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
- Entrepreneurs always avoid low-risk situations because there is a lack of challenge, they also avoid high-risk situations because they want to succeed.
- 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.
- Introduction: Importance of the product.
- Description of the product: Goals, objectives, and location.
- Market description: Wholesalers or retailers.
- Description of the product: Explain the types of product you are producing.
- Organizational plan: Organizational chart.
- Marketing plan: How to conduct your market research.
- Financial management: Identify your source of capital.
- 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.