Start or Grow Your Own Business
Discover how to become an entrepreneur and maximise your chances of business success. In this course, you'll learn about market research, how to investigate opportunities, how to assess factors for good decision-making, and more.
Course Duration: 100 hours
Course Structure
There are 10 lessons in this course.
- Scope and Nature of Entrepreneurship
- What is an Entrepreneur?
- Types of Entrepreneurs
- Factors Affecting Entrepreneurial Success
- Sources for Business Ideas
- Intrepreneurs
- Ethics
- Entrepreneurial Process
- Is Entrepreneurship Right for You?
- Reasons for Becoming an Entrepreneur
- Skills Needed by Entrepreneurs
- Determining How Suited You are to Being an Entrepreneur
- Evaluating Entrepeneurial Opportunities
- Questions To Consider
- Assessing Opportunities
- Entrepreneurial Life Cycles
- The Nature and Scope of Market Research
- Obtain, Analyse, and Interpret the information necessary
- Who Will Buy Your Products and/or Services
- What Do They Want
- Market Research Steps
- Types of Market Research (Market Research, Product Research, Promotions Research, Sales Research, Company Research)
- Gathering Data (Primary Data, Secondary Data)
- What Needs Research (Physical Attributes, Behavioural Characteristics of Customers, Identifying Best Prospects)
- The Research Process
- Statistics
- Researching Competitors
- Tracking Trends
- Staying Ahead of Trends
- Questionnaires
- Getting to Understand Intellectual Property
- Copyright
- Contract Law
- Public Domain
- Right to Privacy
- Law & the Internet
- Electronic Publishing
- Patents
- Designs
- Trademarks
- Legal and Ethical Concerns
- Types of Business (Sole Trader, Partnership, Private Limited Companies, Public Limited Companies)
- Terminology
- Legal Obligations
- Business Operations
- Goals and Objectives
- Resources –Premises, Equipment, etc
- Stock and Suppliers
- Identifying Business Functions
- Thinking About Expenses & Costs
- Dealing with Fluctuations in Demand
- Business and Financial Planning
- What is a Business Plan
- Venture Capital
- Forcasting
- Setting Goals
- Policies
- Scheduling
- Budgeting
- Developing Procedures
- What to include in a Business Plan
- Marketing and Selling
- Gathering Information
- Identifying Key Issues
- Developing Strategies and Actions
- Market Opportunity Analysis
- Determine a Target Market
- Engineer a Target Market
- Market Objectives
- How to Launch a Venture
- Launching
- Start Up Assistance
- Being Prepared for Change
- Prepare Contingency Plans in Advance
- Using Assets Well
- Think Laterally
- Core Business Focus
- Taking Calculated Risks
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What Makes an Entrepreneur Successful?
According to the Austrian economist Joseph Schumpete to truly be an entrepreneur means that you need to come up with:
- New products
- New production methods
- New markets
- New forms of organization
In order to achieve this you require innovation – through the creation of new demand and supply of products that have greater value to the customer, and by generating the highest possible returns at lowest possible production costs, the successful entrepreneur can create wealth as a result. Innovation includes products but also services or even new business processes that increase efficiency in the delivery of products or services.
Other differences between a small business owner and an entrepreneur may be:
- Amount of wealth – the amount of wealth that is created – a small business owner may be able to slowly increase their turn-over to a sustainable level. An entrepreneur will create substantial wealth from the enterprise they create – it will typically mean millions rather than thousands of dollars in profits.
- Speed – the entrepreneur will create rapid wealth, in the millions of dollars, often in under 5 years – whereas a small business may take decades to generate a few million dollars.
- Risk – entrepreneurs usually take high risks. Competition results in the sharing of profits by several entrepreneurs or businesses as several hit the market. An entrepreneurs risk is too high for direct competition from most normal business ventures.
- Innovation – entrepreneurs exhibit innovative ideas that far exceed those of small business developers. Innovation means that the entrepreneur gives their business competitive advantage over other businesses – good innovators create rapid wealth.
Entrepreneurs try to identify and meet a need for a product or service. Entrepreneurs come from all types of backgrounds, may be of any age, and create all kinds of businesses. Some own tiny craft shops, while others own huge construction companies. Entrepreneurs try to identify the needs of the marketplace and to meet those needs by supplying a service or product. When they succeed, their businesses flourish and the profits go to them. When they fail, their companies decline and they may have to go out of business.
Entrepreneurship is a process of looking at things in such a way as to make solutions to problems and perceived needs. Such as, is this idea feasible? Will this idea work?
It is also the willingness to take risks involved with the starting and managing of a business. It is also the qualities needed to function effectively in a business, profit-making context, that is, the ability to identify business opportunities and make deals. Entrepreneurship also refers to the ability to take risks on your own initiative and be able to work in a cost effective way to make a profit.
There are many opportunities for entrepreneurs in each type of business. Manufacturing businesses actually produce the products they sell. Using resources and supplies, they create everything from automobiles to paper. Wholesaling businesses sell products to people other than the final customer. Retailing businesses sell products directly to the people who use or consume them. Service businesses sell services rather than products. They include hotels, hairdressers and repair shops.
Entrepreneurship benefits the economy by filling unmet needs and increasing productivity. It also benefits the economy by providing employment to local inhabitants, paying taxes to government and council and often buying materials from other local businesses, which circulates money around the geographical area. In many cases, the historical entrepreneurs started businesses that are today large corporations.
