Entrepreneurship

Module

Table of Contents
Lesson 1: Introduction to Entrepreneurship
Lesson 2: Developing a Business Plan
Lesson 3: Opportunity Seeking
Lesson 4: Implementing a Business Plan
Entrepreneurship
get ahead of his competitors lest he is driven out of market.
Buyers of commodities have tendency to patronize
innovative offerings of any kind and if one wans patronage,
he must remember this motivation.
Module
Defining innovation
Lesson 1: Introduction to  Innovation - maybe defined as the introduction
Entrepreneurship of a new method, procedure, custom, device,
among others.
1.1: What is Entrepreneurship? Innovation could be any of the following:
The concept of entrepreneurship involves three major 1. A new product.
components. These components include:
2. A new process of production.
 Entrepreneurship – is the propensity of mind to take
calculated risks with confidence to achieve a 3. The substitution of a cheaper material in an unaltered
predetermined business or industrial objective. To material.
simply put, entrepreneurship is the act of setting out on
4. The reorganization of production, internal function, or
your own and starting business.
distribution arrangement leading to increased
 Entrepreneur – is the one who undertakes the efficiency, better support for a given product, or lower
endeavor. An entrepreneur is the person responsible for cost.
setting up a business or enterprise. A good entrepreneur
5. An improvement in the instrument or method of doing
has the initiative, skill for innovation, and who looks for
innovation. Innovation may also be viewed as the last
high achievements.
stage of important process consisting of the following:
 Enterprise – is the business organization that is a. Invention – refers to the discovery or devising of
formed and which provides goods and services, creates new products or processes.
jobs, contributes to the national outcome, exports, and
contributes to the overall economic development. b. Development – refers to the process by which the
ideas and principles generated from the stage of
1.2: Who can be an Entrepreneur? invention are embodied in concrete products and
techniques.
There is not one single quality or skill to define an
entrepreneur. Successful entrepreneurs come in various c. Innovation – refers to the actual introduction of a
ages, gender, race, and social status. They also differ in new product or process.
education and experience. However, research indicates that
most successful entrepreneurs share certain personal
attributes, including: creativity, dedication, flexibility,
Lesson 2: Developing a
determination, leadership, passion, self-confidence, and
“smarts”.
Business Plan
The “SMARTS” 2.1: What is a Business Plan and What
 Creativity – is the spark that drives the development is it for?
of new product ideas or ways to do business. It is the
Entrepreneurs who plan to enter any business plan
push for innovation and improvement.
endeavor must have a business plan on hand to guide them
 Dedication – is what motivates the person to work throughout the process. Different business plans are
hard to get the endeavor off the ground. Planning and prepared for different purposes. There are business plans
ideas must be joined by hard work to succeed. written prior to setting up and enterprise, which are similar
Dedication makes it happen. to a prefeasibility study and feasibility study.

 Determination – is the extremely strong desire to  Business plan - is a written description of your
achieve success. It includes persistence and the ability business’ future, a document that tells what you plan to
to bounce back after rough times. For the true do and how you will plan to do it. It serves as the guide
entrepreneur, money is not the motivation. – a roadmap for your business that outlines the goals
and details of how you plan to achieve those goals.
 Flexibility – is the ability to move quickly in response
to the changing market needs. It is being true to a The masters of a business plan
dream while also being mindful of market realities.
 It serves the entrepreneur who must set a navigational
course.
1.3: Entrepreneurship and Innovation
 It serves investors and cautious financers.
The freedom of competition afforded by the capitalist
economy serves to drive the entrepreneur to innovate and
  It serves the managers and staff of the organization so The school has at least 203 regular school days. Break
that they will know the strategies and programs of the such as Semesterly Break, Holidays, and Summer will see
enterprise. slow the business.

