W to Bm an ntrrnur in the 21st ntury - Essay Example

w to bесоmе an еntrерrеnеur in the 21st сеntury Name Course Lecture Date Introduction The concept of entrepreneurship was established in the 1700s, and its meaning has evolved since then. While many people only equate it with the idea of starting one's business, some economists are of the belief that it encompasses more than that. To a number of economists, an entrepreneur is a person who is likely to bear the risks associated with a new venture provided that there is a significant chance of gaining profit. Others view entrepreneurs as people who develop new processes and goods that are required in the market and which are not being supplied, or the supply is limited. The 21st-century Entrepreneurs seem to be so different from other decade’s entrepreneurs due to the various changes that have occurred over time. Thus, this essay will offer a self-guide of how one can become an entrepreneur in the 21st century. The nature and role of entrepreneurship in business Entrepreneurship is a multidimensional concept. Entrepreneurship as an economic activity functions and emerges in a culture and socio-economic settings. The term entrepreneur stems up from French, and it means a go-between or between-taker. The definition of the terms entails four main aspects that is the creation process, the devotion of time and effort, the assumption of risk and the rewards of satisfaction, independence, and money (Bowman 2011). Thus entrepreneurship is the activity of creating new products and services that have additional value by devoting the time and effort, assuming the associated social, financial and psychic risks and receiving the rewards of personal satisfaction, money and independence. The entrepreneurial decision process is termed as the decision that individuals make to leave their career and lifestyle due to disruption and unpleasant work environments. Entrepreneurs take up a central position in the economy. The current insecure and complex economic environment calls for individuals who have the capability of solving existing problems through responsible and independent actions. The entrepreneurs are the ones who serve as drivers of the economy’s engine, thus activating and at the same time stimulating economic activity. The economic success of a considerable number of countries worldwide can be attributed to entrepreneurial nature (Crainer & Dearlove 2000). Most societies are prosperous when they encourage and rewards entrepreneurial activities since entrepreneurs are critical determinants of success, growth, prosperity and opportunity in the economy. Additionally, the most vibrant societies in the globe are those that have the greatest number of entrepreneurs in addition to the legal and economic structure to motivate and encourage entrepreneurs to engage in more activities. Entrepreneurs usually seek disequilibrium between the needs and wants of the consumers and the services and products that are available. The entrepreneur can bring the factors of production together to offer, produce and sell desired services and products. Entrepreneurs are unique from the other members of the society in that, they can pool together raw materials, money, skilled labour, manufacturing facilities and all other components that are required to produce a service or product (Duening, Hisrich & Lechter 2009). Entrepreneurs are future-oriented and optimistic; this means that they succeed and are always willing to risk the resources they have in pursuit of profit. Entrepreneurs are also fast moving and are always willing to try out the various strategies so as to achieve their benefits. At the same time, they are also flexible and thus; they are always willing to change speedily when they attain new kind of information that may be beneficial to them and their business ventures (Sørensen & Nanda 2010). Entrepreneurs are also skilled in making sales against their competitors, and they do so by creating perceptions of uniqueness and difference in their services and products. They always seek out the customer needs that the competitors are not satisfying and implement ways to offer their services and products in a most attractive way as compared to everything else that is available in the market (Shane & Venkataraman 2000). Thus, entrepreneurs are crucial in the globe, and they are national treasures to their countries. They should be encouraged, nourished, protected and rewarded in every possible way. Entrepreneurs create wealth, opportunities, jobs and all prosperity in the nation. Essential Elements for Formulating and Evaluating an Entrepreneurial Business Plan for a Start-Up Organization Business plans are very critical to the eventual success of new ventures. Entrepreneurs ought to dedicate their time to creating business plans. Business plans usually serve as frameworks for companies and acts as benchmarks for evaluating the goals (Swedberg 1998). Thus, business plans are vital in helping entrepreneurs to track their work. The essential elements include: Executive summary The company overview Market analysis Product and service offering Business strategy and implementation Competitors analysis Operations Organization Financial analysis Executive summary One of the primary elements of formulation and evaluation of an entrepreneurial business plan for start-up organization is an executive summary. This section is written last, and its aim is to capture the reader’s interest. When a first-time reader read the executive summary, they should be able to know what the plan is about (Eric, Brian & Jay 1993). Company Overview The subsequent