Nature of Entrepreneurship Course - Coursework Example

Nature of Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship is a business term that has been confused with so many other terms in the same field. It is a different word from those many other terms. However, what they mean might be confusing at times. Entrepreneurs create job opportunities. However, there should not be a confusion between entrepreneurship and job creation. They mean more or less the same thing, but they often are confused to refer to the same thing. Entrepreneurship, generally, is a human and social phenomenon that ensures there is a new value that is created from working on an opportunity. Everyone can become an entrepreneur as it is the easiest thing to do. Easy in the sense that, one doesn’t have to go to school or use a lot of many to become an entrepreneur. As Seth Godin says, one has to study for very many years to become a neurosurgeon (Seth, 2012). However, you doesn’t have to do such for you to become an entrepreneur. This qualifies the fact that entrepreneurs are born. It is also interesting to know that not everyone can become an entrepreneur, even though anyone is able to become one. The nature of entrepreneurship has some connections with other terms such as monopoly, market, entrepreneurial learning, opportunity and creativity. In this essay, we will discuss the nature of entrepreneurship course with relation to the above mentioned terms that are connected to it. Monopoly Monopoly is a very important tool for entrepreneurs. For one to become a successful entrepreneur, as Seth Godin says, they must have the power of monopoly on various aspects. Monopoly sets in on the issue of space, product, customers and even idea. When an individual can command the market of a particular location, it means they have a monopoly of supply in that location. This is one of the things that keeps them in business and make them successful as entrepreneurs. Monopoly can also exist in the idea that an entrepreneur has. For instance, Apple is able to do what it does because it has a monopoly of idea of meeting the demands of its customers. It provides products that solve the customer’s problems, hence, making their products most likable in the market against their competitors (Nabi & Holden, 2008). Therefore, the idea of monopoly in entrepreneurship, refers to having control over the unique ways of doing business that makes you what you are in what you do. Entrepreneurship is basically built by the creation of monopoly that becomes like a brand name in business. Market People can have great ideas that lead them to becoming great entrepreneurs. However, entrepreneurs must be keen about choosing potential markets for their products. There’s no point or sense in it, for an entrepreneur to become one without minding about the market they will target with their products. It is therefore important for entrepreneurs to determine potential markets for their products. Several market characteristics are used to determine its potentiality for the particular product that needs to be launched. Some of such characteristics include market growth, its total value and its accessibility to both the entrepreneurs and the customers. Market growth refers to the rate at which the market grows in terms of value and size. The number of potential buyers that are present in a particular market that can be measured through determining the market demand for a particular product. The moment an entrepreneur thinks about an idea, one thing that must cross their mind at the same time is who they are producing for. This brings the market idea into the picture. He entrepreneur must therefore know the target market for its product (Kenney & Mujtaba, 2007). To identify a target market. They will need to carry out a market research to determine the potential market demand for the particular products to launch. Once a particular target market is identified, there is need to segment the market into various segments in line with the nature of the product. The various market segments will therefore be supplied with specific product types with different features such as sizes, packaging and level of superiority. These various groups of products, at the same time, will be sold in the market at different prices. It means, therefore, that various customers of various income levels and from different social classes will be able to purchase different products positioned to them according to their various needs and prices. This way, entrepreneurs are able to make much out of their products as they are able to serve all market segments. As various market segments have different consumer behaviors, specific product types are designed to fit just those kinds of segments. In the various market segments, entrepreneurs are also faced with the duty of identifying various customer characteristics (Jones & Hegarty, 2011). This helps in identifying the various needs and preferences of the customers to help in designing products just for them and to solve their problems. As has already been mentioned, it also helps in making pricing decisions for various product segments. In this case, entrepreneurs may decide that products that are priced expensively, be sold in areas where there are consumers with high disposable income such as in the urban centres. At the same time, those products that are priced less expensively, will be sold, preferably in the markets where there are low income consumers. Mostly, such areas include less developed areas and the remote and suburban regions. Entrepreneurship also requires a lot of promotional activities. The already identified and launched products or services should be popularised to the customers through the use of various promotional vehicles identified as most effective for the job. There are various media that can be used to promote products. Some of these include use of print media, multimedia, word of mouth, banners, roadshows, social media and internet. Entrepreneurs must identify the most effective media to use for their products. Effectiveness of use of a particular medium can be identified through determining whether it reaches the target audience. When a product is