Interviewing Entrepreneurs - Coursework Example

Interviewing Entrepreneurs Student’s Name Institution’s Affiliation Date The following is an interview carried out among three young entrepreneurs based in Saudi Arabia. The objective the interview is to understand what entrepreneurship entails, the defining characteristics of an entrepreneur, the challenges facing young entrepreneurs and how to run an entrepreneurial business. An interview is a methodology used to obtain first-hand information from the entrepreneurs to achieve the set objectives. The first interview is with Amina Mohammad, a female entrepreneur who is determined to succeed in her business. In Saudi Arabia, the female entrepreneurs face a lot of challenges from the strict laws when setting up and running an entrepreneurial venture. The law of Saudi Arabia requires that the female entrepreneurs seek the approval of male guardians before they begin any income generating activity. This has discouraged most of the potential female entrepreneurs from engaging fully in establishing and running their entrepreneurial enterprises. The live interview with Amina Mohammad will enable us to understand the achievements and challenges that she faces in her enterprise. The second interview is with Shakir Yusuf, an online entrepreneur who ventured into an online store business to sell branded clothes. He was born with entrepreneurial skills which greatly nourished his business. While at the second year of high school, Yusuf began his business and it grew rapidly. He later developed an online store where he was faced with the challenge of building an online trust. The third interview is with Abdul Nasir, an entrepreneur who specialized in offering technical support on how to incorporate technology in business. He conceived the idea to start the business when he realized that most individuals and business have difficulty in integrating latest technology in their business due to fear of unknown. He bridges the gap by offering consultancy services to individuals and small firms. The interview with Amina Mohammad Interviewer: Thank you for the opportunity you have given me to interview you today. Please give a short introduction about yourself. Amina Mohammad: As earlier said, my official name is Amina Mohammad. I’m not yet married, and I am 21 years old now. I pursued a course graphic design student at Dar Al Hekma learning institution, and I completed when I was 19-years old. Interviewer: Please describe to me about your company i.e. the name, when you established and what it does. Amina Mohammad: The name of my enterprise is Amino. It was derived from the initials of my two names. The goal of my business is to collaborate with other stakeholders and develop a socially accountable youth culture. The idea to establish this kind of enterprise came to me when I was 15-years old; however, my idea was not implemented until the year 2014. Interviewer: How did you evaluate your identified business as viable? Amina Mohammad: The focus of my business is in the community. I realized that most of the young people are unemployed and lack the capital to start their own business. I wanted to create a platform where success entrepreneurs and well-wishers will be able to invest in young people who represent 70% of our population. Interviewer: What were the preparatory steps that you took before commencing your business? Amina Mohammad: At the beginning, I had to design a business plan that will actualize my idea. I took advantage of free training and advice from the community in designing my business plan. I conducted a thorough market research concerning the youth and entrepreneurship before registering my business name. Interviewer: How did get the funds to run your business? Amina Mohammad: After drawing up my business, I wrote a proposal to solicit funds from several investors. Luckily, I was able to find one investor who believed in my idea and agreed to provide the necessary funds. I’m also grateful for the enormous support that I got from my family and friends. Interviewer: What are the challenges that you have faced as an entrepreneur while running your business enterprise? Amina Mohammad: The most challenging moment was during registration of the business. In Saudi Arabia, female entrepreneurs must have male representatives to register a company as required by the law. During that time, it was a challenge to find the males who are willing to represent the business because most men refused to accept female leaders. The other challenges were brought by outdated cultural beliefs and stiff competition from more established entrepreneurs. Interviewer: As we close the interview, what can you tell other female entrepreneur seeking to start a business in Saudi Arabia? Amina Mohammad: I wish to advise them that they should implement their excellent business ideas without any fear of unknown. Successful entrepreneurs begun small just with an idea but with time they have established empires. Interviewer: Thank you for your time Amina. It has been an interview of its kind. I wish you well in your business. The interview with Shakir Yusuf Interviewer: It is an honor to interview a great entrepreneur like you today. Welcome to the interview and please introduce yourself. Shakir Yusuf: My official name is Shakir Yusuf. I was born in 1992 and have been brought up in Saudi Arabia. While at the University of Saudi Arabia, I pursued business management as my major. Interviewer: Why did you engage in entrepreneurship instead of looking for a white collar job? Shakir Yusuf: I started dreaming of establishing a business empire while I was at the age of 13 years old. I identified an opportunity at the age of 20 that I devoted all my resources to pursue it. I developed an online store to sell clothing and the business picked up rapidly. Interviewer: Most of the entrepreneurs believe that one is born with an entrepreneurial spirit. In your case, do you think that were born with it or you acquire it later? Shakir Yusuf: According to my perspective, an individual is not necessarily born