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Chapter 4: The Entrepreneurial Mind

Objectives
At the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
1. explain the meaning and attributes of entrepreneurship;
2. analyze the social role and impact of entrepreneurship;
3. examine beliefs and assumptions that empower entrepreneurs;
4. analyze circumstances surrounding entrepreneurial successes and
failures;
5. understand and apply fundamental aspects of entrepreneurial
thinking across disciplines and as a means of personal
development; and
6. suse critical inquiry skills to identify, interview and generally build
relationships with local innovators, entrepreneurs and other
community leaders.
Discussion
Entrepreneurship refers to the concept of developing and managing a
business venture in order to gain profit by taking several risks in the corporate
world. Simply put, entrepreneurship is the willingness to start a new business.
Entrepreneurship has played a vital role in the economic development of the
expanding global marketplace.
According to Peter Drucker, ‘Entrepreneurship is defined as ‘a systematic
innovation, which consists in the purposeful and organized search for changes
and it is the systematic analysis of the opportunities such changes might offer for
economic and social innovation.’ Entrepreneurship is a process. It is not a
combination of some stray incidents. It is the purposeful and organized search for
change, conducted after systematic analysis of opportunities in the environment.
Entrepreneurship is a philosophy. It is the way one thinks, one acts and
therefore it can exist in any situation be it business or government or in the field
of education, science and technology or poverty alleviation or any others.
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Principles of Entrepreneurship
An entrepreneur is someone who is willing to work for himself and by
himself. Entrepreneurial activity includes developing and launching new
businesses and marketing them, often with the end goal of selling the business to
turn a profit.
Entrepreneurs need to follow some basic principles which would serve as
guidelines and beacons for their success. Based on the research conducted over
a period of three years and by interviewing more than 150 entrepreneurs, noted
author and management expert, Bill Murphy came out with a book about
entrepreneurship which was published by Harvard Business School. This article
is based on the insights from this book and lists five principles that should serve
as markers for both aspiring as well as existing entrepreneurs. One of the
insights from this research is that most of these principles can be learned from
experience and the process of starting a venture is an educational experience in
itself.
A. It is always not the case that Entrepreneurs should make money fast and
this should not be the goal.
It is important for entrepreneurs to test the waters before launching a new
venture. This means that one must commit oneself to the ideal of
entrepreneurship and try out new business models, and new forms and
paradigms of transacting business. In other words, the entrepreneurs must not
be in a hurry to make profits from the word go and instead, understand what
entrepreneurship is all about. For instance, it is better to come up with a game
changing idea instead of pursuing leads that are dead ends which means that
entrepreneurs must be ready to be in the game for the long haul.
B. It is always better to find the right opportunity even if it takes time instead
of chasing mirages.
This principle translates into waiting for the right opportunity and at the
same time, seizing the moment when the opportunity arises. Of course, we are
not saying that entrepreneurs ought to wait forever for the right opportunity.
Rather, the intention here is that entrepreneurs must ensure that they have the
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necessary foundation in place to capitalize on the opportunity and also must

have an idea and a business model that would create opportunities in case they
are finding it difficult to get the venture going. For instance, as the clichés about
how opportunity knocks only once as well as if you do not find an opportunity,
build a door so that you are ready when the opportunity arises can be taken to
mean that entrepreneurs must both create opportunities as well as seize them
when they arise. Another analogy would be that entrepreneurs must be ready
with the fishing rods and the baits when they go fishing and if the river, sea, or
lake is saturated, they must fish in waters that are “blue oceans” meaning that
they must create new markets for themselves.

C. Invest in people and build successful teams

As with the previous principle, entrepreneurs must ensure that they have
the right team in place before they start the venture. After all, unless there is a
team in place, the venture would not be able to capitalize on the opportunities.
Further, entrepreneurs must ensure that the team is passionate, committed, and
most importantly, shares the vision and mission of the founders. In other words,
unless there is a buy-in from the team with the founder’s ideas, the venture would
flounder. Apart from these, getting the right people who have focus, drive, loyalty,
determination, courage, and consistency in addition to being motivated and
creative are some requirements that the entrepreneurs can ill afford to ignore.

D. It is always not enough to have everything in place. Execution and

Delivery are what matters
Have you ever got the feeling that a salesperson is engaging you in glib
talk wherein he or she is trying to convince you to buy a product which is
untested? Similarly, all talk and no execution would lead the new venture
nowhere and hence, it is important for entrepreneurs to ensure that they walk the
talk and deliver on their promises.

