Entrepreneurial Strategic Decisions - Essay Example

An entrepreneur is person who takes financial risks to undertake new promising financial ventures. The word entrepreneur is derived from two French words; ‘entre’ which means to enter and ‘prendre’ meaning to take. Generally, it applies to any person who starts a new project or tries a new opportunity (Wallener, D 2007). The traits of an entrepreneur include vigorous creativity, his/her ability and will to make tangible decisions with no solid data. In particular, an entrepreneur is a risk taking personality. To Wallener, D (2007), efforts have gone into trying to clinch the understanding of the psychological and sociological wellbeing of entrepreneurship. Further to him, these studies have noted some quite common traits among the existing entrepreneurs with respect to the need for complete achievement, the perceived locus of control and measure, are orientated toward initiative thinking and have a risk taking propensity in them. According to Beech, W (2001), an entrepreneur is driven by the need to create something new or build something tangible for others to follow. Also, entrepreneurs are described as human beings who are most of the times engaged in the creative destruction of products and services which exist. All in all, since new enterprises have low chances of success rates, an entrepreneur must also have considerable persistence if he/she is to attain the set goals. A crisis of management often arise when the entrepreneur fails to recognize that, running a large company which is stable is quite different from running a small growing company. This problem is often resolved by the entrepreneur leaving the organization and going to tart a new venture Another definition has it that, an entrepreneur is a person with the ability to see what others who came before missed. Further, he/she is a person who is able to make connections between things that others had not and are not capable of. He/she combines to work together to create that which had not existed before (Carey, C 2001). Often, the entrepreneur is not the one who actually creates the new goods or services, but he/she is the one who has the vision of how that idea can be transformed into reality for the benefit of everyone (Carey, C 2001). The entrepreneurs creativity is different from the creativity known. His/her creativity finds ways for the ideas which he/she has formulated to enter the market place as well as being of benefit to all of the society. Entrepreneurs in most cases reward those who came up with the new ideas in the first place. The aim of this is to encourage them to make more and better creations. Human beings are much likely to be creative as well as productive when they are promised a reward than when they are threatened with punishment if the vice versa happens. The promise of a reward is often called incentive and they are possible if and only if there is profit. An entrepreneur makes sure that, such situations happen since when the others profit, he/she benefits either. He/she is not different at all from other members of society where he/she lives. However, the entrepreneur yarns for a comfortable life which only comes when you cooperate with others. Cooperation is achieved by motivating others since people tend to do what is in their best interest (Anatomy, L 2001). According to her, no one can be forced to do anything against their interest in a free market, thus entrepreneurs must motivate and if possible organize for everyones benefit. In this regard, an entrepreneur is a person who organizes and manages a business venture assuming all the risks for the sake of profit. Entrepreneurs get access to business skills by evaluating past jobs, volunteer work, positions in organizations as well as personal traits. Below are some of the ways he/she comes up with tangible ideas and progress; Setting attainable goals and managing time while keeping work schedules. Determining budgets, securing loans as well as raising funds while keeping financial records and filling income tax forms. Forecasting sales and other projections, presenting projects for committees and organizing administrative groups as he/she handles criticism and rejection which takes him/her a notch higher. Experience in managing parts of a small business while serving as director Mediating between people with opposing views when the situation requires getting along well with many people. Taking calculated risks in many situations; situations where there seems to be a reasonable chance of success Being self-disciplined in handling situations which are full of uncertainty as to the job requirements. Taking the initiative in situations which require it and willingness to work hard even when the financial rewards are slow. Setting high standards of performance and keep on raising them when the set ones are met. Having good and enough knowledge of the products and services offered by your business Willingness to do research on your own with the maiden purpose of planning to improve business operations. Nowadays, people are sensitive on how they dress according to the function one is attending. Thus, in fashion retailing, not all of these experiences are necessary for the business to flourish. As a fashion retailer, an entrepreneur will first of all able to assess the strengths and weaknesses before deciding whether he/she can take time to hire staff or consultants. Expertise is more important in some businesses than in others (Angel, R. et al 2000). In fashion, an entrepreneur will make a list of his/her work experiences, hobbies, interests and the skills he/she has acquired. He/she will then prepare his/her own resume making sure that, no exaggeration or an attempt to deceive himself/herself about things on the list. On completing the list, it will be evident that he/she can bring to the new business new ideas where the interests lie. Then he/she will keep the inventory available and will often use it when selecting the type of business to launch at any moment according to the requirements of the masses. On the kind of things he/she include in the venture, he should make another list of things that he/she considers to be ok while eliminating those that are obviously not for him/her. An entrepreneur will rule out the ones that require talents as well as skills which are not listed while he/she was preparing the resume and which he/she has no interest in doing. Fashion keeps on changing now and then. An entrepreneur will have an original idea for a fashion that no one has ever considered or for a product that is non-existent (Dean, S et at. 1998). An entrepreneur in fashion retailing will try not to limit his/her thinking only to this new retail product aimed for a certain event, thus he/she must gather information as well as evaluate the ideas against other possibilities which may exist. As an entrepreneur, to get relevant information he/she may do the following; Telephone yellow pages indicate what is and is not available in your area. So it will indicate if there are other retailer in the vicinity Further, the public libraries have a quite a number of business directories which can act as a guide to know the level of competition to expect and how to deal with it with finality while benefiting the others Entrepreneurial magazines often have articles about new business ideas that have potential and which can take one a notch higher. Friends, coworkers, neighbours and relatives are a good source of information if they have product or service needs that are not currently being met and they would like to tailor their needs to look better. As an entrepreneur, you can use this information to design something that will benefit all. After considering business ideas on his/her list, the entrepreneur will narrow down the possibilities and complete the selection process. If possible, he/she should talk with people with similar business located outside of the area. However, aaccording to Beech, W (2001), entrepreneurs have a high sense of independence which often causes problems when their business ventures succeed. For example, in a small company, the entrepreneur is able to manage most aspects of the business personally while not needing any special attention from other staff. The above is not possible when the company grows beyond a certain size which he/she can manage alone. Reference: Anatomy, L (2001). Of a business plan: a step-by-step guide to building a business and securing your companys future (5th Ed). Chicago: Dearborn Trade Publishing Angel, R. et al. (2000). Investing: Matching start-up funds with start-up companies - the guide for entrepreneurs, individual investors, and venture capitalists (1st Ed). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Beech, W (2001). Against all odds: Ten entrepreneurs who followed their hearts and found success. New York: John Wiley Carey, C (2002). American inventors, entrepreneurs, and business visionaries. New York: Facts on File Dean, S. et al (1998). Attracting equity investors: positioning, preparing, and presenting the business plan. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications Wallener, D (2007). What is an Entrepreneur? Retrieved 11 January, 2008, from: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-entrepreneur.htm Read More