Entrepreneurship Unit 1
Entrepreneurship Unit 1
Entrepreneurship Unit 1
2. Thorough Evaluation
Before moving forward, entrepreneurs need to evaluate a business idea or opportunity
thoroughly. An entrepreneur can do it by himself/herself by considering the following points –
Whether an opportunity or idea is worth investing or not.
What are the requirements for this product?
Is it feasible or not based on its cost?
What are the competitive advantages?
Associated risks
Whether it coincides with the company’s goal or not
Additionally, an entrepreneur must evaluate his/her skills and if he/she can manage such it.
3. Business Plan
After identifying the opportunity and gathering information about it, an entrepreneur needs to
create a comprehensive business plan to make most of this opportunity. It is one of the
vital stages of entrepreneurship development process. Such a plan acts as the base of a venture as
well as the benchmark. It shows whether the business in on track or not.
Creating a business plan requires time and effort, and an entrepreneur must be dedicated to it.
The significant pieces of a business plan, i.e. its vision, goal, objectives, capital and the product
itself must be figured out in this process.
4. Finding Resources
Once the entire business plan is ready, the next step of entrepreneurship development and
management is to locate sources of finance and human resources. Here entrepreneurs find
investors for his/her venture. Moreover, recruits individuals as per their skill and abilities to carry
out different business activities.
Business idea generation is a search for opportunities for new avenues of growth in business.
As per peter Drucker the opportunities are of three types:
1. Additive Opportunities: Here better and intense utilization of existing resources is
called for from the decision makers. This also means changes in production and
marketing strategies.
2. Complementary Opportunities: Bring new ideas in existing products or bring in value
addition or changes desired in the market. Here character of business is likely to change
the risk in business increases.
3. Breakthrough Opportunities: New product, new areas, new technologies bring in
fundamental ideas. Breakthrough changes structure, strategies and business character.
The element of risk is the highest and is combined with highest gains in case of success.
Business opportunity
Definition
A business opportunity is a packaged business investment that allows the buyer to begin a
business.
Meaning
A business opportunity, in the simplest terms, is a packaged business investment that allows the
buyer to begin a business. A business opportunity is an arrangement where a third party (the
seller) offers to sell you products, equipment, supplies or services to enable you to start your own
business.
Business opportunity involves sale or lease of any product, services ,equipment etc that will
enable the purchaser licensing to begin a business.
Evaluation of alternatives
Establishing a small business unit involves and requires the preliminary study of several factors
associated with it. The study of these factors will help the evaluation of different alternatives
available to continue or drop the proposed business. For each of the proposed business it is
always necessary to prepare two to three plans considering the existing resource and
competencies of entrepreneur. Of these proposed plans a viable plan has to selected or all plans
can be rejected, if it is not viable on any score in long-term
Sources of Idea Generation
A good idea can come from anywhere and at any time. An idea generation source refers to the
people or places from where the idea was inspired. It can be affected by both external, as well as
internal sources. The R&D department or the analytics employees are a part of the internal
sources.
On the other hand, external sources combine to form suppliers, focus groups, educational
institutions, distribution channels, customers, government, and competitors.
Entrepreneurs throughout the world use the following sources to tap to identify good ideas:
1. Customers
Prospective customers know best what they want and the habits/tastes that will be popular
shortly.
New product or service ideas may come from customers’ reactions to the present product and the
expected product idea.
Contacts with prospective consumers can also reveal the features that should be built into a
product or service.
The attention to the customers can take the form of informally monitoring potential ideas and
needs or formally arranging surveys among prospective customers.
Care needs to be taken to ensure that the idea or need represents a large enough market to
support a new venture.
2. Existing organization
Competing products and services of existing organizations and evaluation thereof is a successful
source of new ideas.
Frequently, this analysis uncovers ways to improve on these offerings, resulting in a new product
that has more market appeal.
The analysis of profitability and break-even level of various industries or organizations indicate
promising investment opportunities which are profitable and relatively risk-free.
An examination of the capacity utilization of various industries provides information about the
potential for further investment.
3. Distribution channels
Member of the distribution channels; intermediaries, transient customer preference, and possible
expectations may be a good business idea.
Not only do channel members frequently have suggestions for completely new products, but they
can also help in marketing the entrepreneur’s newly developed products.
4. Government
The government can be a source of new product ideas in many ways.
First, the files of the Patent Office contain numerous new product possibilities. They can suggest
other more marketable new product ideas.