Indeed, it is not enough to have a game changing idea and a great team in
place unless the entrepreneur knows the art of execution. As happened during
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the Dotcom boom, there were many startups with great ideas and equally great
teams that promised the moon for anyone willing to listen. However, the fact that
they failed in their businesses was mainly due to the gap between ideas and
execution.

Therefore, the entrepreneur has to be a leader who walks the talk and
understands the meaning of execution. Further, leadership means that
entrepreneurs must not be afraid of failure and must instead, turn adversity into
triumph and transform failure into a stepping stone for success.

Indeed, great entrepreneurs are those who are willing to trust their
instincts and intuition and back themselves up when the venture is yet to fructify
or even making losses. In other words, if you think that you have a great idea and
are executing it well with the right team, you need to persist and keep going even
when the conventional wisdom says that you are getting it wrong.

E. Entrepreneurs must be self-actualizing visionaries

Ask any successful entrepreneur and they would say that while money is
indeed important and profits are indeed essential, it is always not about the
money or that making profits is the only thing that matters. Instead, great
entrepreneurship is all about heeding the inner voice, creating jobs and
opportunities for others, be conscious of societal prosperity due to the venture
instead of having a me, myself only attitude, and most importantly, translate their
vision into success.

For instance, there are many of us who have heard or come across
individuals who gave up cushy jobs to find their passions and to follow and chase
their dreams. Therefore, successful entrepreneurship is all about making a
difference to the world and becoming a social messiah who would transform
societies with his or her ventures.
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Finally, entrepreneurship must be seen as a starting point to transform

oneself and in the process become a change agent. For this to happen, the
entrepreneur must be both be able to fulfill environmental, social, and economic
expectations from the larger system and at the same time, must drive themselves
in the pursuit of their dreams. Indeed, the balance between inner aspirations and
external expectations is the most important determinant for success.

10 Essential Attributes of Being a Successful Entrepreneur

#1. Passion

It’s simplistic to conclude that money is the prime motivator driving

entrepreneurs. Top-performing entrepreneurs are also passionate about their
products or services.

More specifically, they have a committed belief that their business idea –
whether it’s a problem-solver or a money saver – will bring important benefits to
customers.

Passion is what keeps you going when times get tough – as they
inevitably will. When you’re working long hours on too little sleep, when things go
wrong – this is when the passion for what you do will keep you positive and
motivated.

#2. Tenacity

With up to 80% of new businesses failing within the first five years, most
entrepreneurs will face setbacks that test their commitment. Developing a new
concept inevitably involves a testing period of trial and error, redrafting plans in
the light of feedback from customers and suppliers.

It is all too easy to become despondent as hopes are dashed, time is lost
and money evaporates. However, those with the tenacity to stay the course will
learn lessons from failures and become the next, misleadingly dubbed ‘overnight
successes.
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#3. Focus

With so much to do and so little time, there is always a temptation to try

and do everything. A true entrepreneur should adopt a disciplined, focused
approach by prioritizing what is really important to the business. While every
business has its own particular priorities, some things are always important. For
example, every business needs customers, and winning their custom should
generally take precedence in the business’s formative days.Often, the real skill is
continuously redefining your priorities as the business grows.

#4. Vision

You might be good at solving specific problems in a particular discipline –

but do you have an eye on the bigger picture – a broader vision? The true
entrepreneur has a notion of where he or she wants the business to be in five,
10, 15 years time and what their defining USP should be. They can communicate
their innovative concept to shareholders and potential investors. Visionary
entrepreneurs are always looking to the future, anticipating niche opportunities
which competitors have overlooked.

An entrepreneur’s vision can be distilled into words through a mission

statement. Seeking to encapsulate the business’s defining values and purpose, a
mission statement that is clear, compelling and inspiring offers a decent clue that
the entrepreneur who drafted it possesses the hard-to-define quality of vision.
Ikea’s driving mission, for instance, is that “we save money for a better everyday
life.” Sony, meanwhile, aims “to be a company that inspires and fulfills your
curiosity.”

#5. Self-belief

Self-belief is perhaps one of the most common attributes associated with

entrepreneurs. And they need it: starting a business means abandoning the
comfort of a regular salary and the camaraderie of colleagues to go it alone and
risk financial stability. And all this when, as we said earlier, a huge proportion of
start-ups fail. Self-belief is nigh on essential for entrepreneurs.
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Where others may see only an insurmountable challenge, an entrepreneur

often sees an exciting opportunity and their gut instinct tells them it’s achievable.
Often near-fanatical about the benefits of their product or service, their
enthusiasm is infectious and can turn staff and customers into committed brand
champions.