Format of a good business plan

1. Introduction 2.3: Introduction: The Business Model
a. The Business Concept and the Business Model Another thing to consider while making a business plan
is the business model - it serves as how the company is
b. The Business Goal: Vision, Mission, Objectives, and
Performance Targets organized. It captures the fundamental assumptions a key
learning about a new venture.
c. The Business Offering and Justification
 Business Model – is a framework for how a
2. Executive Summary company creates a value.
3. The Business Proponents: Organizers with their
Example of a Business Model:
Capabilities and Contributions

4. The Target Customer and the Main Value Proposition to Customer

Activities
the Customer Value Relationships Customer
Partners
Proposition Segments
5. The Target Market Resources Channels

6. The Product and Service Offerings Cost Revenue Streams

7. The Enterprise Strategy and Enterprise Delivery

Systems: Business Competitiveness
The blocks of the business model
8. Financial Data 1. Value Proposition – is an innovation, service, or
feature intended to make a company or product
9. The Capital Structure and Financial Offering: Returns attractive to customers. It is the reason why customers
and Benefits to Investors, Financiers, and Business turn to one company to over another. Something to
Partners keep in mind is your value proposition can change, as
you gather more data from customer interviews. That is
10. Supporting Documents
okay, and is something to be expected. You will most
likely end up changing your value propositions several
2.2: Introduction: The Business times before you arrive at your final list.
Concept
2. Customer Segments – defines the groups of people
The business concept contains the essence of the or organizations you aim to reach or serve. Every
enterprise in a concise but powerful manner. It stresses the company needs profitable customers in order to survive.
value of product offering the target customers who would Using business model canvas, you will determine what
most likely buy it. your customer segments will be. A good way to think
about this block is to treat it as the demographic
 Business Concept – is the idea that is the basis for information about your customers.
founding or transforming a business. It includes the
basic information of the service or product, the target 3. Channels – simply describes how a company
demographic, and the unique selling proposition. communicates with and reaches its Costumer Segments
to deliver its Value Proposition. It is important to
Example of a business concept: understand which pathway (or channel) is the best for
your company to reach your customers.

Concept 4. Customer Relationships – describes the type of

relationship a company establishes with its specific
Open a coffee shop directly across the street from the Saint customer segments. Customer relationships are driven
Isidore College to capture business from 15900 students. by customer acquisition, customer retention, and
boosting sales – in other words, you need to get, keep,
Customer Needs
and grow your customer relationships.
The Saint Isidore College is in an isolated location with the
nearest coffee shops 5 kilometers away. Students at the 5. Revenue Streams – is the source of revenue of a
college have no nearby place to study and socialize with company or organization. A revenue stream is generally
the exceptions of school’s cafeteria. There is an made up of either recurring revenue, transaction-based
opportunity to open coffee shops and pubs in the area that revenue, project revenue, or service revenue.
can become an integral and memorable part of the student
 Revenue Model – is a conceptual structure that
life on the campus.
states and explains the revenue earning strategy of
Issues the business. It answers the question: “How do I
make money?”
 6. Key Partners – are the relationships that you have interest to purchase the products being offered by the
with other business, governmental, or non-consumer enterprise.
entities that help your business model work. These can
be the relationships that your company has with your  Main Value Proposition – is the unique selling
suppliers, your manufacturers, business partners, etc. proposition of the enterprise.
These partnerships that you will undoubtedly create will
be forces that help your business succeed in areas that 2.8: Market Demand and Supply,
would be inefficient for you to do yourself.
Industrial Dynamics, and Macro-
7. Key Resources – describes the most important assets Environmental Factors
required to make a business model work. Additionally,
these are the resources that allow an enterprise to create The market Demand and Supply simply talk about the
and offer a Value Proposition, reach markets, maintain relationship of demand and supply to the enterprise.
relationships with Customer Segments, and earn
The Industry Dynamics discuss the following:
revenues.