element is the company overview. This section covers the name of the company, ownership, licenses, legal structure as well as the description of the service or product. This section should also entail a brief description of the industry, personal view of the current status of the industry and its future prospect (Eric, Brian & Jay 1993). Additionally, one can conduct an analysis of the effect of technological social, economic and regulatory trends to the industry. Market analysis The next element entails a market analysis. In this section, an entrepreneur should discuss their market segments, target market as well as the customer in these segments. Entrepreneurs should also address their penetration to the market, translate that into potential revenue over a period of years and they should also state if they expect the revenue share to decrease and increase with growth in the market. This section should also deal with how entrepreneurs will price their product and service for one to be competitive and have a fair profit. Product and services The other element deals with the products and services that the entrepreneur plans to bring to the market. In this section, the entrepreneurs describe the service and product offering, the consumers they address as well as the value that they bring to the customers (Roth 2014). Entrepreneurs should further explain how the product gives them an advantage over their competitors. This section also deals with how an entrepreneur will source the raw materials in case they plan to a manufacture the product solely. Business strategy and implementation The next element is the business strategy and implementation. Under these, the entrepreneurs seek to explain the manner in which they are able to gain access to the market. They should stipulate if they will attend trade shows or advertise or whether they will have a website. Competitor analysis The other section entails a clear and detailed analysis of the competitors. In this section, entrepreneurs ought to find and analyze the nearest competitors by name and put measures in place to ensure that an operation is better than the competitors (Pinson 2004). Another issue to address is whether the competitors business is steady, on the decrease or increase and the reasons behind it. An entrepreneur also needs to analyze the weaknesses and strengths of the competitors, and whether their entrepreneurial activities are similar or different to that of the competitors. An entrepreneur also needs to know how to maintain a close watch to the competitors in future. Operations management The other section is operations, and it deals with how entrepreneurs will produce and deliver services and products. This section can also outline the credit policies and how money that is due will be collected. This section also deals with the number of employees that will be required, their skills and how training will be delivered to the employees (Pinson 2004). This section also outlines the technology and equipment that the level and kind of inventory for the company. This section also deals with the researching all the licensing and legal issues related to the type of business. This section also sets out discuss the exit strategy that the company can employ in case they close the business. Management of the organization The other section is all about the organization of the company. This section outlines the individuals who have major management responsibilities and their experience (Strokes & Wilson 2010). Resumes of the managers ought to be included as supporting documents. Financial analysis Financial analysis is an essential part when it comes to evaluating new investment opportunities. By using it, entrepreneurs can estimate their potential (Pinson 2004). The section further discusses the present financial status and at the same time present forecast for future financial statements. In instances when the entrepreneurs seeks to use the business plan to request for financing, it is logical to cover the amount and type of funding expected and how it will be repaid and eventual return on investments. Essential elements of managing rapid growth and overcoming obstacles in an entrepreneurial environment Entrepreneurs are at times faced with a number of constraints and rapid growth in their ventures. Rapid growth is termed as the process that involves a quick boost in terms of sales, people, volume and cost for a company within a short period (Shane 2013). At the same time, entrepreneurs are faced with obstacles that may have adverse effects on the business. When rapid growth and obstacles occur suddenly, they have certain side effects to the business and thus risk the profitability and existence of the business in the future (Lundstrom & Stevenson 2005). There are a number of aspects that entrepreneurs need to be attentive about in managing rapid growth and obstacles since the business environment changes quickly. The elements that are essential in managing rapid growth and constraints are: Knowing the business clients Offloading of routine task to others who are competent Have a primary specialty area Formulate ways of improving services and products and seeking for opportunity Knowing the clients All entrepreneurs should be clear on who their clients are and this aids them in being selective when they have numerous business opportunities. This can also be the case when they have a limited amount of time to choose from the various business opportunities (Minniti & Moren 2010). Through understanding and having an explicit knowledge of the clients who are essential for their survival, entrepreneurs