VUSSC/Mauritius BC/Entrepreneurship StartingYourOwnBusiness Unit1 Final

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How this study manual is structured1

Course overview3

Welcome to Starting Your Own Business: A Self-Study Guide for Small Business Entrepreneurs3

Starting Your Own Business: A Self-Study Guide for Small Business Entrepreneurs‚Äîis this course for you?3

Course aims4

Course outcomes4

Timeframe5

Study skills5

Need help?6

Assignments7

Assessments7

Getting around this study manual8

Margin icons8

Unit 19

Is Entrepreneurship for You?9

Introduction9

So You Want To Be An Entrepreneur10

Characteristics of Entrepreneurs 11

What Does it Take to Be an Entrepreneur? 16

Why Do You Want to Be an Entrepreneur?16

Entrepreneurial Business Skills 18

Entrepreneurship ‚Äì Advantages and Disadvantages23

Unit summary25= About this study manual = Starting Your Own Business: A Self-Study Guide for Small Business Entrepreneurs has been produced by The Commonwealth of Learning. All study manuals produced by The Commonwealth of Learning are structured in the same way, as outlined below.

How this study manual is structured
The course overview

The course overview gives you a general introduction to the course. Information contained in the course overview will help you determine:


 * If the course is suitable for you.
 * What you will already need to know.
 * What you can expect from the course.
 * How much time you will need to invest to complete the course.

The overview also provides guidance on:


 * Study skills.
 * Where to get help.
 * Course assignments and assessments.
 * Activity icons.
 * Units.

We strongly recommend that you read the overview carefully before starting your study.

The course content

The course is broken down into units. Each unit comprises:


 * An introduction to the unit content.
 * Unit outcomes.
 * New terminology, as applicable.
 * Core content of the unit with a variety of learning activities.
 * A unit summary.
 * Assignments and/or assessments, as applicable.

Resources

For those interested in learning more on this subject, we provide you with a list of additional resources at the end of this study manual ; these may be books, articles or web sites.

Your comments

An Evaluation Form is included at the end of this study manual. This is your chance to give us feedback on any aspect of the course content and structure. Your constructive feedback will help us to evaluate this course and make enhancements where necessary.

= Course overview =

ÔÄ¥See Richard Freeman‚Äôs handbook, section 3.3: Setting aims and objectives for your course.Welcome to Starting Your Own Business: A Self-Study Guide for Small Business Entrepreneurs
Welcome to Starting Your Own Business. You have made a wise decision to embark on this course, and we are certain that what you will learn will help you start up your own business.

Any aspiring business person has to come to terms with basic concepts associated with a business. Throughout this course, we intend to discuss concepts like 'entrepreneurship', 'entrepreneur', 'enterprise', 'the business idea', and factors that influence your intention to start up a business.

While preparing the contents for this course, we took special measures to ensure that you would be able to relate to the different concepts introduced. In addition, we have kept the language as simple as possible to ensure clear understanding of the content. The activities that have been integrated throughout the units will enable you to gradually and systematically gather information and the right 'ingredients' to be able to write up your business plan: the most important tool that will support your efforts to start up your own small business.

Starting Your Own Business: A Self-Study Guide for Small Business Entrepreneurs‚Äîis this course for you?
The contents of the Starting Your Own Business course have been written for:


 * 1) anyone who wishes to start their own business;
 * 2) anyone who already owns a small business, but would like to grow it while learning more about the planning process and the business aspects fundamental to sustainable growth, such as marketing, customer care, financial management etc.;
 * 3) any pre-university learner or mature learner who would like to get a formal introduction to entrepreneurship and business planning.

Course aims
The aim of this course is:


 * 1) To assist you to assess whether or not entrepreneurship is for you.
 * 2) To create awareness of the entire process of starting up a small business.
 * 3) To enable you to acquire competence in strategic business planning prior to starting up a small enterprise.
 * 4) To create awareness to the importance of business planning, market research and knowledge for the successful entrepreneur.
 * 5) To assist small business owners in growing their businesses in a systematic, planned manner.
 * 6) To foster learners‚Äô personal growth and encourage continuing professional development.