#6. Integrity

First, the caveat: there are countless stories of unscrupulous

entrepreneurs who thrive – at least for a time. Nevertheless, integrity in business
goes a long way. Most entrepreneurs recognize that customer respect is earned
incrementally over years of trading and can be lost in an instant.

They appreciate the difference between cost-efficiency and cutting

corners. And wise entrepreneurs realize that integrity must be evident at the very
highest levels if it is to cascade downwards throughout their business.

#7. Flexibility

Seasoned entrepreneurs know that any number of unforeseeable

developments can undermine the relevance of products and services, which is
why your final market offering will often look rather different to the initial blueprint.
A true entrepreneur can think on his or her feet and revise – even abandon –
plans, no matter how much time and resource has gone into developing them, if
the circumstances demand it.

#8. Courage

In a business context, courage means not being frightened to take risks.

This often involves pursuing targets which others have eschewed, because they
know that a high-stakes gamble often brings the greatest rewards. Provided the
risk-return equation is carefully evaluated, it needn’t be a reckless gamble.

As British wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill once observed:

“Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities because it is the quality
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which guarantees all others.” And this is a truism that applies to business as
much as any discipline.

#9. Decisiveness

As soon as they hire employees, entrepreneurs must show strong,

decisive leadership. For employees, a job means a salary, a CV enhancer and a
stepping stone to better things. For the business owner, making the right calls
can make the difference between great wealth and bankruptcy.

Being decisive means committing to the course of action that seems best
for the business in light of available evidence. It means politely overruling the
contrary opinions of colleagues – no matter how much it upsets them. The
business owner stands to lose the most if the decision proves unwise. They bear
responsibility for the big calls and, ultimately, the business’s success or failure.

#10. Humility

But decisiveness doesn’t mean ignoring the counsel of others or making

hasty or rash decisions. And it doesn’t mean sticking to a course of action pig-
headedly as circumstances change. The accusation of ‘flip-flopping’ is among the
worst political insults. But it shouldn’t be; changing your mind in light of new
evidence or because things aren’t working out shows humility.

There is nothing wrong with admitting mistakes; successful entrepreneurs

not only admit to them, they learn from them too.

Some Entrepreneurial Skills One Must Have for Success

As with any sport, having the right attitudes and characteristics can carry
you only so far. You also need the skills that will help you succeed. However,
unlike personal characteristics and attitudes—which can often be hard or
impossible to change—entrepreneurs can acquire skills if they are willing to learn
them. Additionally, they can hire people to work for them who have the needed
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skills. Either way, the following skills are important if the entrepreneur’s business
is to succeed.

1. Ability to Plan: The ability to plan is a key skill for entrepreneurs. They
must be able to develop plans to meet goals in a variety of areas,
including finance, marketing, production, sales and personnel (hiring and
maintaining productive and satisfied employees).
2. Communication Skills: Entrepreneurs should be able to explain, discuss,
sell and market their good or service. It is important to be able to interact
effectively with your business team. Additionally, entrepreneurs need to be
able to express themselves clearly both verbally and in writing. They also
should have strong reading comprehension skills to understand contracts
and other forms of written business communication.
3. Marketing Skills: A business’s success or failure is very dependent on
whether the business reaches the market (its potential customers),
interests the market and results in those in the market deciding to buy.
Many entrepreneurs who failed started with an innovative good or service
that with proper marketing could have been very successful. Good
marketing skills—that result in people wanting to buy your good or service
—are critical for entrepreneurial success.
4. Interpersonal Skills: Entrepreneurs constantly interact with people,
including customers and clients, employees, financial lenders, investors,
lawyers and accountants, to name a few. The ability to establish and
maintain positive relationships is crucial to the success of the
entrepreneur’s business venture.
5. Basic Management Skills: The entrepreneur must be able to manage
every component of a business. Even if entrepreneurs hire managers to
attend to daily details, they must understand if their business has the right
resources and if those resources are being used effectively. They must
ensure that all the positions in their business are occupied by effective
people.
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6. Personal Effectiveness: In order to handle the pressures of their busy

lifestyles, entrepreneurs must have the ability to manage time well and to
take care of personal business efficiently. Because first impressions are
so important, entrepreneurs must also pay attention to such things as
personal appearance and telephone skills. For example, think of the
difference in the impression made by someone who answers the phone by
saying, “Yeah?” versus saying, ”Computer Support Services, this is Alex.
How may I help you?” Additionally, entrepreneurs benefit a great deal by
being aware of their own strengths and weaknesses.
7. Team Building Skills: Because entrepreneurs usually assemble a team of
skilled people who help them achieve business success, they must be
able to effectively develop and manage the team.
8. Leadership Skills: One of the most important leadership skills an
entrepreneur must have is the ability to develop a vision for the company
and to inspire the company employees to pursue that vision as a team.
The expression “people would rather be led than managed” applies
especially well to an entrepreneurial venture. Few entrepreneurs possess
every skill needed to ensure business success. For example, they often
look to outside experts for help in areas such as strategic planning,
accounting and finances, contracts and legal issues, and specialized
marketing.
Role and Impact of Entrepreneurship in the Society

