The Four Steps of the Entrepreneurial Process - Essay Example

?The Entrepreneurial Process Introduction The entrepreneurial process consists of several steps that vary in their level of complexity and importancefor different people and corporations. Success in the entrepreneurial process requires detailed research, market study, and constant follow-up of the latest trends. In order to evaluate the importance of the entrepreneurial process for individuals, corporations, and the healthcare industry, it is customary to discuss each step that forms part of the entrepreneurial process. They are discussed as follows: The Four Steps of the Entrepreneurial Process Step 1: Deciding to become an entrepreneur The decision to become an entrepreneur is the first step of the entrepreneurial process. People decide to become an entrepreneur when they have sufficient capital in hand, the required resources and expertise available to them, as well as when they are ready to take risks because entrepreneurship can lead to both profits and losses depending upon the strategies adopted by the entrepreneur. Step 2: Developing successful business ideas Developing successful business ideas is the second step of the entrepreneurial process. There are numerous business ideas in the contemporary dynamic and technology driven market. In addition to the traditional variety of ideas that was always available to the entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs today can also choose between brick and mortar business and online business. It is advisable for the entrepreneurs to conduct a detailed market study before finalizing their business ideas. Step 3: Moving from an idea to an entrepreneurial firm Once the idea has been identified, the next step is to move it to an entrepreneurial firm. This is precisely the stage when the entrepreneurs decide whether they have to establish a brick and mortar business, an online business, or a combination of both. Other factors that are considered at this stage include but are not limited to the organizational structure of the firm, the estimated number of organizational personnel, their roles and responsibilities, and marketing strategies. Step 4: Managing and growing the entrepreneurial firm Management and growth of the entrepreneurial firm is the final step of the entrepreneurial process. Activities included in this step include identifying the target market consumers, studying their decision making processes, their motives and aspirations, designing of the product, identifying the suitable ways to develop it, and marketing the product. All of these factors are strongly related to management. Rank of the Four Steps of Entrepreneurship as per their Importance Each of the four steps discussed above are equally important in the entrepreneurial process since the process is incomplete and cannot lead to favorable results as long as any of the steps is missing. The decision to become an entrepreneur is the simplest step as all it takes is motivation and determination to make this decision, yet this step is no less important than any of the subsequent steps since it lays the foundation of the entrepreneurial process. Developing successful business ideas is just as important as the first step but is more complicated than it because it calls for the need of research and team work to arrive at the successful business ideas. Managing and growing the entrepreneurial firm is also equally important as the first two steps but is obviously more complicated than the preceding steps because establishing a firm takes the accumulation of many resources. Many people go through the first and the second step but stop at the second step and abandon their plans to continue because of the level of effort and practical work required in the third step. Likewise, managing and growing the entrepreneurial firm is very important and poses many challenges in front of the management. This is the most complicated step in comparison to all of the preceding steps because the real art is to survive in the business and sustain and grow it for a long time after the initial step of establishing the business has been taken. Therefore, while all steps are equally important and share the same rank of importance, they follow the inverse sequence of ranks than their sequence of occurrence when it comes to the level of complication, meaning that the fourth step is the most complicated, followed by the third step, followed by the second step, and lastly the first step. Rationale for Ranking I placed the elements in this sequence because of the variety of challenges that an entrepreneur faces in each of the four elements. Making the decision to become an entrepreneur is the easiest step, finding successful business ideas requires more research so it is more complicated than making a decision but is obviously less complicated than establishing a business because that is the stage when plans are brought into action. However, establishment of a firm does not guarantee its success. There has to be continuous effort, change, monitoring, and supervision to lead the firm to the level where it not only comes at par with its competitors in the market but also outshines them with its unique business strategies and product features. Importance of Elements from Individual’s Perspective From the individual’s perspective, the most important step of the entrepreneurial process is establishment of the entrepreneurial firm. Once the firm is established, the success of the firm fundamentally depends upon the quality of management. “[M]anagement literature on entrepreneurship is often based on classical entrepreneurship literature, which can be divided into three main categories: the effects of entrepreneurship (what happens when entrepreneurs act), the causes of entrepreneurship (why entrepreneurs act) and entrepreneurial management (how entrepreneurs act)” (Christensen, 2004, p. 303). Importance of Elements from Corporate Perspective From the corporate perspective, the elements of entrepreneurship derive their importance from the fact that they help them deal with the environmental factors. The influence of the environmental factors on the corporations cannot be overemphasized. “It appears that the environment plays a profound role in influencing corporate entrepreneurship whereas there is consensus that the external environment is an important antecedent of corporate entrepreneurship” (Ferreira, 2002, p. 1). Influence of the Entrepreneurship Process on Healthcare The entrepreneurship process has a lot of influence on the quality of healthcare. In the healthcare industry, leaders assume immense responsibility to make changes along with attaining the organizational goals and influencing others since the organizations are changing at a very fast pace in the present age. Particularly, during the last 20 years, there has occurred a dramatic change in the healthcare industry. “New technologies, managed care, globalization, increased regulatory compliance, specialty health systems, telemedicine, virtual patients, outsourcing, cross training, forming partnerships, and competition are just a few examples of the changes taking place in the health care environment” (Guo, 2009). Conclusion The entrepreneurial process consists of four basic steps, including the decision of becoming an entrepreneur, development of successful business ideas, movement from the idea to the entrepreneurial firm, and management and growth of the entrepreneurial firm. In terms of importance, the steps follow the same sequence with the first being the least complicated whereas the last being the most complicated. From the individual’s perspective, the most important element is the establishment of the entrepreneurial firm because very few people with resources have the courage and determination to carry their plan to the level where they can actually establish an entrepreneurial firm. From the corporate perspective, management and growth of the entrepreneurial firm is the most important element because it requires strategic planning and prudently chosen marketing strategies to make the entrepreneurial firm successful. The entrepreneurial process has immense influence on the healthcare industry because it helps the professionals adopt and manage the frequently occurring changes in such a way that their risks are minimized and opportunities are maximized. References: Christensen, K. S. (2004). A classification of the corporate entrepreneurship umbrella: labels and perspectives. International Journal of Management Enterprise Development. 1(4): 301- 315. Guo, K. L. (2009). Core Competencies of the Entrepreneurial Leader in Health Care Organizations. The Health Care Manager. 28(1): 19-29. Ferreira, J. (2002). Corporate Entrepreneurship: a Strategic and Structural Perspective. International Council for Small Business. Retrieved from http://hadjarian.com/esterategic/tarjomeh/kermanshah5.pdf. Read More