An Entrepreneur (a loanword from French) is a person who undertakes and operates a new enterprise or venture and assumes some accountability for the inherent risks. In the context of the creation of for-profit enterprises, entrepreneur is often synonymous with founder.

Most commonly, the term entrepreneur applies to someone who establishes a new entity to offer a new or existing product or service into a new or existing market, whether for a profit or not-for-profit outcome.

Business entrepreneurs often have strong beliefs about a market opportunity and are willing to accept a high level of personal, professional or financial risk to pursue that opportunity. Business entrepreneurs are often highly regarded in U.S. culture as critical components of its capitalistic society.

See also

External links

U.S. Small Business Administration
Starting a Business - from U.S. Internal Revenue Service

References
- Theories of the Firm
Notes

This one-semester module will introduce you to the study of entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises. It is designed to help you understand the relationship between entrepreneurship and the environment. It will also help you to expand your perspective of entrepreneurship beyond small business management. Entrepreneurial management permeates most successful organizations today, regardless of their size or profit orientation.

The pedagogical objectives are to shape student abilities to think about creating their own business, evaluate situations from a strategic perspective, and reach strategic decisions. Accomplishing these objectives entails introducing students to how an enterprise must deal with all complexities and constraints of the environment in which it operates, why none of these can be assumed away or ignored, and how situation factors impact strategic decisions.

You should then be able to understand

the economic, historical, technological, societal, and global implications of entrepreneurship;
the differences between

(a) entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship, and
(b) management in traditional and entrepreneurial organizations, both profit and non-profit; and

the environmental conditions which facilitate entrepreneurial thinking.

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge

After comletion of this course students will be able

Recognise entrepreneurial opportunities
Understand business communication
Understand bookkeeping and accounting processes
Evaluate various sources of funding
Understand financial statements
Understand the fixes and variable costs
Understand the difference between profit and cash

Skills

After comletion of this course students will be able

Write a Business Plan
Manage a small business
Manage product marketing
Use a appropriate computer software
Use the Income Statement/Profit and Loss Account to guide the business
Plan business and personal finances.

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Teaching and Learning Resources

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Learning Contents

Entrepreneurship. Intrapreneurship. Teamwork

Tutorials

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Readings

Intrapreneurship is the practice of entrepreneurial skills and approaches by or within a company. Employees, perhaps engaged in a special project within a larger firm are supposed to behave as entrepreneurs, even though they have the resources and capabilities of the larger firm to draw upon. Capturing a little of the dynamic nature of entrepreneurial management (trying things until successful, learning from failures, attempting to conserve resources, etc.) is claimed to be quite valuable in otherwise static organizations.

The term itself dates to a 1985 book by Gifford Pinchot, "Intrapreneuring"; a revised edition, entitled "Intrapreneuring in Action" is currently published. The concept apparently dates back to 1976.

An Intrapreneur is the person who focuses on innovation and creativity and who transforms a dream or an idea into a profitable venture, by operating within the organizational environment. Thus, Intrapreneurs are Inside entrepreneurs who follow their founder’s example.

See also

Assembling the Resources. Product Creation. Financial Planning

Tutorials

Exercise 3

Readings

Business Analysis

(The forms listed below are available in MSWord and rtf formats from the APC site. Other appropriate forms may also be downloaded from APS or extracted from the tool kit.)

Environmental, Sector and Market Analysis
Environmental Analysis
Environmental Analysis (summary)
Sector Analysis
Sector Analysis (summary)
Market Analysis - Qualitative (1)
Market Analysis - Qualitative (2)
Market Analysis - Qualitative (3)
Client Structure Analysis
Qualitative Competitor Analysis
Competitor Analysis (summary)
Main Trends and Effects
Main Trends and Effects (summary)
Possible New Business Activities
Possible New Business Activities (summary)
Present Business Activites
Present Business Activites (summary)

In business and engineering, New Product Development is the complete process of bringing a new product to market. There are two parallel aspects to this process : one involves product engineering ; the other marketing analysis. Marketers see new product development as the first stage in product life cycle management, engineers as part of Product Lifecycle Management.