Entrepreneurship is the capacity and willingness to develop and

participate in a business venture with the intention of making a profit regardless
of the financial risks involved. The role of entrepreneurship in any economy is
critical, as it contributes to the socio-economic development of societies in
various ways.

1. Wealth Creation and Sharing

By establishing the business entity, entrepreneurs invest their own
resources and attract capital (in the form of debt, equity, etc.) from
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investors, lenders and the public. This mobilizes public wealth and allows
people to benefit from the success of entrepreneurs and growing
businesses. This kind of pooled capital that results in wealth creation and
distribution is one of the basic imperatives and goals of economic
development.

2. Create Jobs
Entrepreneurs are by nature and definition job creators, as opposed
to job seekers. The simple translation is that when you become an
entrepreneur, there is one less job seeker in the economy, and then you
provide employment for multiple other job seekers. This kind of job
creation by new and existing businesses is again is one of the basic goals
of economic development. This is why the Govt. of India has launched
initiatives such as StartupIndia to promote and support new startups, and
also others like the Make in India initiative to attract foreign companies
and their FDI into the Indian economy. All this in turn creates a lot of job
opportunities, and is helping in augmenting our standards to a global level.

3. Balanced Regional Development

Entrepreneurs setting up new businesses and industrial units help
with regional development by locating in less developed and backward
areas. The growth of industries and business in these areas leads to
infrastructure improvements like better roads and rail links, airports, stable
electricity and water supply, schools, hospitals, shopping malls and other
public and private services that would not otherwise be available.
Every new business that locates in a less developed area will
create both direct and indirect jobs, helping lift regional economies in
many different ways. The combined spending by all the new employees of
the new businesses and the supporting jobs in other businesses adds to
the local and regional economic output. Both central and state
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governments promote this kind of regional development by providing

registered MSME businesses various benefits and concessions.
4. GDP and Per Capita Income
Growth in GDP and per capita income is one of the essential goals
of economic development. A good example is India’s MSME sector,
comprised of 36 million units that provide employment for more than 80
million people, now accounts for over 37% of the country’s GDP. Each
new addition to these 36 million units makes use of even more resources
like land, labor and capital to develop products and services that add to
the national income, national product and per capita income of the
country. This growth in GDP and per capita income is again one of the
essential goals of economic development.
5. Standard of Living
Increase in the standard of living of people in a community is yet
another key goal of economic development. Entrepreneurs again play a
key role in increasing the standard of living in a community. They do this
not just by creating jobs, but also by developing and adopting innovations
that lead to improvements in the quality of life of their employees,
customers, and other stakeholders in the community. For example,
automation that reduces production costs and enables faster production
will make a business unit more productive, while also providing its
customers with the same goods at lower prices.
6. Exports
Any growing business will eventually want to get started with
exports to expand their business to foreign markets. This is an important
ingredient of economic development since it provides access to bigger
markets, and leads to currency inflows and access to the latest cutting-
edge technologies and processes being used in more developed foreign
markets. Another key benefit is that this expansion that leads to more
stable business revenue during economic downturns in the local economy.
7. Community Development
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Economic development doesn’t always translate into community

development. Community development requires infrastructure for
education and training, healthcare, and other public services. For
example, you need highly educated and skilled workers in a community to
attract new businesses. If there are educational institutions, technical
training schools and internship opportunities, that will help build the pool of
educated and skilled workers.
Entrepreneurial Mindset

A mindset is a cognitive belief system consisting of interrelated beliefs,

assumptions, and knowledge that we use to process information, inform our
decisions, and guide our behavior.

