Dick Smith - Background, Characteristics of Entrepreneur, and His Business Venture - Case Study Example

DICK SMITH By Course Professor’s Name Institution Location of Institution Date Dick Smith Background of the Entrepreneur Dick Smith is an Australian entrepreneur born 1944 in Roseville, New South Wale. Smith is the founder of a chain of companies that include Dick Smith Electronics, Australian Geographic as well as Smith foods. Recently, he expanded his venture into the film industry by forming the Smith and Nasht Company. Smith was born to a salesman father while his mother was a housewife. Due to his speech defects, Smith was weak in academics and was often among the low performers in his class. He later became a boy scout in 1967 where he gained his radio license. In most part of his 20s, Smith worked as a radio repair before he ventured into entrepreneurship. Smith is married to Phillipa McManarney and together they have one daughter. Although they were married at the age of nineteen, they supported each other as Smith built his business empire. Smith’s entrepreneurship journey began in 1968 when together with his wife they decided to make a $610 investment to form an electronics business. Indeed, the initial financing of the business was only done at the family level. Smith’s venture focused on installing as well as servicing car radios. The success of his business meant that he had to move to a larger shop due to the enhanced reputation of the business. Later Smith diversified his business to open his first wholesale business while like his first was also a success. The business was growing so fast that he decided to sell 60 per cent to Woolworth Limited in 1980. However, in 1982 he sold his remaining shares to Woolworths even though the company is still trading in his name. Smith entrepreneurial spirit later saw him form Australian Geographic in 1986. He later formed Dick Smith Foods in 1999 which he has expanded since its inception. In 2010, Smith formed Smith and Nasht to add to his business empire. In essence, Smiths resilience together with his passion has seen him improve and succeed as an entrepreneur over the years. Moreover, his background did not also limit him in terms of where he wanted to get as an entrepreneur. Characteristics of the Entrepreneur As an entrepreneur, Dick Smith has several characteristics that have made him develop through the years. Firstly, Smith is opportunistic, and this can be seen in the way he created his first venture in 1968. Smith saw an opportunity in the electronics sector, and decided to make investment. This is a characteristic that is present in almost all entrepreneurs as they often see the value around perceived opportunities. Indeed, Smith being opportunistic ensured that his first venture was a success within the first few years. The other characteristic that Smith has as an entrepreneur is that he is innovative. While many people may value in perceived opportunities, entrepreneurs go further and come up with innovations to exploit the opportunities. This is a characteristic that is present in the case of Smith since the expansion of his business venture has been mainly based on innovative business models such as the Dick Smith Foods. In general, Smith has the characteristics of being innovative and opportunistic. At the same time, Smith is also a self-confident and this has also contributed to his success as entrepreneur. Although he had speech defects, this did not deter him from following his dream of becoming and entrepreneur. The self confidence has seen him expand his business empire with the underlying notion that all his ventures will turn out to be a success. Furthermore, Smith has the characteristic of being proactive and decisive with high energy. Had he not been proactive he could not have invested in his first business venture. When Smith identified his first venture, he was proactive in terms of channelling funds to ensure that it was a success. The benefits that followed the investment were due to this characteristic. Successful entrepreneurs do not procrastinate when they want to make investments, they are proactive and this is exactly what Smith did with his first investment. In essence, apart from being innovative and opportunistic, Smith is also a self-confident and proactive entrepreneur. Smith’s other characteristic that has made him a successful entrepreneur is that he accepts responsibilities with enthusiasm and endurance. In his first business venture, Smith not only managed his business but also delivered services to his customers. This implies that as the business owner, Smith did not sit back and employ people to deliver services to the customer, but took the responsibility of ensuring that the customers’ needs were identified before he could expand and employ more people. Additionally, Smith also has the characteristic of being flexible. Entrepreneurs are individuals that are open to new ideas; they are not rigid to stick to one idea. If Smith was not flexible, he could have invested in other ventures such as Smith Foods since he could have wanted to stick to his initial business. In essence, a successful entrepreneur such as Smith accepts responsibility and is flexible to other ideas. Furthermore, Smith is a risk-taker; this is a characteristic that all entrepreneurs as they do not fear investing in perceived ventures. While the entrepreneurs will