, organizational structure of the company, brand name, reputation, entrepreneurial networks that contribute to promotion and financial support, know-how ,intellectual property including both copyrights ,trademarks and patents

What are Factors that may predict entrepreneurial success?

- Establishing strategies for the firm,including growth and survival strategies

- Maintaining the human resources (recruiting and retaining talented employees andexecutives)

- Ensuring the availability of required materials(e.g. raw resources used in manufacturing,computer chips, etc.)

- Ensuring that the firm has one or more unique competitive advantages

- Ensuring good organizational design, soundgovernance and organizational coordination

- Congruency with the culture of thesociety

Do Your Research

Most likely you have already identified a entrepreneurial opportunity so now it's time to balance it with a little reality.

Does your idea have the potential to succeed? You will need to run your business idea through a validation process before you go any further.

In order for a entrepreneurial venture or business to be successful, it must solve a problem, fulfill a need or offer something the market wants.

There are a number of ways you can identify this need, including research, focus groups, and even trial and error.

As you explore the market, some of the questions you should answer include:

• Is there a need for your anticipated products/services?

• Who needs it?

• Are there other companies offering similar products/services now?

• What is the competition like?

• How will your business fit into the market?

Don't forget to ask yourself some questions , too, about starting a business before you take the plunge.

Developing your Marketing
Strategy

Marketing your enterprise is a
fundamental aspect of starting up
Research the most cost-effective
methods of marketing your business.

Write your Marketing Plan Attend one of our Marketing Workshops

Developing Your Sales Plan

Having assessed your business idea, estimate your selling price

How will you promote the enterprise? Who/where is your target market (local/national/international)?
What channels of distribution will be used? Determine the break-even point

Decide on an appropriate legal business structure

It is important to research the types of business ownership to help you make the best decisions for your business. You can choose whether you want a:

Sole trader : A sole trader is an individual running a business. It is the simplest and cheapest business structure. If you voperate your business as a sole trader , you are the only owner and you control and manage the business. You are legally responsible for all aspects of the
business.

Cooperation : A cooperative is a private business organization that is owned and controlled by the people who use its products, supplies or services. Although cooperatives vary in type and membership size, all were formed to meet the specific objectives of members, and are structured to adapt to member's changing needs. Or

Cooperation (written as co-operation in British English) is the process of groups of organisms working or acting together for common, mutual, or some underlying benefit, as opposed to working in competition for selfish benefit.

Limited Company : A private limited company is any type of business entity in "private" ownership used in many jurisdictions, in contrast to a publicly listed company, with some differences from country to country.

Be aware of legal obligations that will affect your business. Register your business name with the Registrar Of Companies in your Area

Search on google about "how does the process of company registration go in your 'area' ?"for further information.

You will need to be aware of your statutory obligations such as trading licenses, planning permission ,insurance, health & safety, patents

Write your Business Plan

Business Planning is fundamental to success in business. It is the key to making things happen and reaching goals.

A business plan can be used as an operating tool that will help you to make important decisions and manage your business effectively, the business plan also has a number of other uses.

Also read:

read==>:https://www.localenterprise.ie/Fingal/Start-or-Grow-your-Business/Start-a-Business/Taking-the-Initial-Steps/

read==>:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entrepreneurship

read==>: https://www.thebalancesmb.com/starting-a-small-business-4161641

What is A Business Plan?

A business plan is a formal written document containing business goals, the methods on how these goals can be attained, and the time frame within which these goals need to be achieved. It also describes the nature of the business, background information on the organization, the organization's financial projections, and the strategies it intends to implement to achieve the stated targets. In its entirety, this document serves as a road map that provides direction to the business.

NB. "... a good business plan can help to make a good business credible ,understandable, and attractive to someone who is unfamiliar with the business .Writing a good business plan can't guarantee success, but it can go a long way toward reducing the odds of failure."

Business plans for start-ups,Typical structure for a business plan for a start-up venture includes:

• executive summary

• mission statement

• business description

• business environment analysis

• SWOT analysis

• industry background

• competitor analysis

• market analysis

• marketing plan

• operations plan

• management summary

• financial plan

• achievements and milestones

Typical questions addressed by a business plan for a start-up venture:

- What problem does the company's product or service solve?

- What niche will it fill?
What is the company's solution to the problem?

- Who are the company's customers, and how will the company market and sell its products to them?

- What is the size of the market for this solution?

- What is the business model for the business(how will it make money)?

- Who are the competitors and how will the company maintain a competitive advantage ?

- How does the company plan to manage its operations as it grows?

- Who will run the company and what makes them qualified to do so?

- What are the risks and threats confronting the business, and what can be done to mitigate them?

- What are the company's capital and resource requirements?

- What are the company's historical and projected financial statements?

You can also find sample business plan here: https://www.bplans.com/sample-business-plans/

Conclusion:

We did answer most of the questions that's on your mind about entrepreneurship, entrepreneurs and so on ..... ,Any Questions You might have expect us to address leave them in comments

Wednesday 9 December 2020

8 ways to grow your business - growing successful businesses

8 ways to grow your

business

Generating new business by growing your customer
base is important to your business success.
However, it can sometimes be very challenging.
Here are some practical tips to help you grow your
customer base.