An entrepreneurial mindset is a specific set of beliefs, knowledge, and

thought processes that drives entrepreneurial behavior. Those with an
entrepreneurial mindset tend to:

believe in their ability to succeed and influence their own outcomes,

empowering them to take ownership of their lives;

have compelling goals that keep them future-focused and

intrinsically motivated, driving them to be self-directed, action-oriented,
and highly engaged;

have an optimistic interpretation of adverse events and see

problems as potential opportunities, becoming highly resilient, resourceful,
and solution-oriented even within highly uncertain, resource constrained
environments;

be lifelong knowledge seekers with a focus on micro-experiments

as learning opportunities to test ideas, cultivating curiosity, creativity, and
critical thinking;

display a high-level of reliability, understanding that following

through on simple solutions can lead to unforeseen opportunity;
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have a humanistic outlook, being other-focused and understanding

that one creates value by looking to solve problems for others; and

surround themselves with an intentional community of positive

influence and critical guidance

It’s important to note that successful entrepreneurs are often touted as

exceptional individuals; a rare breed who seem to have been born with unique
hereditary traits. But, the entrepreneurial mindset is most often acquired implicitly
without conscious effort or awareness, which may explain why it often appears to
be a dispositional trait, even though it is not.

An entrepreneurial mindset can be developed and enhanced through

entrepreneurial experiences. And to cultivate the entrepreneurial mindset, we
must create entrepreneurial learning experiences within our classrooms,
organizations, and communities.

10 Reasons Why Entrepreneurs Fail (Andriole, 2016)

Entrepreneurs fail for lots of reasons. Most entrepreneurs fail, by the way, so lists
that describe why they fail should be helpful if only as mirrors entrepreneurs can
hold up to their faces. According to Andriole (2016), it’s hard to be an
entrepreneur for at least 10 reasons.

a. Not Smart Enough

Not talking about IQ here. Entrepreneurial IQ (EIQ) is about holistic
understanding of situations. Many entrepreneurs understand their idea,
but not the market that will accept or reject the idea. Nor do they
understand how accidental, uncontrollable, unscheduled innovation
actually works. Or who the real competitors are. Often entrepreneurs have
too little domain depth: they literally do not know what they’re talking about
(though they often talk a good game). Many entrepreneurs fail because
they’re not actually entrepreneurs but some variation on the theme. Even
worse are entrepreneurs who believe they’re terrific at activities at which
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everyone else believes they’re horrible. If an entrepreneur is incapable of

seeing what everyone else sees, he or she is blind to success.
b. Not Knowing Who’s Who
Entrepreneurs often fail because they cannot separate friends from
enemies. They cannot identify EIQ from fluff or bluff. They cannot find a
good part-time accountant and they have no idea how to assess the skills
and experience of legal counsel. They also fail because they cannot
recognize smart loyal co-founders and employees or how to optimize their
contributions. They fail because they cannot separate dumb Angel
investors from disciplined ones. There’s a lot to know, and many
entrepreneurs just don’t know enough about the players.

c. Not Finding Enough (of the Right Kind of) Funding

Entrepreneurs often fail because they cannot raise the right kind of
funding at the right time at the right valuation. They use too much of their
own money and way too much money from friends and family – which
becomes a distraction every time a friend or family member asks about
how the company – and their investment – is doing. Entrepreneurs fail
because they do not know how to value their company or phase
investments along timelines designed to optimize valuations. They fail to
appreciate how much money it takes to meet milestones. Or how to
respect their investors who deserve professional communications on a
regular basis – especially if they plan to keep asking them for money.
d. Grandiose Expectations
While it’s sometimes good to believe in miracles, it’s no way to run
a start-up. Entrepreneurs who fail often do so because they believe they
will change the world and if the world doesn’t welcome their authority, it’s
the world’s fault, not theirs. Entrepreneurs fail because they’re often self-
delusional and greedy believing that they’re just a sale away from
revolutionizing an industry and becoming filthy rich.
e. Horrible Soft Skills
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Entrepreneurs often fail because they’re not housebroken, because

they speak their minds no matter how inappropriate or inopportune the
situation may be. Some entrepreneurs are famously outspoken and
controversial – we know who they are – but they generally became that
way after their first hit start-up. If an entrepreneur cannot listen, is
insecure, short-tempered and intolerant of opposing opinions, he or she
will fail. The worst entrepreneurs are the ones who cannot accept
responsibility for anyone and spend their days and nights looking for
someone – anyone – to blame for their mistakes.
f. Bad Partners
Entrepreneurs often fail because they hang out with the wrong
people. “Wrong” here is a broad term. It includes colleagues who agree
with everything the entrepreneur says, “good guys” that others endorse
but are unfamiliar to the entrepreneur, channel partners who use the
entrepreneur to channel their own sales, legal counsel that rack up
unnecessary fees and gurus that know just about everything about
anything. Good entrepreneurs have a purpose-filter through which they
pass their time: is this partner really worth my time? Entrepreneurs who
fail do not have this filter.
g. Ineffective Sales
Entrepreneurs often fail because they cannot sell to the right clients
at the right time for the right price. Start-up sales are obviously
fundamentally different from the sales that established companies enjoy
on an almost automatic pace. Good entrepreneurs understand all forms
and flavors of lighthouse sales processes, logo hunting, how to buy the
right early customers. Entrepreneurs who fail shortchange sales in favor of
competing activities, especially R&D.
How to Develop Entrepreneurial Thinking

