entrepreneurship only about building a team of at least two, possibly up to four or five
‘core’ entrepreneurs with different but complementary skills
... [Show More] and experience that will pay attention to networking? The answer is not so easy. The other side of the coin is working out what
the entrepreneur wants. Common aims for entrepreneurs are:
1 Some wish to open their own business or company immediately and head for an initial
public offering (IPO). This involves writing an excellent business plan and showing a
high degree of business acumen because it entails targeting providers of fairly substantial
amounts of financing.
2 Establishing social enterprises like charities or other forms of ‘social entrepreneurship’;
non-profit and not-for-profit enterprises. Nuffield, Carnegie, Rockefeller, and others
(probably including Bill Gates) all returned their enormous profits to society by way of
such constructions. Major differences include tax laws and the use of capital (e.g. social
enterprises often rely on voluntary labor).
3 Some want ‘organic growth’ starting with a micro-business and investing some low level of
resources – like evenings and weekends – to see if the concept will work. Examples include
Lovereading.co.uk and Totstofrance.co.uk. Here a business plan can function as a personal
‘roadmap’ but will also be needed to attract investment should the concept begin to take off.
4 Some want to be employed in an ‘innovative company’ (which could be big or small).
Large companies may try to act like a collection of small innovative companies and
working in such an environment has significant differences from working for more traditional companies. It is becoming more common for employees in innovative companies
to be asked to make a ‘business plan’ concerning proposed reorganizations, new workflows, product improvements, etc. Indeed, innovative companies may even put up the
resources needed for employees to spin out their own ideas like Rob Hamilton did with
‘Instant Offices’. This is often called intrapreneurship or corporate entrepreneurship.
After having read and performed the exercises in this book, you should be in a good position to
prepare the following:
• a business plan;
• a more (or very) concrete ‘central business proposition’;
• an elevator pitch.
Supported, where appropriate, by:
• posters;
• press releases;
• consultancy reports or other presentations.
Developing People and Competencies 13
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However, reading on its own is not sufficient. For knowledge to be understood and used, the
individual must be involved in its active construction. You must have opportunities to answer
questions, discuss (heatedly), and debate meanings, strategies, and implications, thus
engaging in authentic problem-solving in near-real situations. Thus your business partner (ideally an inventor, if you are a business person, or a business person, if you are a more technical
person) and your network should become your sparring partners to get first-hand
experience of ‘decision-making’ and ‘action’ and thus gain a real benefit that can be used in
entrepreneurship.
Choosing a topic
The subject of these debates should ideally be a business idea that you and your business partner (or partners, if you have several) have agreed upon. The objection to this is that you may not
have a fully finished idea right now. Those who have the germ of an idea may find the creativity techniques described in Chapter 3 useful. Using these techniques, your idea can be modified
or polished and thus can be used as a vehicle of entrepreneurship. Those who have no idea
at present can choose between those presented shortly below – a fuller description is
included in Appendix C – or your instructor may have created some other examples for you [Show Less]