are able to identify customers quickly. Offloading of routine task to others As businesses face obstacles and grow rapidly; the entrepreneurs need to focus more on the strategic parts of their business instead of focusing on the daily administrative tasks. In the bid to offload some of the administrative tasks, the entrepreneurs can look for individuals who perform the work better and hire them to perform the tasks (Leitao & Baptista 2009). For instance, a company secretary may be well suited for activities such as accounting, bookkeeping, preparation of balance sheets, income statements ad income tax returns. Have a primary specialty Though business people are of the belief that entrepreneurs should always diversify their business into different areas that are somehow related to the core business, this should not always be the case. However, when entrepreneur activities are having rapid growth and facing obstacles, they ought to specialize in one area for them to be effective and efficient in what they do. Hence, they are able to serve a greater number of clients within a short period (James 2014). Formulate ways of improving products and services and seeking of opportunity One's competitors quickly copy products and services in today's marketplace. In the aim to overcome such obstacles, entrepreneurs need to come up with ways they can improve their services and products so as to meet the ever-changing needs of the consumers (Deakins & Freel 2009). Thus, entrepreneurs need to keep changing their business strategies for them to lead their businesses to the next stage of success. For instance, they can improve the product design to make the product more appealing. At the same time, they need to seek opportunities consistently. Entrepreneurs always have to pursue their dreams and ambitions. In the aim of improving their services and products, entrepreneurs have to look for new opportunity and offer growth potential and that are likely to take the business to the next level of success. Entrepreneurs, therefore, have to recognize the weaknesses of their businesses and seek ways in which they can transform the outlined weaknesses with opportunities to enhance their success in the marketplace (Ebbena & Johnson 2006). Significant Sources of Information and Assistance Including the Entrepreneurs and Significant Entrepreneurial Events over the Last Fifty Years It is widely accredited that entrepreneurs are essential for job creation, innovation and economic development in all countries. However, the traditional education systems have not offered significant support to entrepreneurship. Thus, with time, education systems need to play an important role in the development of entrepreneurial mindsets and skills (Dana 2010). One of the primary sources of entrepreneurial information is earlier entrepreneurs. In regard to this, upcoming entrepreneurs can get the required knowledge and skills from entrepreneurs who are before them. Some entrepreneurs have written articles, journals and tutorials on entrepreneurship. Future entrepreneurs can look at these sources to get any advice they may need to succeed in the business. Another essential source of information is through entrepreneurial seminars and workshops. These workshops and seminars are usually hosted by entrepreneurs to educate others on how they can succeed in business (Zahra 2009). The hosts also enlighten the entrepreneurs on what they need to do to succeed in their area of operation. An essential aspect of entrepreneurship is sources of assistance or funding. Some entrepreneurs can get their funds from personal savings. Others may get grants and loans from bank and Sacco’s (Backes-Ge1llner & Moog 2013). Additionally, governments are also playing an essential role in supporting entrepreneurs, and some funds are usually set aside to help entrepreneurs. Upcoming entrepreneurs need to make proper use of the information and financing they get for them to succeed. Over the last fifty years, there have been numerous entrepreneurial events that have taken place all over the world. Some of these events include: Silicon Valley comes to the UK Entrepreneurs Convention Great British Entrepreneur Awards Business start-up World Entrepreneurship Forum Conclusion The discussion presents the 21st-century entrepreneurs who seem to be so different from other decade entrepreneurs due to the various changes that have occurred over time. Entrepreneurship activities have never been important as they are today. Entrepreneurs need to formulate business plans prior to starting their business. Through the business plan, they are able to evaluate their performance of the company. Upcoming and already existing entrepreneurs need to be given full support since they play an essential role in offering employment opportunities and in the economic development of societies. Entrepreneurs need to seek for all relevant information that aids in succeeding in their ventures. Thus, it is crucial for them to attend entrepreneurial events, read the entrepreneurial tutorials, books, and journals. Through the events, they know which skills and strategies to adapt and which they should shun away from. Additionally, they need to seek financing to help in the realization of their dreams. References Backes-Ge1llner, U & Moog, P 2013, ‘The disposition to become an entrepreneur and the jacks-of-all-trades in social and human capital’, The Journal of Socio-Economic vol. 47, pp. 55–72. Bowman, E 2011, Entrepreneur Training Manual, Third Edition: Certified Entrepreneur Workbook, Guanzi Institute Press, China. 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