8. Key Activities – are the most important activities in  Who are competing enterprises in the industry and what
executing a company’s value proposition. are their comparative advantages and disadvantages?
What business models and strategies are they
9. Cost Structure – defines all the costs and expenses employing?
that your company will incur while operating your
business model. This final step in the process is  Who are the suppliers in the industry and what are their
important, because it will help your team decide capabilities and bargaining power?
whether to pivot or proceed.
 What are the channels of distribution being used by the
industry? How effective are these channels?
2.4: Introduction: Vision, Mission, and
The Macro-Environmental Factors, in the other hand,
Objectives explains the effect of external factors that might affect the
business. The following are the macro-environmental
 Vision Statement – is a mental picture of what you
factors:
what to accomplish or achieve.
1. Social Environment – this factor includes the
 Mission Statement – is a general statement of how
demographic and cultural dimensions that govern the
the vision will be achieved. This is an action statement
relevant entrepreneurial behavior.
that usually begins “to”.
2. Political Environment – defines the governance
 Objectives – provides specific milestones with a
system of the country or the local area business. It
specific timeline for achieving a goal.
includes the laws, rules, regulations on allowable and
disallowable business practices.
2.5: Executive Summary
3. Economic Environment – it is mainly driven by
This part of the business plan provides a busy reader supply and demand forces. It is the same factor that
with everything that needs to be known about the new drives the interest and foreign exchange rates to
venture’s distinctive nature. fluctuate with the movement of the market forces.
 Executive Summary – is the brief introduction to a 4. Ecological Environment – includes all-natural
business plan. resources and ecosystem that defines the habitat of
man, animals, plants, and minerals.
2.6: Business Proponents
5. Technological Environment – explains the makes
This third section of your business plan contains and breaks competing participants in any industry.
information about business proponents or stakeholders.
There are four types of stakeholders: 2.9: Product/Service Offering:
1. Resource Mobilizers and Financial Backers Description, Evolution, and
2. Technology Providers and Applicants Justification
3. Governance and Top Management 1. Product/Services – is the changing highlighting
feature and attributes that would most appeal to the
4. Operating and Supporting Team target customer.

2.7: The Target Customers and the 2. Describe and Compare – this section needs to be
explained exactly what are you selling and will fits in the
Main Value Proposition market place.
The business proponent must be very precise about the
3. Price Points – explains products may come into
target audience or target customers. Target customers must
different sizes, quantities, or varieties that will impact
be at least sufficient in size, in paying capacity, and in
 the price, and services might be more or less extensive Here is the so-called Entrepreneurial Mind Frame:
depending on the price to be changed.

4. Order Fulfillment – describes what happens once

Opportunity Seeking
someone purchases what you are selling. If it is a Opportunity Screening
product, they might buy from a retail store, have it
delivered from your online shop, or perhaps they submit Opportunity Seizing
a customer order in advance and pick it up a later date.
3.2: Sources of Opportunity: Macro-
5. Technology – could be specific technology you need in
order to provide your services or it might be technology Environment
clients need in order to take advantages of what you’re
The macro-environment refers to the “big or macro forces”
selling.
that affects the area, the industry, and the market, which
the enterprise belongs to. They influence how business
2.10: Enterprise Strategy and Enterprise should be conducted, how consumers will behave, how
Delivery System supply and demand will move, how different competitors
would position themselves, and how the cost of doing
The business plan should be expounding to the Enterprise business will proceed.
Strategy by mapping the competitive landscape and by
situating the enterprise and its competitors as to their This particular source includes:
strategies and chosen positionings. Additionally, the
business plan should then show foe the Enterprise Delivery
Socio-Cultural Environment
System would enable the business to implement Enterprise The Socio-Cultural forces link to factors that affect society’s
Strategy. basic values, preferences, and behavior. The basis for these
factors is formed by the fact that people are part of a society
2.11: Financial Forecast: Expected and cultural groups that shape their beliefs and values.
Returns, Risks, and Contingencies Many cultural values blunders occur due to the failure of
businesses in understanding foreign cultures. For instance,
The business plan should then calculate the expected symbols may carry negative meaning in another culture.
returns from the business. It includes various calculations
such as: Political Environment
Every business is limited by the political environment. This
 Expected return from sales involves laws, government agencies and pressure groups.
These influenced and restrict organization and individuals
 Expected return on assets and investor
in a society. Therefore, marketing decisions are strongly
 Expected return on stockholders’ equity influenced and affected by developments in the political
environment.
2.12: Environmental and Regulatory Economic Environment
Compliance The economic forces relate to factors that affect consumer
The business plan must articulate the laws, rules, and purchasing power and spending pat-terns. For instance, a
regulations governing the business and industry. It should company should never start exporting to a country before
ascertain that all necessary permits, licenses, and authority having examined how much people will be able to spend.
to use proprietary intellectual capital had either been Important criteria are: GDP, GDP real growth rate, GNI,
secured or would definitely be secured. import duty rate, and sales tax or VAT, unemployment rate,
inflation, Disposable personal income, and Spending
2.13: Capital Structure and Financial patterns.

