Who is an Entrepreneur?

An entrepreneur is a person who makes money by starting or running a business(es), especially when this involves taking a financial risk(s).

An entrepreneur should have the ability to come up with a creative solution(s) to needs or problems and market them. Entrepreneurship is the response of a person or organization, to identify and solve problems or to meet the perceived need in the environment.

Your business ideas will tell you

• WHAT product or service your business will sell.
• WHO your business is going to sell to.
• HOW your business is going to sell its products or services.
• WHICH needs your business will fulfill for the customers.

Sources of Business Ideas

• Mass media.
• Complaints.
• Brainstorming.
• Personal skill.
• Exercise.
• Survey.
• Read more…

Overview of Decision Making and Calculated Risk Taking.

Procedures for decision making.

• Identify the problem.
• Determine the major problems.
• Determine potential solutions.
• Evaluate the business.
• Select the best solution.
• Implement the solution.
• Verify that the solution is correct.

 Calculated Risk-Taking

1. Entrepreneurs always avoid low-risk situations because there is a lack of challenge, they also avoid high-risk situations because they want to succeed.
2. Entrepreneurs do not gamble.

What are Risk Situations?

A risk situation occurs when a choice is required between two or more alternatives whose potential outcome is not known and must be subjectively evaluated.

Questions to be asked before taking a Risk.

• Is the goal worth the risk involved?
• How can the risk be minimized?
• What is the information needed before taking the risk?
• What fear do I have before taking the risk?
• What will I achieve before taking the risk?
• What are the biggest obstacles to achieving my goals?

Procedures for Analysing Risk Situations.

• Access the risk.
• Determine the goals and objectives.
• Clarify alternatives.
• Gather information and weigh the alternatives.
• Minimize risk.
• Plan and implement the alternatives.

Methods of Product or Service Selection

What is a Product?

A product can be defined as anything that can be offered to the market that might satisfy a want or need. A product can be tangible or intangible. [Tangible products are products that are seen, while Intangible products are services].

Selection Criteria

An entrepreneur must know what to do in a business, like;

• What product to sell.
• What service to render.
• How do you determine your target customer?
• How will they buy your product?
• Price range.
• How will they find out about your product?

What makes your Product or Service Different?

• Quality.
• Price.
• Convenience (i.e, getting the product at the convenience time.)
• Ethnic approval.
• Payment offer.
• Specialization.

Feasibility Study for Small Scale Business.

1. Introduction: Importance of the product.
2. Description of the product: Goals, objectives, and location.
3. Market description: Wholesalers or retailers.
4. Description of the product: Explain the types of product you are producing.
5. Organizational plan: Organizational chart.
6. Marketing plan: How to conduct your market research.
7. Financial management: Identify your source of capital.
8. How the profit will be used to enhance your business.

Process and Procedure for Starting an Enterprise

Some people or persons are scared to start up a business because of;

• Fear of failure.
• Lack of capital.
• Limited business idea.

Types of Business.

• Sole Proprietorship: It is simply a one-man business.
• Partnership Business: They are owned and managed by 2 and 20 people.
• Joint Stock Company: They are formed and incorporated as a legal entity by a group of people, either as a LIMITED or UNLIMITED liability company.

LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY: The liability of the members is limited to the shares owned in the company.

UNLIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY: The liability of the members is extended beyond the number of shares they have in a company.

• Cooperative Society: They are a group of people who come together with a common interest to enjoy some mutual business benefit. (the members are known as cooperators)
• Government Enterprise: They are owned and managed by the government at all level. Such enterprise includes; NNPC, NTA, Railway Cooperation, Water Cooperation etc…

Characteristics of a Good Business Name which Every Entrepreneur Must Know.

• It must be short.
• It must be descriptive.
• It must be unique.
• It must be easy to remember.
• It must be easy to spell.
• It must be catchy. (draw attention)

The Role of Commercial and Developed Bank in the Promotion of Small and Medium Scale Enterprise.

BOI (BANK OF INDUSTRY)

• It is owned and managed by the federal government of Nigeria.
• They provide a loan to the small-medium enterprise (SMEs) to encourage the consumption of our local products. i.e, they give loans to small-scale businesses to provide locally made goods or products.
• They prevent dumping and encourages ventures that can bring the least cost of a product.

NACRDB (NIGERIA AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT BANK)

The bank is owned by the federal government of Nigeria and was in cooperated in the year 2000.

• They encourage rural saving scheme.
• They provide loans to the farmers.
• They assist cooperative societies to improve the life of cooperators.
• They provide credit facilities to agricultural and agro-allied industries.

Micro-Finance Bank

They are owned by the government and private individuals.

• They encourage training.
• They provide loans for small-scale businesses and the artisans.
• They advise the artisans on how to start their business.

FACTORS CONSIDERED FOR GRANTING LOAN.

• Type of loan.
• Purpose of the loan.
• Applicants Capability.
• Security.
• Business plan.