ÔÄ¥Use taxonomy verbs. See Richard Freeman‚Äôs handbook, section 3.3.3: Bloom‚Äôs taxonomy, section 3.3.4: Other taxonomies, section 3.3.5 Learning objectives and learning outcomes.Course outcomes
Upon completion of Starting Your Own Business: A Self-Study Guide for Small Business Entrepreneurs you will be able to:

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= Getting around this study manual =

Margin icons
While working through this study manual you will notice the frequent use of margin icons. These icons serve to ‚Äúsignpost‚Äù a particular piece of text, a new task or change in activity; they have been included to help you to find your way around this study manual.

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= Unit 1 = ÔÄ¥Remember to use taxonomy verbs for the outcomes! (See help text in Course outcomes, page 4.)Is Entrepreneurship for You?

Introduction
Welcome to Starting Your Own Business! You decided to take this course because you want to become an entrepreneur. This means you want to start and run your own business in your community. You may already have a great business idea‚Ä¶ or not‚Ä¶ but you know you want to work for yourself, follow your own ideas and be independent. You may also have aspirations to grow your business and provide employment opportunities in your own community.

Whereas the idea of entrepreneurship may sound exciting, it may not necessarily be for everyone. There are number of questions you need to ask yourself to determine whether or not you should go ahead with your great idea. In this Unit you will explore what it takes to be an entrepreneur and the personal characteristics that are important for entrepreneurs to succeed.

Upon completion of this unit you will be able to:

So You Want To Be An Entrepreneur
Being an entrepreneur is not easy. In order to succeed, entrepreneurs must have, or they must develop, very specific characteristics. Let‚Äôs look into these characteristics a bit further. But first, let‚Äôs see if you think you are an entrepreneur!

Well done! Some entrepreneurial characteristics reflect your personality and your way of thinking and behaving. In other words, you are born with them. But keep in mind that personal characteristics are rarely permanent. Individuals change and grow with many different influences, including how our own environment, culture, education, interests, etc., impact us. You may certainly think that you have different characteristics now than when you were a teenager, for example. ÔÅä

Other characteristics are definitely learnable. You may already have many characteristics that are necessary to become a successful entrepreneur. You may also want to strengthen the characteristics that you feel you are weak in and, there may be other characteristics that you know you will never develop. Keep exploring your entrepreneurial characteristics throughout this program, and start with believing that becoming an entrepreneur is absolutely possible!

The important thing is for you to be self-aware and develop a keen sense of self: know your strengths and your weaknesses and think ahead of ways to address your weaknesses.

For example, if you are not a very organised individual, maybe you can take a course in time and task management, or you may plan to hire somebody who can support you with day-to-day organisation of your business.

Let‚Äôs now take a look at the common characteristics that make up a successful entrepreneur.

Characteristics of Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurs are innovative; and as a result, are always able to see possibilities which would not be normally seen by ordinary persons. They have a strong desire to succeed; and so, it is often quite common for entrepreneurs to fail at several initial enterprises before finally achieving their goals and desires. Also, entrepreneurs have the capacity to work long hours, ensuring that their business ideas are fully developed rather than, take holidays and time off from their businesses.

Some of the personal characteristics that make entrepreneurs successful include:


 * A high need to achieve their goals, coupled with a high degree of self-confidence.
 * Being prepared to take moderate risks.
 * Resilience, being able to take ‚Äúno‚Äù for an answer without giving up
 * Having initiative and independence.
 * Possessing leadership and organisational skills.
 * Seeking creative solutions to problems.
 * Having a positive outlook.
 * Taking responsibility for decisions.
 * Having a clear vision of goals.
 * Having a positive attitude to tasks.
 * Being enterprising (recognising business opportunities).