Offering Ecological Environment

The business plan must appeal to its target audience. The natural forces in the Macro Environment are important
Also, it must highlight for them the main features of the since they are about the natural resources which are needed
business plan they are looking from. as inputs by marketers or which are affected by their
marketing activities. Also, environment concerns have

Lesson 3: Opportunity Seeking grown strongly in recent years, which makes the ecological
force a crucial factor to consider. For instance, world, air,
and water pollution are headlines every marketer should be
3.1: What is Opportunity Seeking? aware of.

Entrepreneurs are innovative opportunity seekers. They Technological Environment

have the endless curiosity to discover new or different ideas
and see whether these ideas work in the marketplace. This Technological forced form a crucial influence in the Macro-
is what separates entrepreneurs to ordinary businessman Environment. They relate to factors that create new
whose main objective is to simply earn profits from technologies and thereby create new product and market
producing, buying, and selling goods. opportunities. A technological force everybody can think of
 nowadays is the development of wireless communication
techniques, smartphones, tablets, and so further. This may
3.5: What is Opportunity Screening?
mean the emerge of opportunities for a business, but watch After opportunity seeking comes to the rigorous process
out: every technology replaces an older one. Thus, of opportunity screening. Because of the many
marketers need to adapt and keep up to technology. opportunities possible for the entrepreneur, it is important
to come up with a shortlist of a few very promising
3.3: Sources of Opportunity: Industry opportunities, which could be scrutinized in detail.
After the macro-environment, the next biggest sources The 12 R of Opportunity Screening
of opportunities would be the industry. One of the most
difficult about industry analysis is defining what constitutes 1. Relevance to vision, mission, and objectives of the
an industry in the first place. The proper classification of entrepreneur. The opportunity must be aligned with
what industry the enterprise is competing in is important if what you have as the entrepreneur’s personal vision,
the entrepreneur’s competitors, and what are the critical mission, and objectives for the enterprise you want to
characteristics of the market as to the quality of products or set up.
services to be delivered.
2. Resonance to values. Other than vision, mission, and
Participants in an industry include: objectives, the opportunity must match the values and
desired virtues that you have or wish to impart.
1. Rivals or competitors in a particular type of business.
True rivals or competitors are those competing for the 3. Reinforcement of entrepreneurial interests. This
same or similar markets. answers the question: how does the opportunity
resonate with the entrepreneur’s personal interests,
2. Suppliers or input to rivals as well as suppliers of
talents, skills?
machinery and equipment, suppliers of manpower and
expertise, and suppliers of merchandise. 4. Revenues. Determine the sales potential of the products
and services that you want to offer. Is there a big enough
3. Consumer market segments being served by rivals or
market out there to grab and nurture for growth?
competitors.
5. Responsiveness to customer needs and wants.
4. Substitute products or serviced, which customers shift
or turn to. 6. Reach. Expand through branches, distributorships,
dealerships, or franchise outlets.
5. All other support and enabling resources.
7. Range. The wide range of possible product or service
After identifying the participants, it would help the
offerings, thus, tapping many market segments of the
entrepreneur to determine the logic of the industry. How do
industry.
these participants in the industry make or lose money?
What critical factors drive the industry’s success? What 8. Revolutionary impact. If the opportunity can be “next
critical factors lead to failure? big thing” or even a game changer to the industry, then
there’s a big potential to it.
3.4: Sources of Opportunity: Market
9. Returns. It is a fact that products with low cost of
The entrepreneur must also be to measure the actual production and operations but are sold at higher prices
demand and supply as well as the potential demand and will definitely yield the high return of investment.
supply of the industry that the enterprise belongs to. Returns can be also intangible; meaning, they come in
Equally important is the monitoring of the prevalence of the form of high-profile recognition or image projection.
product substitutes and their market impact on the existing
players in the industry. Market trend analysis is also 10. Relative ease of implementation. Will the opportunity
conducted by determining the critical variables, which be relatively easy to implement for the entrepreneur?
would most likely affect the future directions of the
industry. 11. Resources required. The resources needed to fulfill and
continue.
 Micro-market - refers to the specific target market
segment of a particular enterprise. These are the target 12. Risks. It always exists. Most successful business always
customers that represent the immediate customers of exists for risks.
an enterprise, meaning those who are currently buying
the goods or services offered by the enterprise customer 3.6: What is Opportunity Seizing?
group that an enterprise wishes to serve.
It is the last step in opportunity spotting and assessment. It
 Micromarketing - is a strategy in which marketing is the “pushing through” with the chosen opportunity. It is
and advertising efforts are focused on a small group of to accept or pursue an opportunity (to do something) with
tightly targeted consumers. For example, markets can alacrity or conviction. To take advantage of an opportunity
be grouped into narrow clusters based on commitment when offered. When you seize an opportunity, you take
to a product class or readiness to purchase a given advantage of it and do something that you want to do. Act
brand. quickly to use the opportunity while available.
 Lesson 4: Implementing a Set tasks to reach your objectives
Once you have set your objectives, consider what tasks need
Business Plan to be completed so you can achieve these.
Assign a person who is responsible for each step so that
4.1: How to Implement Business Plans? roles are clearly defined and there is accountability in
Writing a business plan is actually quite a daunting completing the task. Avoid micromanaging people with
prospect. Most start-ups do not know where they will be in detail explanations of how to complete each task. Some
one month’s time, let alone five years. The concept of solid generic examples could be:
business that simply makes money and is sustainable seems  Setting up an established company – you
to be lost. However, even the most realistic well-thought-
out business plan is just a shack of paper if it isn’t  Finding an office – office manager
implemented. So, how do you implement a business plan?
 Setting up internet, phones and computers – office
Your business plan has to be realistic manager

