Entrepreneurship

Lecture One ;
Introduction to
Entrepreneurship
Mr. Sultan Said
Omar.
Learning Objectives
• By the end of this session, students are expected to be able to:
• Define entrepreneurship, entrepreneur and enterprise
• Describe the characteristics of an entrepreneur
• List the functions of an entrepreneur
• Explain the basic concepts of entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship

Definition of entrepreneurship;
• There is no universally accepted, single definition of entrepreneurship.
• The concept of entrepreneurship has been described in many ways:
The creation of value, the process of starting or
growing a new profit-making business, or the
process of providing a new product or service.
 The process of creating something different
with value by devoting the necessary time
and effort, and assuming the accompanying
financial, psychological and social risks and
receiving the resulting rewards of monetary
and personal satisfaction.
 The creation and management of a new
business, small business or family business.
 A process of creating ‘incremental wealth’.
Cont..
This wealth is created by individuals who
assume the major risks in terms of equity,
time/career commitment of providing value for
some product or service.
The product or service itself may or may not be
new or unique, but value must somehow be
infused by an entrepreneur by securing and
allocating the necessary skills and resources.
Cont..
• Almost all definitions of entrepreneurship include the
following key behaviours:
• Initiative-taking
• Organizing and reorganizing of social and
economic mechanisms to turn resources
and situations into practical account
• Acceptance of risk or failure
Cont..
From the definition given, it can also be noted that those
entrepreneurs:
• Create new businesses in situations of risks and
uncertainty
• Aim at growth and profit through resource mobilization
• Utilize opportunities available
• Pursue the opportunities regardless of resource availability
Entrepreneur
Definition of entrepreneur;
• An entrepreneur is a catalyst for economic change that uses
purposeful searching, careful planning and sound judgement when
carrying out the entrepreneurial process.
• Uniquely optimistic and committed, and works creatively to establish
new resources or endow old ones with a new capacity, all for the
purpose of creating wealth.
• A risk-taker to own and manage an enterprise.
Enterprise
Definition of Enterprise;
• An enterprise is a commercial unit aimed at producing
services to satisfy both the client and the service
provider.
• Enterprise can also known as business undertaking .
• For example, an enterprise may focus on assisting
the public or a segment of the public on:
Research activities (e.g., proposal development in
health)
Academic work (e.g., book writing in health)
Cont...
Counselling patients and their families
(e.g., counselling)
Providing mortuary services
Providing a selection of full burial
services
Clinic care of patient
Improving the quality of services
within your organization to increase
clients and raise the price
Group Discussion
Think of a few entrepreneurs you have encountered in your community or
workplace.
Required;
1. What is the difference between entrepreneurship and entrepreneur?
2. What do you think is the secret of their success?
Characteristics of Successful
Entrepreneurs
• There are a number of qualities that are
expected to be possessed by an entrepreneur in
order for him to succeed. Kuratko and
Hodgetts (2007: 119 – 124) outline a number
of characteristics:

• Need for achievement:

Entrepreneurs have a strong desire for
achievement, and this force them to be highly
committed towards their ambitions.
Cont..
• Internal locus of control:
Entrepreneurs believe that their success or failure depend on their
own actions. These people believe themselves to be in control of
their destinies and do not believe that the success or failure of
their venture will be governed by fate, luck or similar forces.
Cont..
• Innovation and creativity:
The entrepreneur wishes to create something new, which can be
clearly identified with him.

This will be possible if the entrepreneurs have the ability to

recognize opportunities that other people do not see.
Cont..
• Need for Independence:
The entrepreneur has a need to be a boss of his own, self
confident, need for fame, recognition, status and power. He feels
proud of his status and happy to make decisions affecting the
venture.

• Opportunity orientation:
Entrepreneurs would like to make use of opportunities when they
arise. Successful growth minded entrepreneurs tend to focus on
opportunity rather than on resources, structures and strategy.
 • High energy levels:
They put a lot of effort in order to achieve intended results. Successful
entrepreneurs can work for long hours. They spend long and productive
hours at work.
• Tolerance for failure:
Entrepreneurs will not despair easily. They will continue to struggle
even if several attempts fail because they use failure as a learning
experience. The iterative trial and error nature of becoming a successful
entrepreneur make serious setbacks and disappointments an integral
part of the learning process.
Cont..
• Risk taking propensity:
Entrepreneurs would like to take calculated risks. Venture spirit
and willingness to take risks is the major trait of entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurs do not put all of their resources and time into the
venture until it appears to be viable. They often define the risks
early in the process and try to minimize them to the extent
possible.
Types of risks mostly faced by entrepreneur
i. Financial risk : By starting a business an individual always
carries some risk of failure and puts personal capital invested in
business or other resources at stake.

ii. Career risk : Entrepreneur ask themselves whether they will be

able to find a job or go back to their old job if their venture should
fail.

iii. Family and social risk : A risk of having incomplete family

experience and the possibility of permanent emotional scars.
Besides old friend may vanish because of missed get-together.
iv. Psychic risk : The greatest risk may be the well
being of the entrepreneur.

v. Economic security risk : This entails missing

advantages of salaried employment. Like future
security thru retirement benefits and pension
schemes, earning regular and stable income, paid
vacations, medical and insurance benefits, and
opportunities for promotion.
Qualities that associated with successful
entrepreneurship
• Necessary technical knowledge of the business
sector
• Right business skills
• Ability to manage and develop relationship
already established
• Ability to lead the business
• He can take over the vision
• He can offer a new perspective
Functions Performed by an
Entrepreneur
• Planning:
• The entrepreneur is the organizer, who conceives the idea and
launches the project, as well as programming the structure of the
activities.
• Management
• The entrepreneur is responsible for the management of activities
at a minimum cost. This includes planning, organising, staffing,
supervision, controlling, monitoring & evaluation reporting.
Cont..
• Financial Oversight
• The entrepreneur pays obligations in the
shape of rent, wages, vendor debts, and
interest, etc. and bears the risk of profit or
loss.
• Marketing & Promotion
• The entrepreneur is responsible for
marketing, including advertising and
promoting services or products.
Cont..
• Decision-Making
• The entrepreneur is responsible for
decision making about the scale of
business in accordance with the
provision of available resources. This
includes decisions about what, where
and how to provide services.
THANK YOU FOR
YOUR ATTENTION