launched, for instance, that is basically meant for youths, an entrepreneur can decide to use social media and maybe Television and targeted media to promote the products. With good choice of promotional media, entrepreneurs are sure of obtaining enough customers for their products to help them capture the market. Entrepreneurial Learning Entrepreneurial learning basically involves learning how to become an entrepreneur. To become an entrepreneurial person, there is a need of agency theory. One requires to learn how to become an entrepreneur in order to develop their mindset, identity and skills. Developing mindset in the sense that, they need to realise that everything is possible, things happen through a struggle, and that in everything they do, they must be ready to be “hit by a ball” as said by Seth. With the mindset changed, it is easy for one to develop their skills as they will be ready and not afraid to try. With adequate trials, one develops an identity that then enables them to be saleable. When learning to become an entrepreneur, one needs to realise that staying socially connected is a potential tool for entrepreneurs (Jones & Hegarty, 2011). It enables one to network and use their network groups as sources of their target markets. At the same time, one needs to recognise, create and act on opportunities. Entrepreneurs use latent or waste resources and turn them to useful products that are used to solve peoples’ problems. Teams and organisations also need to be formed and managed by entrepreneurs. It is a very important idea for those learning how to become entrepreneurs to learn and act in the most innovative and opportunistic ways. Amongst various things in entrepreneurial learning, an entrepreneur must be able to learn the imaginative use of technology, initiating and managing new organisations and projects as well as creating multiple forms of value. Opportunity Entrepreneurs are opportunity seizers. To become a good entrepreneur, one must take advantage of any opportunity that presents itself, and make the most out of such an opportunity. As a result, entrepreneurs are best known to be opportunity-centered. This way, they mainly identify, create, develop and assess various opportunities. Successful entrepreneurs create and explore opportunities out of nothing (Marcotte, 2014). In most of their activities, they plan to enable them realize opportunities. At the same time, such entrepreneurs make a difference because they don’t just sit on the opportunities they realize, but act on them instead. Opportunities are what male entrepreneurship become viable. There are billions of opportunities presenting the business world at any time. However, to identify a good and viable opportunity, entrepreneurs have to use their skills to realize and create opportunities. To create and explore an opportunity requires that one should use critical thinking to identify unique opportunities that are capable of being implemented in the market. To identify good opportunities, one should look at characteristics of that opportunity of being unique, capable of implementation, practicable and of achievable goals and objectives. After creating and exploring good opportunities, entrepreneurs should analyse and evaluate such opportunities for the amount of risk involved in implementing them. Entrepreneurs also need to plan to realise the opportunity to meet all its requirements. An opportunity cannot be of any economic good to the entrepreneur if they don’t act on them. Entrepreneurs should therefore act on the already identified opportunities to make them practical. With a personal enterprise, a good entrepreneur should be able to reflect on the opportunity with time to find out whether it is helping achieve the set objectives. Creativity Entrepreneurs are many since anyone can become one. However, among the many entrepreneurs, there’s one distinguishing factor that make them look very unique from the others. Creativity is a very important tool and a fundamental requirement of any aspiring and practicing entrepreneur (Marcotte, 2014). It is the aspect of wanting to become an entrepreneur that makes an enterprise become completely unique and different from the others. Creativity involves making sure that an entrepreneur comes up with ideas and opportunities that are totally unique and capable of being put into practice to help solve problems of the customers in the market. As a matter of facts, no new idea can be considered entrepreneurial if it is not considered creative. This means that entrepreneurs must be creative and innovative. Creativity will enable them to become innovative enough to come up with new ideas and opportunities that are considered entrepreneurial in nature. It is, therefore, a fundamental requirement when one would like to become an entrepreneur. Conclusion In a nutshell, entrepreneurship is interconnected in nature. For the success of an entrepreneur, there must be a target market, an identified opportunity, and monopoly if ideas. At the same time, entrepreneurs must be able to learn and become creative. Anyone can become an entrepreneur. However, not everyone is an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship requires creation and exploration of ideas. It also requires creativity and innovativeness for one to come up with the most unique opportunities. References Jones, C., & Hegarty, C. (2011). Exploring the role of entrepreneurial marketing in entrepreneurship education. Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, 24(1), 125-137, 151-152. Kenney, M., & Mujtaba, B. (2007). Understanding corporate entrepreneurship and development: A practitioner view of organizational intrapreneurship. Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, 12(3), 73-88. Marcotte, C. (2014). Entrepreneurship and innovation in emerging economies: Conceptual, methodological and contextual issues. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior and Research, 20(1), 42-65. Nabi, G., & Holden, R. (2008). Graduate entrepreneurship: intentions, education and training. Education and Training, 50(7), 445-451. Seth, G. (2012, February). Seth Godin. Retrieved from Earwolf: http://www.earwolf.com/person/seth-godin/ Read More