First and foremost, you have to go back to the beginning. Is  Marketing collateral – marketing manager
your business plan realistic and does it have clear goals,  Recruitment – HR manger securing new clients and
objectives, and aims that suit your aspirations? business – business development manager.
Although the list below is not exhaustive, your business  Opening company bank account – you
plan should contain a clear outline of the following:
 Social media management – marketing manager
 Business Proposition – what is your
product/service; who are your clients; who is your Time allocation
competition; how are you going to sell your
product/service? Each time should be paired with an appropriate time frame
of completion. You should be aggressive, but reasonable
 Management Team – who is your management team with your time allocation in order to ensure, not just
– directors, key personnel, and any strategic partners completion, but competent work as well.
and alliances you may have?
For assistance in framing this timescale, create you own
 Marketing – how are you going to promote Gantt chart – helpful tool that shows how long it will take to
(marketing, including market research, and pricing) complete different tasks and in what order the tasks should
your product or service? be finished.
 Staff – who do you need to employ and what is your Progress and review
organizational structure?
You or a member of your management team needs to be in-
 Operations – more information about your office charge of monitoring each task’s progress and the
premises, and infrastructure needed such as IT, website, completion percentage of each objective. When delays
telecoms, and similar. occur, try to get root of the problem. The more efficiently
 Infrastructure -what is your trading entity, insurance you start implementing your business plan, the more likely
needed, lawyers and accountants you will be using? is that you will survive this early period.

 Finances – more information about your profit and Keep a tab on your finances
loss forecasts, cash flow, finance needed, and
Keep reviewing your finances. If you are not hitting your
investment opportunities.
targets, implement changes and tackle this. Also have a
Set out your objectives regular review with your accountant to manage income,
costs and any tax liabilities. It is so important to keep
Once you have your business plan you should set out your disciplined, focused and motivated by cash flow, even more
objectives, for example, in the recruitment industry, some so in the early stages of your business.
of your objectives could include the following:
Join a trade association or networking
 Secure office space, set up the company and
group
infrastructure, and start trading within three
months. Business plans are always dynamic. Make sure you join a
networking group so you can keep up to date with the
 Secure your first deal within two months of ground market knowledge, connections, and legal and
trading. financial updates. You may also need to react and change
accordingly. Don’t get totally blinkered into your business
 Make one business deal every month from there plan, you always have to see what’s going on around you.
on for the first year.
Regularly review your business plan
Review your business plan on a regular basis. Compare
budgeted numbers to actual fingers of doing business.
Determine whether you can keep operating as you are or
whether you need to make changes, such as reducing costs,
raising prices or increasing marketing.