Types of new products

See also

References

External links

Product Development and Management Association (PDMA)

A Financial Planner or Personal Financial Planner is a practising professional who helps people to deal with various personal financial issues through proper planning, which include but not limited to these major areas: tertiary education planning, retirement planning, investment planning, risk management and insurance planning, tax planning, estate planning and business succession planning (for business owners). The work engaged in by this professional is commonly known as personal financial planning. In carrying out the planning function, he is guided by a process known as the financial planning process which should result in creating a detailed strategy for making their clients as wealthy as possible.

Also see Financial Centre

See also

External links

Operations Planning. Technology. Concurrent Engineering. Ethics

Tutorials

Readings

Business operations are those activities involved in the running of a business for the purpose of producing value for the stakeholders. Compare business processes. The outcome of business operations is the harvesting of value from assets owned by a business. Assets can be either physical or intangible. An example of value derived from a physical asset like a building is rent. An example of value derived from an intangible asset like an idea is a royalty. The effort involved in "harvesting" this value is what constitutes business operations.

Business operations encompasses three fundamental management imperatives that collectively aim to maximize value harvested from business assets (this has often been referred to as "sweating the assets"):

Generate recurring income.
Increase the value of the business.
Secure the income and value of the business.

All three imperatives are mutually dependent. The following basic tenets illustrate this interdependency:

1. The more recurring income an asset generates, the more valuable it becomes. For example, the products that sell at the highest volumes and prices are usually considered to be the most valuable products in a business's product portfolio.

2. The more valuable a product becomes the more recurring income it generates. For example, a Mercedes Benz can be leased out at a higher rate than a Toyota Corolla.

3. The intrinsic value and income-generating potential of an asset cannot be realized without a way to secure it. For example, petroleum deposits are worthless unless processes and equipment are developed and employed to extract, refine, and distribute it profitably.

The Business Model of a business describes the means by which the three management imperatives are achieved. In this sense, business operations is the execution of the business model.

See also

External links

Business Credit How to Build Your Business Credit Profile
Concurrent Engineering

Launching the New Venture. Marketing Plan. Idea/Generation & Selection

Tutorials

Readings

Marketing Plan

In law, Intellectual Property (IP) is an umbrella term for various legal entitlements which attach to certain types of information, ideas, or other intangibles in their expressed form. The holder of this legal entitlement is generally entitled to exercise various exclusive rights in relation to the subject matter of the IP. The term intellectual property reflects the idea that this subject matter is the product of the mind or the intellect, and that IP rights may be protected at law in the same way as any other form of property. However, the use of the term and the concepts it is said to embody are the subject of some controversy (see below).

Intellectual property laws vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, such that the acquisition, registration or enforcement of IP rights must be pursued or obtained separately in each territory of interest. However, these laws are becoming increasingly harmonised through the effects of international treaties such as the 1994 World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs), while other treaties may facilitate registration in more than one jurisdiction at a time. Certain forms of IP rights do not require registration in order to be enforced.

See also

External links

Wikibooks

Running the Business: Building Lasting Success. Human Resources

Tutorials

Exercise 4

Readings

Profit, from Latin meaning "to make progress", is defined in two different ways. Under capitalism, profit is a positive return made on an investment by an individual or by business operations. Under the Marxist definition it is a mechanism of class exploitation, where surplus value is extracted by capitalists from their workers and suppliers beyond the point where costs are covered.

Under capitalism, methods of calculation differ between accountants and economists. Often, it is the difference between retail sales price and the costs of manufacture. However, the term is also used more generally to refer to the value added after all the factors of production have been credited their full opportunity cost.