evaluate the risks of engaging in new business venture, if they see future returns from the venture are good, they will decide to invest regardless of the risk. Smith invested in his first venture through the saving that he had made with his wife. If he had hesitated about losing his initial investment, then he could have backed away, but as an entrepreneur he had to take risks so as to succeed. Lastly, Smith’s other characteristic that has made him a successful entrepreneur is that he is a leader. Smith has been the leader of his business ventures over the years, and this ensures that they move in the direction that he wanted when he formed them. In essence, Smith is a risk taker and a leader and this has enabled him to succeed in his business. Process of Opportunity Recognition and Idea Development Potential entrepreneurs must always be alert to opportunities that lie in the external and internal environment and this will grant them the opportunity to recognize a potential opportunity. The process of identifying new opportunities lies in societal trends, technology, economic and government trends (Tobias 2010). Smith’s process of opportunity recognition led his first business venture. Smith identified and opportunity in the electronics sector and particularly in installing and servicing car radios. Smith had a background in the field hence it was easier for him to implement the idea. The opportunity recognition stage is done after the entrepreneur scanned the environment to determine the threats and opportunities they will face if they have to implement their ideas. An entrepreneur can decide not to implement the idea if the threats outweigh the opportunities and he or she has no way of limiting them (Tobias 2010). However, the difficulty that entrepreneurs like Smith face at this stage is that they are uncertain about the future outlook of their business. At this stage, ideas are improved, merged with other idea or shelved. Smith may have had other ideas, but after careful scanning of the environment, he decided to shelve them so that he could invest in the electronics business. The other stage in the process is idea development where the entrepreneur refines their idea so that they before implementation. The development phase of the idea involves experimentation, design, and development. In the case of Smith, the key events in this phase included the determination of where his business was going to be located. Further, Smith may have offered the services to few customers at the initial stages so that he could gauge how they responded to ensure that he improved his offerings in future. After the idea refined and developed, it is then implemented in the market by the entrepreneur. At this stage, the entrepreneur is seen to have understood the needs of the customers, and wants to solve them by offering products and services. For Smith, this phase happened in 1968 when he finally decided to invest in the electronics business. He had learnt about the customers’ needs and his electronic products and services solved the needs. In essence, his business was formed at that time with the intent of solving the customers’ needs, and he succeeded in doing this. The last stage is the learning and evaluation whereby the entrepreneur gauges the success of their new venture. In terms of learning, the entrepreneur takes lessons from the new venture so that he can take them into account when he implements other ideas. The new knowledge acquired from undertaking the prospective innovations can also be used as input to the idea generation phase for future businesses (Tobias 2010). For example, Smith learned from his first business and he was able to diversify and implement other ideas. Through the evaluation, entrepreneurs learn to avoid mistakes in future ventures. Future Suggestions Dick Smith should firstly think about diversifying his businesses since it is already a brand name in Australia. For example, after her sold his electronics business to Woolworths, Smith diversified to form the foods business. It is therefore ideal that he diversifies to other businesses such as entering into the seafood business. The other suggestion that is ideal for Smith in this case is to decide to sell his current business and invest the returns in technological business. Further, Smith should also consider expanding his current business. Having established a home market in Australia, it is important for Smith to consider expanding to other countries. Possible destinations for expansion include Asia, Africa and South American. There are countries in this markets that have a number of opportunities that can be exploited by business. Smith should consider expanding to these countries to ensure that his business empire expands and competes in the global scene. In essence, Smith has the opportunities of expansion, selling the business or diversifying the product offerings of the current business. In conclusion, Dick Smith is one of Australia’s most successful entrepreneurs. He began his business ventures in 1968 and has not stopped from that time. He exhibits characteristics that are seen in most successful entrepreneurs. Therefore, upcoming entrepreneurs can take great lessons from Smith’s history. Reference Kollmann, T. ed., 2010. E-Entrepreneurship and ICT Ventures: Strategy, Organization and Technology: Strategy, Organization and Technology. IGI Global. Read More