Entrepreneurs are brilliant at thinking on their feet: they see alternatives

quickly and are able to change paths easily. Set-backs don’t seem to stop them;
they merely bring about a slight course correction.
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Entrepreneurial thinking is all about harnessing passions, skills,

experience, knowledge and insights, resources and networks to spot and take
advantage of opportunities at the right time and in the right way. Anyone can
think like an entrepreneur; although it is true to say that it is more natural for
some than others: Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos and Anita Roddick are
phenomenally successful entrepreneurs, but there are also thousands of small
businesses succeeding on a smaller scale, and there are hundreds of people
employed in large organizations driving change and innovation.

A. Ask Questions
A typical 4-year-old asks an average of 100 questions every day.
They are naturally curious about the world, and entrepreneurs are too.
There is never a fear of asking a ‘stupid’ question.
B. Improvise
Entrepreneurs are excellent at improvisation. They thrive at being
put on the spot and adapting to the situation as it unfolds. Find
opportunities to come out of your comfort zone and put yourself in
unfamiliar situations from time to time.
C. Be Open to Risk
Entrepreneurs fly the “OODA Loop,” i.e. “Observe, Orient, Decide,
Act.” They make decisions quickly based on the best information they
have at the time. This means risk is part of their day-to-day work. Speed
up your decision time in non-critical areas. ‘Everyone can tell you the risk.
An entrepreneur can see the reward’ – Robert Kiyosaki
D. Rest Your Brain
The unconscious brain makes connections that our conscious brain
can’t. When we rest, or switch our focus to something else, the
unconscious brain sets to work making random links between thoughts
and experiences. That’s why we have so many ideas or solve so many
problems when we are out walking the dog or taking a bath etc.
E. Be Ready To Fail
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Not only do entrepreneurs accept failure, they expect failure, plan

for failure, and learn from failure. They believe making mistakes is healthy
and normal. They acknowledge mistakes, figure out what they can do to
make up for them, and move on.
F. Exercise and Be Healthy
To maximize entrepreneurial thinking our brain needs to be in good
working order. Eating healthily gives it the nutrition it needs. In addition,
we need to exercise. When we exercise we release endorphins which
(amongst other things) increase creativity and problem solving.
G. Don’t Go It Alone
Entrepreneurs are not an island. They do not work alone. Whether
it’s business partners, investors, networking, or competition, successful
entrepreneurs are never alone. They use other people to bounce ideas off,
compensate for any gaps they have and to develop themselves. Actively
develop and nurture your own network.
H. Be Self-Driven
Successful entrepreneurs seek to be their own boss, set their own
schedule, and be accountable to themselves. They also have a sense of
self-driven discipline, and set clear and challenging goals for themselves.

I. Expose Yourself to New Situations

The more experience and stimulus we can give our brains, the
rawer material it has for identifying opportunities, making connections and
solving problems.
J. Take an Interest in Others
Entrepreneurs are always keen to hear other people’s stories and
experiences. They know that their personal experience of the world is
limited and the more perspectives they have on a situation/idea/problem
the better they understand it. After all, knowledge is power.
Some Inspirational Entrepreneurs One Can Learn From:
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Anita Roddick opened the first outlet of The Body Shop in 1976 with the
goal of earning money to support herself and daughters whilst her husband was
in South America. The idea was to provide really good skin care in containers
that could be refilled. She opened a second shop six months later. By 2004, the
Body Shop had 1980 stores, serving over 77 million customers throughout the
world. It was voted the second most trusted brand in the United Kingdom, and
28th top brand in the world.

James Dyson says his time as a long-distance runner taught him about
determination, which he needed on his long journey to success. He became
hugely frustrated by the inefficiency of his vacuum cleaner and set about finding
a better product. Partly supported by his wife’s salary, and after five years and
about 5,100 prototypes, Dyson launched the “G-Force” cleaner in 1983. No
manufacturer wanted his design until he took it to Japan, where it won a design
award. After failing to sell his invention to any major manufacturers, Dyson set up
his own manufacturing company, Dyson Ltd. in June 1993, and his net worth is
estimated at £7.8 billion.