The Profit Motive—enterprises being free to make as much profit as they can given market conditions—is regarded by capitalists to be a good thing. It is held to give firms incentives for allocative efficiency and technical efficiency. This idea is a corollary of the theorems of welfare economics and utility maximization. However, profits can include economic rents, which do not produce efficiency. For instance, a monopoly can have very high profits but produce less economic welfare. Classical economists use profits to measure the happiness/utility/general welfare, gained by society, and understand that high profits demonstrate the high value of the factors used in the production of such goods.

See also

External links

Measuring the Long-Run Profitability of the Firm)
Profit and Loss, Ludwig von Mises (1951)
Entrepreneurial Profit and Loss,
Murray Rothbard's Man, Economy, and State, Chapter 8.

Human Resources has at least two meanings depending on context. The original usage derives from political economy and economics, where it was traditionally called labour, one of three factors of production. The more common usage within corporations and businesses refers to the individuals within the firm, and to the portion of the firm's organization that deals with hiring, firing, training, and other personnel issues. This article will address both definitions.

See also

External links

Strategic Planning

Readings

A Strategy is a long term plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal, as differentiated from tactics or immediate actions with resources at hand. Originally confined to military matters, the word has become commonly used in many disparate fields, such as:

See also

Business Planning

Planning is the (psychological) process of creating and refining a plan, or integrating it with other plans. The term is also used to describe the formal procedures used in such an endeavour, such as the creation of documents, diagrams, or meetings to discuss the important issues to be addressed, the objectives to be met, and the strategy to be followed. Beyond this, planning has a different meaning depending on the political or economic context in which it is used.

See also

Plan

Action Plan
Critical Issues Analysis Worksheet
Cashflow Forecast
Product/Service Differentiation Worksheet

Creating and Managing New Ventures

Presentation	Title
one	Chapter 1 Entrepreneurship.PPT
two	Chapter 2 Creativity.PPT
three	Chapter 3 Strategic Mgt.PPT
four	Chapter 4 Forms of Owner.PPT
five	Chapter 5 Buying a Business.PPT
six	Chapter 6 Marketing Plan.PPT
sever	Chapter 7 Ads Pricing.PPT
eight	Chapter 8 Cash Flow.PPT
nine	Chapter 9 Financial Plan.PPT
ten	Chapter 10 Business Plan.PPT
eleven	Chapter 11 Sources of Funds.PPT
twelve	Chapter 12 Location Layout.PPT
thirteen	Chapter 13 Global Aspects.PPT
fourteen	Chapter 14 Leadership.PPT
fifteen	Chapter 15 E-Commerce.PPT
statement of cash flows	Statement of Cash Flows.pdf
supply chain	Supply Chain.PPT
project management	Project Management.PPT
project example	Project1.mpp Open it with Microsoft Project.
decisions	Decisions.PPT
mfg economic model	Manufacturing Model.PPT
New products	Creativity and New Product Development
Sample presentation	Elevator Pitch Presentation.ppt

Source: Brent Strong and John Richards

Proposal. Report Writing. Technical Presentations

Tutorials

Readings

How to write a Business Plan?

Writing a Business Plan

Business Proposal

A business proposal is an offering from a seller to a prospective buyer. Proposals can range in size from a one page letter, or price list, to several hundred pages of detailed specifications. In the business sales process, the written proposal is the vehicle that carries the terms of an agreement between buyer and seller and forms the basis for a subsequent business contract. When a proposed offer is accepted by the buyer, it creates a legally binding document for both parties, buyer and seller.

In complex sales situations, the process of selling can take several weeks, or even months, to complete, with offer and counter offer going back and forth. The proposal provides a formal way for both sides to communicate in writing during these negotiations. Prospective buyers sometimes issue a Request for Proposals (RFP), or an Invitation for Bids (IFB), to guide the sellers and provide specific information about what products or services they want. These specifications become the customer's requirements, and meeting requirements is a major objective in writing a successful proposal.