Secondly, new product ideas can respond to government regulations, industrial policy,
investment guidelines, annual plan, Five-year plan, etc.
Thirdly, several government agencies nowadays assist entrepreneurs in discovering evaluating
business ideas.
Fourthly, government publications on trade and industry can also help set new venture
ideas.
5. Financial institutions and Development Agencies
These organizations also provide ready projects and offer suggestions to potential entrepreneurs
who help identify promising projects.
Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, Small Business
Administration, Office of Advocacy, United States Chamber of Commerce, Economic
Development Administration, Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council, House
Committee on Small Business, and many other bodies in the USA are working to improve
entrepreneurship and small businesses.
6. Research and Development
The entrepreneur’s own “research and development” is the largest source of new ideas. It may be
a more formal endeavor connected with one’s current employment or an informal laboratory in
the private premises.
Formal institutional research and development are often better equipped, enabling the
entrepreneur to conceptualize and develop successful new product ideas.
But many amazing product ideas have come from informal research endeavors at the private
level.
7. Trade Shows, Fairs aid Exhibitions
These sources display new products and innovations in processes and services.
An innovative entrepreneur can get product ideas to adapt or modify and produce with
indigenous materials and technology.
8. Focus Groups
Focus groups are good sources of product ideas.
A moderator leads a group of people through an open, in-depth discussion rather than simply
asking questions to solicit participant response; for a new product area, the moderator focuses the
group’s discussion in either a directive or a nondirective manner.
The group of 8 to 14 participants is stimulated by comments from other group members to
conceptualize and develop a new product idea to fulfill market needs.
This is an excellent method for initially screening ideas and concepts too.
9. Brainstorming
The brainstorming method for generating new product ideas is based on the fact that people can
be stimulated to greater creativity by meeting with others and participating in organized group
experiences.
This method would be effective if the effort focuses on a specific product or market area. The
following four rules should be followed when using this method:
1. No criticism is allowed by anyone in the group – no negative comments.
2. Freewheeling is encouraged- the wilder the idea, the better.
3. Quantity of ideas is desired- the greater the number of ideas, the greater the likelihood of
useful ideas emerging.
4. Combinations and improvements of ideas are encouraged – ideas of others can still
produce another new idea.
The brainstorming session should be fun, with no one dominating or instituting the discussion.
10. Collective Notebook Method
In the collective notebook method, a small notebook that easily it’s in a pocket, containing a
statement of the problem, blank pages, and any pertinent background data, is distributed.
Participants consider the problem and its possible solutions, recording ideas at least once but
preferably three times a day.
At the end of the month, a list of the best ideas is developed, along with any suggestions.
11. Heuristics Method
Heuristics relies on the entrepreneur’s ability to discover through a progression of thoughts,
insights, and learning.
The technique is probably used more than imagined because entrepreneurs frequently must settle
for an estimated outcome of a decision rather than a certainty.
One specific heuristic approach is called the heuristic ideation technique (HTT).
The technique involves locating all relevant concerts – that could be associated with a given
product area and generating a set of all possible combinations of ideas.
Value analysis Method: The value analysis technique develops methods for maximizing value to
the entrepreneur and the new venture. It is a method for developing a new idea by evaluating the
worth of aspects of ideas.
Under this technique, regularly scheduled times are established to develop, evaluate, and refine
ideas.
12. Checklist Method
A new idea is developed through a lot of related issues or suggestions.
The entrepreneur can use the list of questions or statements to guide the direction of developing
entirely new ideas or concentrating on specific “idea” areas. The checklist may take any form
and be of any length.
One general checklist is :
Put to other uses? New ways to use as is? Other uses if modified?
Adapt? What else is like this? What other ideas does this ‘ suggest? Does the past offer
parallel? What could I copy? Whom could I emulate?
Modify? New twist? Change meaning, sour, motion, odor, form, shape? Other changes?
Magnify? What lo add? More time? Greater frequency? Stronger? Larger? Thicker?
Extra value? Plus ingredient? Duplicate? Multiply? Exaggerate?
Minify? What substitute? Smaller? Condensed? Miniature? Lower? Shorter? Lighter?
Omit? Streamline? Split up? Understated?
Substitute? Who else instead? What else instead? Another ingredient? Other material?
Another process? Other power? Other places? Other approaches? Other tones of voice?
Rearrange? Interchange components? Other Pattern? Other layouts’.’ Other sequences?