Now look at the table below and reflect on some of the qualities that help people to better understand themselves as entrepreneurs.

Now that you have a good idea of what makes up a successful entrepreneur, reflect on your own personal characteristics as an entrepreneur.

Perfect! As you reflect on what makes a good entrepreneur, complete the following activity:

Well done! By now you have a good idea of the personal characteristics that are common to successful entrepreneurs. You also have a good perception of your own individual characteristics. Now the question is‚Ä¶ Is entrepreneurship for you? Let‚Äôs take a look at what it takes to be an entrepreneur and the skills that are necessary for entrepreneurial success.

What Does it Take to Be an Entrepreneur?
Becoming an entrepreneur offers rewards and challenges, like anything in life, really. Rewards can include the fact that:

Challenges can include the fact that:
 * You work towards achieving financial stability
 * You control the outcomes of your business
 * You control the type of work you do
 * The work you do is meaningful to you
 * You control how much you work or don‚Äôt work
 * Investors and banks may not believe in your idea
 * You may not get enough financing to start your business
 * You may have to face many barriers as you attempt to gain credibility, like being a visible minority or having a visible disability, for example Before you decide to go ahead with a great business idea, you should reflect on what it takes to be an entrepreneur. Do you have the right personality? Are you willing to make some sacrifices? Are you resilient enough to push through disappointments in order to meet your goals? Is your family supportive of your intent to become an entrepreneur? These are just a few of the questions you should try to answer before you commit to starting a small business.

Why Do You Want to Be an Entrepreneur?
Determining why you want to be an entrepreneur will lead you into thinking about the rewards, risks and challenges involved in starting up a small business. So, why do you want to be your own boss?

Good job! The idea of owning a business can be appealing to many people for a variety of reasons. Being an entrepreneur does offer you more flexibility and allows for creativity in problem solving, it puts you in control of your own financial situation and it allows you to explore avenues that you are keen to pursue from a professional perspective. However, being an entrepreneur is not easy and the learning curve is steep. You must be prepared to take on a lot of responsibility, take risks and learn new skills that will allow you to manage every facet of your small business. This may mean long working hours, especially in the beginning, which will have an impact on your personal life. Therefore it is important that you think about the following issues before you make a commitment:


 * 1) How much effort are you willing to put in? (i.e. 100% plus)
 * 2) How much can you invest in the business? (financially, time wise and emotionally?)
 * 3) How much do you need each month for essential household expenses?
 * 4) How good are you at establishing your own priorities and following through?
 * 5) Are you a "self-starter"?
 * 6) Do you work well alone or do you need others to provide motivation? Or are you self motivated?
 * 7) Are you going to work out of your home and what changes will you have to make to do so?
 * 8) If you work from home, will you be able to "separate" work from home life - interruptions, etc.?
 * 9) How long can you go without cash coming in from your business? E.g. 6 months, 1 year?
 * 10) How do you think you are going to feel about not having income coming in immediately or sporadically?
 * 11) What will the impact be on your family, good or bad?
 * 12) If you need additional resources to live on while your business is getting started, where can you get them?

As you reflect on these issues and assess why you want to be an entrepreneur you will be ready to make an informed and rational decision. If entrepreneurship is for you, you are on your way!

Entrepreneurial Business Skills
So, you decided that you have what it takes to become an entrepreneur in terms of your own personal characteristics. Hopefully you will also have the support of your family, friends and community. But what skills do you need now that you have decided to go ahead? Let‚Äôs face it, as a solo entrepreneur you are THE business! No matter the size of your business, you are the visionary, accounting, marketing, sales, customer service, and technical expert. You are boss and subordinate, executive and front-line staff. How well you juggle the roles and tasks determine how successful you will be.

You may be asking yourself:

Do I need all these business skills to be a successful entrepreneur?