with an entrepreneurial spirit. In my case, I just found myself an entrepreneur because I like doing things which most people around me consider risky to do. I hate the idea of following what others are doing but instead I prefer working in my setting. Interviewer: Where is the source of your inspirations as an entrepreneur? Shakir Yusuf: Several books have always inspired me about entrepreneurship that I have read. My good reading culture has enabled me to go through several books by different authors. However, the best source of inspiration comes from my goals and ideas which have shaped me. Interviewer: How did you come up with an idea to establish an online clothing store? Shakir Yusuf: I was fond of ordering clothes, especially those who have been branded when I was in the second year of high school. I received a lot of quotes from different companies and I realized that most of them were overpriced. I spent most of my time to find the justification for their excessively high prices. In the process, I realized that high prices they set were as a result of inefficiencies within the companies. Therefore, I conceived an idea to begin selling branded clothes while at the school at lower prices. Since then my business grew until now I have acquired an online store. Interviewer: What are the challenges that you face as an entrepreneur? Shakir Yusuf: The major challenge that I faced, especially after developing an online sore is building an online trust with the prospective customers. Some people find it hard to trust online retailers and hence, the difficulty to transact with them. Interviewer: As we conclude our interview, how will you advise the startup entrepreneurs so that they can succeed in business? Shakir Yusuf: I just have one word of encouragement to them ‘Believe in yourself.' Entrepreneurship is about taking the risk and hence, they should not fear to take an informed risk. Interviewer: Thank you, Shakir, for dedicating your time for the interview. I’m grateful, and I wish you success as continue to grow your business. The interview with Abdul Nasir Interviewer: It is a pleasure to have you today for an entrepreneurship interview. Welcome, and please introduce yourself. Abdul Nasir: You are welcome. I’m Abdul Nasir, the owner of a technical consultancy firm known as Broadways Technology. I’m a graduate of Information Technology. Interviewer: What does your business entail? Abdul Nasir: My enterprises offers consultancy services concerning how to incorporate the right technology in your business to acquire benefits associated with the latest technology. Interviewer: How did begin your business and what inspired you? Abdul Nasir: I realized that most business people and startup business have little or no understanding of how to utilize technology in the daily business operation. This is because technology is dynamic and hence, it is difficult to predict what will happen next. As a result, most people do fear to incorporate due to fear of unknown. This knowledge inspired me to bridge the gap by assisting these individuals and small business who cannot afford to hire experts so that they can also benefit from technology. Interviewer: Were you born as an entrepreneur? Abdul Nasir: No, I believe I developed my entrepreneurial skills with time as I read several entrepreneurial books and by attending various seminars organized by entrepreneurs. Interviewer: What are the challenges you have faced? Abdul Nasir: The major challenge that I have is convincing the clients about the benefit of incorporating technology into their business. Also, I face stiff competition from more established firms. Interviewer: As we conclude, how will you advise young entrepreneurs who look up to you for guidance? Abdul Nasir: For you to succeed to succeed in entrepreneurship, you have to come up with a new solution to existing business problems. Entrepreneurship is about solving people’s problems at a price. They should not copy a business idea from existing businesses. Interviewer: Thank you for your time, Abdul. I wish you success in your endeavors. Lessons and Conclusion The discussion with Amina Mohammad enabled me to understand the challenges that female entrepreneurs in Saudi face when establishing and running entrepreneurial ventures. The laws of the country are the major hindrance to most female seeking to participate in business. The law requires that female entrepreneurs must have a male representative in the business for it to be recognized. It's hard to find the male who are willing to partner with the female entrepreneurs because most of them reject female leaders. Also, the culture in Saudi Arabia discourages women from establishing their own business in that it has made them believe that they are inferior to the males. There is also stiff competition from other established business that limits the potential of young entrepreneurs (Nicholls, 2005). The interview with Shakir Yusuf has exposed the risks that most entrepreneurs are engaging in online business experience. It is evident that trust is the basic necessity for any online business to succeed and building an online trust with the customers is difficult. According to Yusuf, an individual should not necessarily be born with entrepreneurial skills. It means that anyone can acquire entrepreneurial skills provided they are ready to learn. However, people are born with entrepreneurial skills. I also learned from Yusuf that an entrepreneur ought to believe in themselves and be ready to take the risk (Nicholls, 2005). The discussion with Abdul has exposed some important factors for young entrepreneurs to take into account. Entrepreneurship is about identifying and solving business problems. It is a good thing to copy or imitates existing business because each entrepreneur is unique. Also, an entrepreneur should be ready to face stiff competition from more established business (Nicholls, 2005). References Nicholls, C. L. (2005). Rapid growth and high performance: The entrepreneur's “impossible dream?” The Academy of Management Executive, 19(1), 77-89. Read More