Entrepreneurship

and
Employability Skill Training
Day Four
 Day Four – Entrepreneurship Skill

Business Idea
Morning
Generation

Afternoon Business Planning

 Business Idea Generation

• Every business activity starts with a business idea.

• Business ideas usually come from one’s

environment:
 Business Idea Generation

In defining your business idea, ask the following questions:

• What market and what market segments do I plan to
target?
• What goods or services do customers in this market
segments buy?
• What characteristics (e.g. types, quality) do customers
require from the goods or services?
• What prices are customers willing and able to pay for
these goods or services?
 Business Idea Generation

Where can business ideas come from?

 Business Idea Generation
Sources of business idea:
• Consult with entrepreneurs already in business;
• Study existing products to identify problems and think about
ways to solve them;
• Study products that are brought to the area from the outside
and see whether it can be provided locally;
• Study the raw materials available locally, in order to get an
idea of what can be produced locally;
• Discuss with friends and family.
• Transform Hobby into business
• Look social and technological changes
• Follow up media
Business Idea Generation Exercise
As you all know a saw dust is a trash for wood workers. Do you
have a business idea where you can change the saw dust into
some sort of business idea?

ሳጋ ቱራ ወይም የእንጨት ፍቅፋቂ

What business can one do with Saw dust?
Business Idea Generation Exercise
There are many ways to make money from wood waste, particularly sawdust.

• Sawdust concrete production

• Cattle bedding: on livestock farms sawdust can be used as cattle bedding;
• Plant nutrition: in greenhouses, sawdust can act as a constituent of the soil
• Fuel
• Compost in agriculture;
• For private houses sawdust is used as insulation in attics and basements;
• Production of chipboard, fibreboard, MDF, furniture structures sawdust is the
main raw material;
• For sewage treatment plants in industry sawdust can serve as waste water
filter;
• Sawdust mixed with peat - great filler for dry closets.
A women who turned በረባሶ ጫማ
into global brand !!!

Bethlehem Tilahun
 Activity
• Using the sources of business idea discussed earlier
(Slide 7) as a starting point, generate three business
ideas which can be done by you as a graduate in your
group

• Select one best idea from the three and justify your
selection
 Assessing business idea
• Once the business idea has been defined, it is time to
subject it to a first analysis and see if it is competitive.
• One way of doing this is to assess the strengths and
weaknesses of the business idea and the opportunities
and threats of the business environment.
• This approach is known as the SWOT analysis.
 SWOT Analysis
Unfavourable /
Favourable / Helpful
Harmful

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
Internal
(positive factors on which (negative factors to be
factors to capitalize) eliminated)

THREATS
External OPPORTUNITIES
(to avoid/to take into
factors (to seize)
account)

Note: entrepreneurs need to analyse their

strengths and weaknesses in the light of their
specific business idea.
 Case Analysis

• Conduct SWOT analysis for Baboukr’s business

idea in your group
• Summarize the main points on Flip chart
• Each group will present one part of SWOT
 Case Analysis Result

• He has years of experience in tailoring ready-to-wear and tailored clothing.

• He knows the quality of clothes people like.
Strengths • In his previous job he had contact with customers and developed some sales
(positive factors skills.
on which to • He knows where to find suppliers for fabric and other materials.
capitalize) • He can continue to work as a daily labourer in construction until he has
enough work as a tailor.
• He does not need much material to start.
• He has a bicycle to transport his products.

• He has no business management experience.

Weaknesses • He has no network in the business environment he plans to operate in.
(negative factors • He has no money to invest in his business.
to be eliminated) • He has no equipment to start his business.
• He does not know where to get machines.
• He does not know many shopkeepers.
 Case Analysis Result

• Since the garment factory went bankrupt, hardly any clothes are being
produced locally.
• The cheap second-hand clothes worn by the poor often require minor mending
Opportunities and alterations.
(to seize) • There are no tailors in the area where he plans to open his shop
• Many tailors lost their jobs when the garment factory closed; it is easy to
employ tailors.
• Shopkeepers prefer selling local clothes because of the higher profit margin.
• Rich people prefer tailored local clothes.