A properly accomplished proposal will put the buyer's requirements into a context that favors the sellers products and services, educating the prospective client about the full nature of his or her needs and the capabilities of the seller in satisfying those needs. Often, a prospective client may be aware of only a portion of their needs, or they may be unaware of what the market has to offer to meet their needs. A successful proposal is one that results in a sale, where both parties get what they want. This is called a win-win situation.

The basic components of the business proposal are: 1) an orientation to the sellers capabilities or products, 2)a discussion of key issues, 3) a description of the sellers offering and related benefits, 4) the cost of the offering, and 5) a schedule for delivery of the products or services. Of course when responding to an RFP or IFB, the format of the proposal is determined mainly by the buyer, and the seller must respond in kind. Because the proposal becomes part of a contract between the buyer and seller, it must be also considered a legal document and may contain elements of their legal agreement, such as penalties for non-delivery or tardiness.

External links

A Guide for Writing a Funding Proposal

References

Association of Proposal Management Professionals
Baugh, L. Sue; Hamper, Robert J.; (1995). Handbook For Writing Proposals. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-8442-3274-2.
Holtz, Herman; (1998). Proven Proposal Strategies To Win More Business. Dearborn Trade, a Kaplan Professional Company. ISBN 1-57410-088-2.
Reeds, Kitta; (2002). The Zen of Proposal Writing : An Expert's Stress-Free Path to Winning Proposals. Three Rivers Press. ISBN 0-609-80649-1.
Ricci, Laura; (1996). The Magic of Winning Proposals. R³. ISBN 0-9657399-1-0.
Capture. Deliver. Excel. - Applying the Principles of Business Writing. Ilja van Roon. Retrieved on May 7, 2006.
The Magic of Winning Proposals. 1Ricci LLC. Retrieved on November 19, 2006.

Harvesting the Rewards

Tutorials

Readings

In finance and economics, divestment or divestiture is the reduction of some kind of asset, for either financial or social goals. A divestment is the opposite of an investment.

External links

Institute of Mergers, Acquisitions and Alliances (MANDA) M&A - An academic research institute on mergers & acquisitions, incl. divestments
General divestment information from the Sudan divestment movement
Pensions for Peace ~ ACT for the Earth
CAMERA information on divestment.
University of Wisconsin Divestment website.
City of Seattle Divest.
Mainline churches launch a policy to punish Israel by Eugene Kontorovich, in the Wall Street Journal, July 22, 2005.
Palestine Solidarity Movement

See also

Assessment

The clearest way to demonstrate what you have learned is by showing that you can utilize your knowledge. Therefore, students will be evaluated on how well they apply the concepts and processes discussed during the class and the workshop. Your grade will be based on :

Presentation of New venture Proposal and Business Plan (30%)
New venture Business Plan (70%)

Recommended Texts

Entrepreneurship: Theory, Process, Practice
Kuratko and Hodgetts
Seventh Edition

Check the availability and buy your books from our Bookshop.

Entrepreneurship: A Process Perspective
by Robert A. Baron, Scott A. Shane

Check the availability and buy your books from our Bookshop.

Resources

Articles

Developing Technical Enterprises in Less Developed Countries
Why Engineers Should Read Shakespeare.doc (Published in Composites Fabricator, February 2003)

Entrepreneurship: A Field and an Activity with PROFILES IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP
This segment focuses on personal definitions of entrepreneurship. Three entrepreneurs discuss what it takes to start and run a business, and several major themes are introduced that will resurface in later segments-passion or love for what you are doing, hard work, ethics and treating others with consideration, etc. You might ask your students what qualities, if any, all three entrepreneurs seem to have in common. How do their definitions of what it takes to be an entrepreneur match up or diverge from the definition given in the book? Reference Chapter 1 of textbook.