1. Get to know your customers

Understand your customer's needs and develop
products and services that meet those needs. You
can gain insight into your customers by
personalising your services and encouraging them to
provide you with feedback.

2. Offer great customer service

Ensure your customer service is exceptional and go
the extra mile when you can. Your customers will
not only remember great service they will also be
more likely to refer other people to you.

3. Nurture existing customers and look for new opportunities

Have strategies in place to nurture existing
customers, such as staying in contact with them via
an e-newsletter or letting them know about
promotional events ahead of time.
At the same time, look for opportunities to get
more work and build your customer base. Make sure
you find the right balance between nurturing
customers and finding new ones.
If you own or operate a local business you
can also promote your business by taking advantage
of a free local business listings

4. Use social media

Social media is a powerful tool to promote your
business to potential customers and gain valuable
insight through ‘social listening’. Through social
listening you can find out what customers are
saying about you, gain insight into their behaviour,
identify keywords and trends that appeal to your
target market and so improve your customer service.
Social media can help you to build your business
profile and attract new customers.

5. Attend networking events

Invest time to build your networks – it’s not
what you know but who you know.
Networking allows you to build relationships with
other people and encourage them to refer customers
to you through word of mouth.

6. Host events

Hosting your own event can be a great way to get
to know your customers and build relationships.
Invite some of your best existing customers and
encourage them to bring their friends.

7. Give back to your community

Building brand awareness in your local community is
a great way to attract new business. Consider
sponsorship or participating in a community event
to raise your business profile.

8. Measure what works and refine your
approach as you go

You should monitor where your customers are coming
from in order to measure whether your marketing
activities are successful or not. Don’t be afraid
to experiment. Refine your approach if something is
not working and focus more time on the activities
that achieve the best results.

Source: https://www.smallbusiness.wa.gov.au/business-advice/marketing/8-ways-to-grow-your-business

5 Tips for Running a Successful Business - success.com

When it comes to success, I’ve always
believed in the saying, The length of our

life is finite, but its wideness depends on
us. This philosophy just means that our
purpose is to achieve grand things and widen
the scope of our lives in the short time we
have.

Related: 11 Things That Can Spark Massive Success in Your Life

The same can be said of any business; every
company has control over their level of
achievement, but to reach a higher level of
success means to lose our fear of failing. No
matter how much money or success a company
has, that fear is a constant barrier to
widening the scale of those achievements.
Here are five tips to help you abandon your
fear, grow your opportunities for success,
and run a successful business .

1. Make a choice, any choice.

People are constantly changing and, as a
result, the world is constantly changing.
Running a business in which a lot of time is
spent on decision-making and measuring
consequences is a waste of resources. It
doesn’t do anything but increase anxiety
and fear of failure. Even with all of your
planning, the winds will change and you’ll
be back to worrying again.
Instead, understand that failure is an
opportunity, a chance to overcome
challenges. Companies that quickly meet
problems head-on are better equipped to
minimize future errors. Dormancy is the
worst possible outcome of any challenge. The
only bad decision you can make is to make
none.

2. Become the industry, don’t just exist within it.

I call this the “The Green Fluorescent
Umbrella” philosophy. Consider that being
the best umbrella maker in the world might
be difficult to achieve. But being the best
green fluorescent umbrella maker is probably
much easier, even if it means having to
create your own road map to success.
It’s very easy to fall into the temptation
of commoditizing a company, fitting it into
the existing spectrum in order to chase
temporary economic success. But we live in
a time of shifting paradigms, so it would be
a huge mistake to take advantage of an
existing market rather than try to create a
new one. Investing in macro goals is the
biggest and most important commitment any
business can make. Don’t be afraid to
create your own lane.
Related: 5 Ways to Make Your Business
Better Than the Competition

3. Never hesitate to pivot.

Time has proved that processes can help
define companies and give them structure.
At the same time, this forces them to work
in a determined and systematic fashion. In
my opinion, the best process is not having
any defined process; instead, remain
continuously flexible.
Rather than just focusing on ways to
optimize, test and accelerate results,
companies should inspire employees to be
open to redesigns and encourage them to
abandon fear of change, becoming more
flexible and unpredictable.

4. Be about more than profit.

As Carl Sagan says in his book Pale Blue
Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in
Space : “Everything comes down to a lonely
speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark.”
This might seem dire, but it’s just a call
to widen your scope.
Company objectives should reflect something
deeper and perpetual than a profit and loss.
They must define a humanistic, societal role
where the goals transcend the needs of
employees and the company as a whole. This
bonds the company in a common cause and
creates a unified culture.
Whether it’s an environmental cause or
something more personal, if a business
commits to objectives that can’t be
tackled alone, the only way to transcend is
to work together. This redefines the way the
employees relate to the company and each
other while making any future problems seem
manageable. A strong, unified, connected
team striving to be better individual people
is vital to any business.

5. Don’t fear the void.
The sensation of being at the edge but never
really falling is the best way to describe
how it feels being fearless of uncertainty in
business. It’s a feeling all companies
should embrace.
Being aware of the void and possible failure
forces us to keep moving forward. It is the
driving force convincing every business to
take the next step in order to keep gaining
momentum and grow. Each step provides the
company with needed confidence and comfort
with uncertainty, clearing the way toward a
more successful future.

Source: https://www.success.com/5-tips-for-running-a-successful-business/