Jeff Bezos – founder of Amazon – left his successful and well-paying job
in 1994 for this internet venture. He wanted to take advantage of the internet
boom and began his work from his garage. The business grew unimaginably fast.
In 1997, Amazon.com went public and in just two years, Amazon’s shares were
more than twice of its biggest competitors. Most of the investors were members
of Bezos’ family and – a decade later – those who had invested in it were
billionaires. Bezos’ strategy was to increase Amazon’s shares as quickly as
possible so Amazon could become the ‘World’s biggest anything store’.

Guide Question
Why is an entrepreneurial mindset important?

Answer to Guide Questions

The improvement of entrepreneurial skills such as confidence, resilience
and enthusiasm provides a springboard to success and can result in an increase
 20

of happiness at work and at home. Adopting an entrepreneurial mindset allows

the development of these skills so that it is possible to work better and feel
happier whilst at work and at home.
An entrepreneurial mind-set can aid the development of confidence and
mean that one is more inclined to take on opportunities as well as not being
afraid to take risks. In the workplace, being confident enough to tackle difficult
issues and conversations can improve leadership style and benefit general social
interaction with co-workers. If there is a higher level of confidence then there is a
higher chance of succeeding; the entrepreneurial attitude of taking risks and not
giving up is a strong lead to succeed in anything throughout life.
Assessment
Task 1: Think of a business that you plan to have in the future. Submit a
business plan which comprises of the following parts:
A. Executive Summary
B. The Proponents
C. Description of the Business (Name and Overview)
D. Business Plan Proper (Needs, Vision, Mission, Values,
E. Marketing Plan (Product/s, Target Market, Competitors, Pricing,
Advertising, and Public Relations)
F. Organization or Management Plan (Organizational Chart and Contribution
in the Business of each member)
G. Financial Plan (Capitalization, Monthly Expenses, Projected Cost and
Revenue)
H. Legal Considerations
I. Social Impact

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

Concept Group did Missing parts Had each Had each Presented in
Statement not include of the concept component. component a way that
in statement. Might not overall clear was clear
-Presenting the
presentation Left some have been but might and made
product, reason
or to such a questions. clear or well have left sense to
for selecting the
limited described. some stakeholders.
product and
degree it Left some questions. Had each
 21

summarizes the would not questions. component.

general plan. count.

Marketing Plan Group did Missing parts Had each part Had each Had each
not include of the of the part of the part of the
- Presents the
in marketing marketing marketing marketing
need for the
presentation plan. Left plan but not plan and plan and
product, who it
or to such a some presented in a started to supported
will be marketed
limited questions. very clear or support some the
to and why that
degree it organized of the decisions.
group.
would not way. Was not decisions but Clearly
- Present a count. supported. still left for presented.
sample of a Left some some
marketing questions. questions.
strategy (i.e.
magazine, tv or
radio ad)

Finance & Group did Only Presented Presented Presented

Accounting not include presented the both cost and both cost and both cost and
in cost or the revenue but revenue and revenue and
- Show an
presentation revenue. did not provided provided
accounting plan
or to such a provide support. Not support.
for the business,
limited support or completely Clear and
outlining the
degree it research for clear but well
fixed and
would not how they got overall good. presented to
variable costs
count. the stakeholders.
as well as
information.
project ted
revenue.
-Give supporting
evidence.

Management & Group did Presented an Presented an Presented an Presented an

Organizational not include organizational organizational or4nzationals or4nzationals
Structure in structure but structure and turned and turned and
presentation not supports then either provided provided
- Explain what
or to such a or provided support and support and
type of work
limited explanation. support or explained explained
environment the
degree it explained how it how it
business wants,
would not how it represented represented
and show an
count. represented the work the work
organizational
the work environment. environment.
structure of the
environment. Might not Completely
business that
have been clear and
represents that
completely well
 22

idea. clear. presented.

Legal Group did Group Group Group Group

Considerations not include attempted to provided but identified and identified and
in included but was not clear related related
-Identify any
presentation not clear and about how it specifically to specifically to
legal
did not relate related to this this business. this business
considerations
to this business and
the business
business. discussed
team might
how they
foresee
would go
about
handling the
issue.