• Other former tailor colleagues might have the same idea and start a tailoring
business.
Threats
• Nothing prevents tailors from opening their own shops in the same area.
(to avoid/to take
• Cheap imported second-hand clothes are very popular, particularly among
into account)
poorer people.
• The economic situation is not very good and more and more middle-income
people are starting to buy cheap imported clothes
 SWOT Analysis
• Conduct SWOT analysis for the business ideas you
identified
• Summarize the main points on Flip chart
• Each group will present one part of SWOT
 From Idea to doing business

Selam’s chicken business

Discuss in your group and:

1. What went wrong
2. What went right
3. What would Selam have done
right?
4. Present to the class
 From Idea to doing business

What went wrong?

• Selam did not have the necessary skills and
knowledge for the business project and did
not inform herself.
• Selam did not prepare and plan.
• Selam did not conduct any market research and
did not know what customers wanted.
 From Idea to doing business

What went right?

• Selam consulted with her husband.
• Selam followed the development of her business
(chicks).
• Selam looked for help when chicks started dying.
• Selam tried to minimize her loss by lowering the
price she was asking for her chickens.
 From Idea to doing business
What would Selam have
done right?
• Formulate a properly thought-out business idea;
• Assess whether she have the skills and knowledge to
implement and run the business;
• Develop a clear understanding of the business and plan
how she want to run it;
• Assess the business environment she is planning to
operate in.
 From Idea to doing business

Selam’s chicken business

Discuss in your group and:

1. What went wrong
2. What went right
3. Present to the class
Business Planning
 Planning: Basics and rationale

In your everyday life, what planning do you do to

reach your goals?
Do you agree with the quote below?
Why or why not?

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

 Planning: Basics and rationale

What is planning?
Planning can be described as the thinking that takes
place before the action.

It must address two basic questions.

What do I need to do?
• Planning tasks needed to operate business
What do I need to get?
• Determining the resources needed to operate the
business
 Activity: Long distance Race

Imagine the class is divided into 2 long distance

running teams. List the steps your team would take to
prepare for a race, which will take place after a month.

1. Work with members of your team.

2. On a flip chart, spend 20 minutes listing the steps involved
in preparing for a race. Consider all aspects of race
preparation including the race plan and strategies, practice,
pre-game stretching, and so on.
3. Present your list to the class.
 Planning: Basics and rationale
Importance of planning to entrepreneurs

Planning enables you to organize goals and strategies

Planning aligns important decisions with goals
Planning allows you to measure performance
Planning can help your business get a loan and funding

Planning Achievement
What do she needs to fulfill?

That would be fine, Selam

I need to scale up my
business. I am sure I
will be able to repay
the loan in six months.
But first the Bank needs to
see your sales and profit
record and your plan for
the future.
 Business Plan

What is Business Plan?

A Business Plan is a document that describes the
objectives of a business and which steps should be
taken to make the goals achievable.

Importance of Business Plan?

• To analyze future scenarios for the venture
• To determine the potential outcomes of the
venture, considering marketing, finance and
operation
• Provide a reference for future comparison;
• For funding and finance access
 Business Plan
Business Plan Content
1. Cover Page
2. Confidentiality Statement
3. Executive Summary
4. Company Description
5. Products and service description
6. Marketing Plan
7. Merchandising / Operation Plan
8. Management and Organization
9. Financial Plan
10. Appendices
 Activity

Prepare for the business idea you generated

• Cover page
• Confidentiality statement
• Company description
• Product description

Then exchange with the nearest group and let them review
for you
 Activity

Prepare for the business idea you generated

• Marketing plan
• Merchandising plan
• Management and organization

Then exchange with the nearest group and let them review
for you
Financial plan
End of Day 4