Transpose cause and effect? Change pact? Change schedule?
Reverse? Transpose positive and negative? How about opposites? Turn it backward?
Turn it upside-down? Reverse roles? Change shoes? Turntables? Turn other cheeks?
Combine? How about a bend, an alloy, an assortment, an ensemble? Combine units?
Combine purposes? Combine /appeals? Combine ideas?
13. Synectics Method
Synectic is a creative process that forced individuals to solve problems through four analogy
mechanisms: ‘ personal, direct, symbolic, and fantasy. A group works through a two-step
process.
The first step is to make the strange familiar.
Through generalizations or models, this involves consciously reversing the order of things and
putting the problem into a readily acceptable or familiar perspective, thereby eliminating the
strangeness.
Once the strangeness is eliminated, participants engage in the second step, making the familiar
strange through personal, direct, or—symbolic analogy, which ideally results in a unique
solution being developed.
14. Dream Approach
The big dream approach to coming up with a new idea requires that the entrepreneur dreams
about the problem and. Its solution- thinking big.
Every possibility should be recorded and investigated without regard to all the negatives
involved or the resources required.
In other words, ideas should be conceptualized without any constraints until an idea is developed
into a workable form.
15. Market Gap Analysis
Market gap analysis is a powerful method used to uncover areas in the market in which the needs
and wants far exceed the supply.
This method has a hopper or gathering effect of converting everyday information into bunches of
lucrative product and service gaps that few have thought of before.
16. Life-style analysis Method
Entrepreneurs can use lifestyle analysis effusively for product-service ideas. Lifestyle is a
person’s pattern of living expressed in his or her psychographics It involves measuring
consumers’ major activities (work, hobbies, shopping, sports, social events), interests (food,
fashion, family, recreation), and opinions (about themselves, social issues, business, products).
The lifestyle analysis will help entrepreneurs understand new needs and want under the changed
conditions. It will also reflect the changing consumer values that may be a good source of
product-service ideas.
Idea generation steps
The idea generation is not compiled in a single approach; instead, it is continuous innovation and
improvement. Companies have recognized the importance of idea generation and are supporting
their employees for the same.
This procedure usually begins with a proper understanding of the job that you are going to
execute. The aim is to generate questions that will act as fuel to your motivation. Secondly,
propose suitable solutions for them. In the end, choose the most effective alternative, followed
by its proper implementation.
Thomas Alva Edison developed a systematic method of idea generation that includes a series of
effective steps. This made the idea generation process more convenient to apply and get the
desired results out of them. This proved to be a game-changer in the market practices.
Thomas Edison put forward the following steps:
1. Enabling: The search for the right field of innovation
2. Defining: Develop search queries and specify search paths
3. Inspiring: Search for thoughts and stimuli from other areas
4. Selecting: Generate and evaluate ideas
5. Optimizing: From the initial idea to the mature concept
6. Nurturing: Enrich ideas with various implementation strategies
Several online tools similar to Innolytics® Innovation are used to enhance the systematic idea
generation process. Various solo stages are defined so that the ideas are properly channelized.
The ideas can change an ongoing trend and create a better strategy to generate innovative
concepts for everyone.
Idea Generation Techniques
According to Thomas Alva Edison, he suggested some of the steps for ideas generation, which
were, firstly, enabling the search in the right field. Secondly, defining in which each query is
looked upon.
Thirdly, inspiration includes searching for thoughts. Fourthly, select the generated ideas. Fifth,
optimizing the idea and providing it the direction. Six, nurturing the ideas with the
implementation of strategies. While some more idea generation steps can be:
2) Industry/ Niche Market feasibility: The second area to explore is the industry of which your
business will be part of and the niche market you plan to go after. The most attractive industries
for new business have the following characteristics:
i. Are large and growing rather than small and shrinking,
ii. Are early rather than late in their lifecycles,
iii. Are important to their customers(by selling products or services that people “must have”
rather than “ would like to have”),
iv. Feature environmental trends moving in favor of the industry,
v. Have high rather than low operating margins.
You should also assess the attractiveness of the specific niche market that has planned to target.
An ideal market for a start-up is one that is large enough for the proposed business but small
enough to avoid attracting larger competitors.
Finding good information on your industry and niche market takes a little work. The best place
to start is to tap into the resources available at a university or large public library. Industry trade
journals and magazines also provide information. Talking to business owners who are part of the
industry that you have planned to enter is another option.