Overall Group was Group was a Everyone Everyone Everything at

Presentation disorganized little participated. participated a level 4 plus
and the disorganized Each section in the it had
-How well was
presentation and there was presentation. something
the paper /
was not were some presented. It The flow that made it
report written
coherent and parts that was not made sense stand out just
-Demonstration could not be needed work. always clear. and it was a little bit
of followed. Might have clear, more.
understanding Missing missed one entertaining
the concepts. many section. and
components. professional.
-Ability to Someone
Someone or
support might not
a few people
decisions have
might not
throughout the participated.
have
paper / report. participated.

Source:https://www.lmghs.org/ourpages/auto/2013/5/7/47164049/Business
%20rubric.doc

Task 2: Interview some of the successful entrepreneurs you know in your

community. Questions shall be related to the impact and value of
entrepreneurship to the Philippine economy and enabling & disabling factors in
entrepreneurship. Prepare vlog to be posted in YouTube featuring the different
aspects of entrepreneurship and incorporating the interviews you conducted.
 23

Rubric for Assessing a Vlog

Category Weight Poor Needs Satisfactory Good

1 Improvement 3 4
2

Grammar 10%
Student was Student was Student was Student was able
difficult to able to express able to express to express their
understand and their ideas and their ideas and ideas and
had a hard time responses responses fairly responses with
communicating adequately but well but makes ease in proper
their ideas and often displayed mistakes with sentence
responses inconsistencies their tenses, structure and
because of with their however was tenses.
grammar sentence still able to
mistakes. structure and communicate
tenses. meaning
effectively.
Pronunciation 15%
Student was Student was Pronunciation Pronunciation
difficult to slightly was good and was very clear
understand, unclear with did not and easy to
quiet in pronunciation interfere with understand.
speaking, at times, but communicatio
unclear in generally is n
pronunciation fair.
.
Vocabulary 15%
Student had Student was Student Rich, precise
inadequate able to use utilized the and impressive
vocabulary broad words learned usage of
words to vocabulary in class, in an vocabulary
express words but was accurate words learned
his/her ideas lacking, manner for in and beyond
properly, making the situation of class.
which him/her given.
hindered the repetitive and
students in cannot expand
responding. on his/her
ideas.
Fluency 15%
Speech is Speech is slow Speech is Speech is
very slow, and often mostly smooth effortless and
stumbling, hesitant and but with some smooth with
nervous, and irregular. hesitation and speed that
uncertain Sentences unevenness comes close to
with may be left caused that of a native
response, uncompleted, primarily by speaker.
except for but the rephrasing
 24

short or student is able and groping

memorized to continue. for words.
expressions.
Difficult for a
listener to
understand
Content 45%
The student's The student's The student's The student's
content is not content has content is content reflects
relevant to some relevant to the good
any of the relevance to assessment understanding
assessment the topic, with few of the
topics and assessment errors. The assessment
the student topics, but student has topics with no
has little incorrect general errors. The
understandin words are understanding student has
g/comprehen used. The of assessment good grasp of
sion of student requirements. assessment
assessment demonstrates requirements.
requirements some
. understanding
of assessment
requirements.

Source:https://www.rcampus.com/rubricshowc.cfm?code=CX87669&sp=yes&

References
Andriole, S. (2016). 10 Reasons Why Entrepreneurs Fail. Retrieved from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/steveandriole/2016/04/01/10-reasons-why-
entrepreneurs-fail/?sh=6256f2e542d9
7 Roles of Entrepreneurship in the Economic Development of a Country. (n.d.).
Retrieved from https://evoma.com/business-centre/7-roles-of-entrepreneurship-
in-economic-development-of-a-country/#:~:text=So%2C%20there%20is%20a
%20very,skills%20development%20and%20community%20development.
Entrepreneurs: Key Characteristics and Skills. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.cefe.illinois.edu/tools/Making%20A%20Job/MAJ_Student%20Guide
%20Sample.pdf
 25

Freedman, M. (2020). Entrepreneurship Defined: What It Means to Be an

Entrepreneur. Retrieved from businessnewsdaily.com/7275-entrepreneurship-
defined.html
Principles of Entrepreneurship. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.managementstudyguide.com/principles-of-entrepreneurship.htm
The 10 Attributes of a Successful Entrepreneur. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://tweakyourbiz.com/management/the-10-attributes-of-a-successful-
entrepreneur
The Importance of Having an Entrepreneurial Mind-Set. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.greatbritishentrepreneurawards.com/news/the-importance-of-having-
an-entrepreneurial-mind-set/
Types of Entrepreneurship. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.economicsdiscussion.net/entrepreneurship/types-of-
entrepreneurship/31780
What is Entrepreneurship? (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://entrepreneurhandbook.co.uk/entrepreneurship/