Acquiring Essential Information with PROFILES IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP
This segment emphasizes the qualities a venture capitalist seeks in investment opportunities. Bobby Inman lists the qualities he sought in new investments and companies, including firm grasp of technological and financial considerations, flexibility of the founder, and advance market knowledge. Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines discusses innovation, and creating and sustaining competitive advantage. You might ask your students to think about what makes a business plan appealing to potential investors, what questions should entrepreneurs be prepared to address? How do successful entrepreneurs gather and use information to create and sustain competitive advantage? Reference Chapter 4 of textbook.

Assembling the Team with PROFILES IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Herb Kelleher talks about the corporate culture at Southwest Airlines and how the quality of relationships with employees directly impacts the quality of work and success of the firm. Other entrepreneurs discuss leading by example, developing expectations of excellence, and compensation. Thomas Meredith, CFO of Dell Ventures, gives characteristics he seeks in interviewing job candidates. Some questions to consider for class discussion include: how do the experiences of these entrepreneurs relate to the chapter material on choosing a founding team, as well as other employees? What are some decisions prospective entrepreneurs should make regarding the organization of their companies and employees right from the start? Reference Chapter 5 of textbook.

Financing New Ventures with PROFILES IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Peter Holt, Thomas Meredith, and Gary Woods discuss the importance of good banking relationships in financing, as well as exploring alternative means of financing. The entrepreneurs emphasize the need for adequate financing, criteria lenders will be evaluating, and understanding terms and conditions associated with financing. You might ask students to think about different forms of financing-what challenges are faced by entrepreneurs regardless of whether they are self-financed, backed by venture capitalists, or financed by bank loans? What are some advantages and disadvantages of different forms of financing? What are some means for creating good financial relationships? What role does networking play in financing new business ventures? Reference Chapter 6 of textbook.

Strategy: Planning for Competitive Advantage with PROFILES IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Stacey Bishkin of BBH Exhibits describes her formula for opportunities for success through listening to customers, clients, and employees, preparation, respect, and fun (passion for your work). Todd Maclin talks about taking calculated risks and communicating candidly, even when you have to deliver a message that someone doesn't want to hear. You might ask students to think about ways in which these entrepreneurs' experiences might have helped them to build and sustain competitive advantage? What are some important steps to protecting competitive advantage that are discussed in the book, but not mentioned in the video segment? How do these entrepreneurs' comments fit in with the idea of growth from a small scale as discussed in the text? Reference Chapter 10 of textbook.

Essential Skills for Entrepreneurs with PROFILES IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Entrepreneurs including Charles Amato, Sam Barshop, Bobby Inman, and Thomas Meredith discuss the importance of ethics and the value of reputation among business owners. Other continuing themes are the necessity of total commitment and immersion in the business, having a passion for your work or company, and learning every aspect of the business from concept to production or sale. Todd Maclin of Chase Bank focuses on the value of curiosity and openness to change to successfully grow and maintain a business. Students might consider what strategies mentioned by these entrepreneurs are important for sustaining a successful business. What kinds of people skills do these entrepreneurs emphasize? Although the business people in this segment do not directly discuss conflict management or the effects of stress (and how to manage it), can you guess at how they might comment on these issues? Reference Chapter 12 of textbook.

Exit Strategies for Entrepreneurs with PROFILES IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP
In this segment, Red McCombs of McCombs Automotive and the Minnesota Vikings discusses business failures and why he's never afraid of failure. He had sold struggling businesses to others who have succeeded with them, so fit and expertise with a particular business are important to consider. Randi Shade of Charitygift.com discusses the failed exit strategy with her IPO. Students might think about potential pitfalls in exit strategies, and how can they be avoided? How might Randi Shade have improved the outcome of her exit strategy? How might some of the recurring themes from the Profiles in Entrepreneurship Videos relate to crafting a successful exit strategy (people skills, preparation, passion for your work, etc.)? Students could also be asked to specifically define what they would accept as a successful exit strategy. Reference Chapter 14 of textbook.

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