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Lesson 4: BUSINESS RESOURCES AND IDEAS FOR AN ENTREPRENEUR

Lesson Objectives:

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• Know about the business resources and ideas for an entrepreneur

• Explore the application of entrepreneurship ideas in action

Discussion:
A successful entrepreneur has driven, passion, energy and stamina. But an
entrepreneur needs one more ingredient to go along with these key traits-a business ideas
that works. Select a business that excites you, has low start-up costs and a simple set-up. You
always can expand on the business later once you have a client base and generate
revenue regularly.

Essential Entrepreneur Resources

When you’re starting a business, where do you go to get the help, advice and tools
you need? There are plenty of resources out there so many, in fact, that you might have
trouble sorting through them all. We cut through the clutter, selecting multiple essential
resources for startup small-business owners.

Factors that Influence Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurial efforts are like biological experiments in nature: Many variations are
tried, but only small percentages of those go on to thrive. You, however, have an
advantage over nature. As an entrepreneur, you can set up your experiment with
forethought. Entrepreneurs work under the constraints of their environment the political
economy.
Five factors will be key to entrepreneurial success:
Creativity Leadership

Risk tolerance Rights

Responsiveness
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Entrepreneurs Control Resources

The most basic way to leverage your resources is through your marketing.
While social media captures a lot of attention, do not neglect other resources.
Determine what your customers and prospects want and focus your marketing
toward that end. Develop a mission statement that expresses your vision and
values. Promote the vision with the most appropriate media that will capture the
attention of your target market.
Turn an Idea into a startup: Begin with a Business Concept statement

For entrepreneurs, it is often easier to come up with a variety of ideas for

new businesses and more difficult to actually implement those concepts. A
business concept is a bridge between an idea and a business plan. If focuses
one’s thinking so that the entrepreneur can identify the specifics of his/her.
Converting an idea into a business concept requires thinking about how the
product or service will be sold and who will buy it the benefits of the product or
service, how it is differentiated from similar ones, and methods of delivery.
For example, it is not sufficient to say “I want to start a management
consulting company. “This tells the listener little. Instead, one might say, “I plan to
start a management consulting company that provides strategic planning
services to mid-sized businesses in the Southeast. Each consulting team, tailored
to meet the unique needs of the client, will provide assessment and planning
services to help clients improve efficiency and institute processes for innovation
and change, resulting in cost reductions and sales increases.”
This version tells the listener much more than the first statement and helps
the potential client visualize the business and its offerings.
When describing his/her business idea, the entrepreneur should answer
the following questions:

• What is my product/service?
• What does my product/service do?
• How it is different or better than other products/services?
• Who will buy the product/service?
• Why will they buy the product/service?
• How will the product/service be promoted and sold/offered?
• Who are my competitors?

Application:
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Answer the following questions: If you were to put up a business what would be
your main source of capital? What other resources would you think will help you
grow your business?

Summary of the Lesson:

An entrepreneur is an individual who accepts some sort of risk, usually financial,
in the pursuit of new ventures.
The first element of entrepreneurship is having a great idea. The common
approaches to developing business ideas are to do what you know and
emulate and improve on what someone else is doing successfully.
Entrepreneurship requires attention to legal details. The first is structure—the type
of ownership. Sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability companies,
corporations, and nonprofits all have benefits and risks you’ll need to consider in
making your decision.

You must select a business that excites you, has low start-up costs, and a simple
set-up.
References/Attributions:

3G E-Learning. (2018). The Entrepreneurial Mind. New York, New York.