Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship
Mark English
Mark Wetzel
Beth Knott
Dustin Branham

Overview
 What is an entrepreneur?
 Characteristics of an entrepreneur
 Planning to be an entrepreneur
 Growth pressures, managing a family
business, and corporate
intrapreneurship

Entrepreneurs V. Intrapreneurs
 Entrepreneurs are people that notice
opportunities and take the initiative to
mobilize resources to make new goods and
services.
 Intrapreneurs also notice opportunities and
take initiative to mobilize resources, however
they work in large companies and contribute
to the innovation of the firm.
 Intrapreneurs often become entrepreneurs.

Intrapreneurship
 Learning organizations encourage intrapreneurship.
 Organizations want to form:
 Product Champions: people who take ownership of a
product from concept to market.
 Skunkworks: a group of intrapreneurs kept separate from
the rest of the organization.
 New Venture Division: allows a division to act as its own
smaller company.
 Rewards for Innovation: link innovation by workers to
valued rewards.

Small Business Owners
 Small business owners are people who
own a major equity stake in a company
with fewer than 500 employees.
 In 1997 there were 22.56 million small
business in the United States.
 47% of people are employed by a small
business.

Employee Satisfaction
 In companies with less than 50 employees,
44% were satisfied.
 In companies with 50-999 employees, 31%
are satisfied.
 Business with more than 1000, only 28% are
satisfied.

28
31
44
0
10
20
30
40
50
less than 50 50-999 1000+
Number of Employees
SatisfactionPercentage
less than
50
50-999
1000+

Advantages of a Small
Business
 Greater Opportunity
to get rich through
stock options
 Feel more important
 Feel more secure
 Comfort Level

Disadvantages of a Small
Business
 Lower guaranteed pay
 Fewer benefits
 Expected to have many skills
 Too much cohesion
 Hard to move to a big company
 Large fluctuations in income possible

Who are entrepreneurs?
 Common traits
 Original thinkers
 Risk takers
 Take responsibility
for own actions
 Feel competent and
capable
 Set high goals and
enjoy working
toward them
 Common traits
 Self employed parents
 Firstborns
 Between 30-50 years old
 Well educated – 80%
have college degree and
1/3 have a graduate level
degree

Successful and Unsuccessful
Entrepreneurs
 Successful
 Creative and
Innovative
 Position themselves
in shifting or new
markets
 Create new products
 Create new
processes
 Create new delivery
 Unsuccessful
 Poor Managers
 Low work ethic
 Inefficient
 Failure to plan and
prepare
 Poor money
managers

Characteristics of
Entrepreneurs
Successful
Entrepreneurs
Key Personal
Attributes
Good Technical Skills
Strong Managerial
Competencies

Key Personal Attributes
 Entrepreneurs are Made, Not Born!
 Many of these key attributes are developed early
in life, with the family environment playing an
important role
 Entrepreneurs tend to have had self employed
parents who tend to support and encourage
independence, achievement, and responsibility
 Firstborns tend to have more entrepreneurial
attributes because they receive more attention,
have to forge their own way, thus creating higher
self-confidence

Key Personal Attributes (cont.)
 Entrepreneurial Careers
 The idea that entrepreneurial success leads to
more entrepreneurial activity may explain why
many entrepreneurs start multiple companies over
the course of their career
 Corridor Principle- Using one business to start or
acquire others and then repeating the process
 Serial Entrepreneurs- A person who founds and
operates multiple companies during one career

 Need for Achievement
 A person’s desire either for excellence or to
succeed in competitive situations
 High achievers take responsibility for attaining
their goals, set moderately difficult goals, and
want immediate feedback on their performance
 Success is measured in terms of what those
efforts have accomplished
 McClelland’s research

 Desire for Independence
 Entrepreneurs often seek independence from
others
 As a result, they generally aren’t motivated to
perform well in large, bureaucratic organizations
 Entrepreneurs have internal drive, are confident in
their own abilities, and possess a great deal of
self-respect

 Self-Confidence
 Because of the high risks involved in running an
entrepreneurial organization, having an “upbeat”
and self-confident attitude is essential
 A successful track record leads to improved self-
confidence and self-esteem
 Self-confidence enables that person to be
optimistic in representing the firm to employees
and customers alike

 Self-Sacrifice
 Essential
 Nothing worth having is free
 Success has a high price, and entrepreneurs have
to be willing to sacrifice certain things

Technical Proficiency
 Many entrepreneurs demonstrate strong technical
skills, typically bringing some related experience to
their business ventures
 For example, successful car dealers usually have lots
of technical knowledge about selling and servicing
automobiles before opening their dealerships
 Especially important in the computer industry
 NOT ALWAYS NECESSARY

Planning
 Business Plan – A step-by-step outline
of how an entrepreneur or the owner of
an enterprise expects to turn ideas into
reality.

Questions To Keep In Mind
 What are my motivations for owning a business?
 Should I start or buy a business?
 What and where is the market for what I want to
sell?
 How much will all this cost me?
 Should my company be domestic or global?

Motivations
 Deciding what your motivations are
will direct you toward what type of
business fits you best.
 Types:
1. Lifestyle Venture
2. Smaller Profit Venture
3. High Growth Venture

1. Lifestyle Venture
 Small company that provides its owner
independence, autonomy, and control.
 Is often run out of household
 Provides flexibility (hours, meeting
places, attire)
 Aligns your personal interests and
hobbies with your desire to make a
profit.

2. Smaller Profit Venture
 Small company not concentrated on
pushing the envelope and growing
inordinately large.
 Making millions of dollars not important.
 Content with making a decent living.
 Ex. Mom and Pop Stores

3. High Growth Ventures
 Goal is maximum profit and growth.
 Concentrated on pushing envelope and
growing as large as possible.
 Focus on innovation

Start or Buy?
 Start – cheapest, but very difficult
-requires most planning/research
 Buy – expensive – may be out or reach
-requires less planning and research
 Franchise (middle ground) – a business
run by an individual (the franchisee) to
whom a franchiser grants the right to
market a certain good or service.

The Market???
 Planning & Research essential
 Extensive market surveys (family,
friends, neighbors…)
 Magazines and Polls offer some
information on the market
-Businessweek, Harris Poll

What about the cost?
 Plan realistically, not optimistically
 Don’t overestimate your profits
 Don’t underestimate your costs
 Sources of Funds
 Banks
 Venture Capitalists – filthy rich, high risk investors
looking for a many-times-over yield
 Angels – seem to have altruistic motives and less
stringent demands than venture capitalists

Domestic or Global?
 Drawbacks to Global – more research
and less accessible connections in
startup phase, more travel time
required, more considerations.
 Advantages to Global – more human
resources, more demand, more
financing, easier to start global than go
from domestic to global.

Entrepreneurship: Growth Pressures
Entrepreneurs often find that as their business grows, they feel
more pressure to use formal methods to lead their
organizations.
Although this formalization process may compromise some
entrepreneurs spirit, it often leads to more focus,
organization, and greater financial returns.
Basically, it’s a movement from a “seat-of-the-pants” operation
to a more structured, legitimate and recognizable business.

Entrepreneurial and Formal Organizations differ in
six business dimensions:
 Strategic orientation
 Commitment to opportunity
 Commitment to resources
 Control of resources
 Management structure
 Compensation policy

Business
Dimension
Entrepreneurial
Organization
Formal
Organization
Strategic orientation Seeks opportunity Controls resources
Commitment to
opportunity
Revolutionary
Short duration
Evolutionary
Long duration
Commitment to
resources
(capital, people, and
equipment)
Lack of stable needs and
resource bases
Systematic planning
systems
Control of resources Lack of commitment to
permanent ventures
Power, status, financial
rewards for maintaining
status quo
Management Structure Flat
Many informal networks
Clearly defined authority
and responsibility
Compensation policy Unlimited; based on
team’s accomplishments
Short-term driven;
limited by investors

Going Global….
From domestic to worldwide expansion, globalization can be
extremely rewarding for entrepreneurs.
THINK: Money and Business Exposure
However, it is a huge undertaking. Adapting your business to
operate in the global market can lead to a decrease in
ownership, and a forced focus on raising money to keep your
business alive.
THINK: Selling out, Private to Public (Initial Public Offering,
IPO)

Entrepreneurship: Managing a Family Business
 Over 50% of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is
generated from family business.
 12% of CEOs on the Inc. 500 list describe their company as a
family business.
So, why not dream up a plan and
go into business with your family or
friends?

Two reasons not to go into business with your family or
friends.…
Families fight
Friends fight.
Often, it involves money. So a business environment could
potentially breed arguments, disagreements, and feuds.
Fighting can occur during early developmental stages when
hours are long and pay is low. Or, after success has been
achieved.

Six steps to help lead you to a successful Family Business:
 Clear job responsibilities
 Clear hiring criteria
 Clear plan for management transition
 Agreement on whether and when to sell business
 Commitment to resolving conflicts quickly
 Outside advisors are used to mediate conflicts.
Clarity is key…. but NO GUARANTEE.

Operational vs. Survival Issues….
Operational = Decisions about the economics of the business
and how to balance that with rational and family obligation
criteria.
THINK: Day-to-day grind.
Survival = Develop out of a lack of attention on the operational
issues within the business.
THINK: Festering problems; ultimately compromise livelihood.

FAMILY FEUD:
Severed
relationships
Divorce Poor business
performance
Low morale,
motivation

Entrepreneurship: Corporate INTRA-preneurs
Intrapreneur = someone in an existing organization who
turns new ideas into profitable realities.
Not every employee has the ability to become a successful
intrapreneur. It takes well-developed strategic action, teamwork
and communication abilities.

Organizations that redirect themselves through innovation have
the following characteristics:
 Commitment from senior management
 Flexible organization design
 Autonomy of the venture team
 Competent/Talented people with entrepreneurial
attitudes
 Incentives and rewards for risk taking
 Appropriately designed control system

In order to for this type of forward thinking to reap long-term
benefits, top management must allow it to flourish in the day-
to-day operations of the business….
This is known as “skunkworks”
Skunkworks = Islands of intrapreneurial activity within an
organization.
REMEMBER: On the island, formal rules and policies of the
organization often DO NOT apply.

One More Time
 What is an entrepreneur?
 Characteristics of an entrepreneur
 Planning to be an entrepreneur
 Growth pressures, managing a family
business, and corporate
intrapreneurship

Entrepreneurship

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