The answer is simple:

''No need to be an expert in all these fields! ''

However, having a good understanding of the basic principles in all these business areas will increase your chances for success. For example, if you are not good with numbers, you may decide that you will not be doing the bookkeeping. You will hire a professional bookkeeper instead. However, you will be much more effective at managing your business and making financial decisions if you understand basic accounting principles that will enable you to intelligently analyse financial information and quickly make sound business decisions.

If you identify accounting skills as a weakness in the skill set you will bring to the business, perhaps you need to plan for some training in this area as you start developing your business plan.

There are core business skills that will contribute to your success as an entrepreneur. They can be grouped in three categories:


 * 1) Communication skills
 * 2) Interpersonal skills
 * 3) Business skills


 * 1) Planning
 * 2) Accounting and legal
 * 3) Marketing
 * 4) Management

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Activity
 * Take some time now to assess what business skills you can bring into your business. Consider the following questions and use the space provided to make notes about your reflection.

Communication skills


 * 1) How clearly do you communicate your ideas in writing to others? And how clearly do you communicate your ideas in spoken words?


 * 1) Do you need help in these areas? If so, do you know where you can get some help or training?

Interpersonal skills


 * 1) Do you enjoy being around people and working with others? Are you a good listener? Can you be diplomatic when trying to resolve a conflict? Do you give positive, encouraging feedback to those around you?Are you able to give tactful feedback for improvement to others? Do you present yourself in a professional manner, or in a manner that will be acceptable in your business area?


 * 1) Do you need help in these areas? If so, do you know where you can get some help or training? E.g. think of someone who exhibits these skills all the time and have a conversation with them to learn what their talent is.

Business skills 


 * 1) Planning: What planning skills do you have? Are you able to set goals and timelines? Do you enjoy plotting a course to achieve your goals?


 * 1) Accounting and legal: Do you have any skills in accounting and bookkeeping? Do you enjoy bookkeeping? Do you enjoy working with numbers and reconciling accounts? Can you understand financial statements? Do you have any skills in legal issues? Can you understand legal documents, like contracts, for example? Do you have an idea of what is involved in setting up a business?


 * 1) Marketing: Do you have any marketing skills (i.e. selling you idea)? Do you have any idea how you can market your business? Do you know how to create a marketing plan for your business?


 * 1) Management: What management skills do you have? Have you managed people or a project in the past? Can you motivate and inspire people to get things done? Can you delegate tasks and monitor people and projects to meet deadlines?


 * 1) Do you need help in these areas? If so, do you know where you can get some help or training?

Well done! This exercise is meant to assist you in determining what your entrepreneurial skills are and in assessing the areas where there may be gaps in your skills. Good communication and interpersonal skills are extremely important in your role as entrepreneur. You will need to communicate effectively with your staff and your clients, your banker and your investors. In addition, unless your business idea involves your being locked in a laboratory creating something, you will need to relate well with others. Being a good listener goes a long way in business. And you will need tact to deal with difficult clients and even difficult staff in order to diffuse conflict. It is also a good idea to have some business skills, but you can always hire experts in these areas, ask friends for help or research the areas yourself. This exercise means to make you think through your own skills in business so that you can determine well ahead whether or not you will need help in any of these areas.
 * }

For example, you may not know much about the legal issues involved in starting up a business, so you may need to plan ahead to involve a lawyer. You can ask a lawyer friend for help, or you may need to hire one. If you need to hire a professional lawyer, you will have to budget accordingly. You can also choose to research what is involved in starting up a business by contacting local business centres, searching the Internet or contacting your Government bodies. To do this you need to plan ahead and allocate some time.

By now, you should have identified your own entrepreneurial skills as well as strategies for complementing your skill set. This information will be very helpful as you create your business plan further along in this study guide.

Entrepreneurship ‚Äì Advantages and Disadvantages
Now that you have a good understanding of what it takes to be an entrepreneur, see if you can come up with some advantages and disadvantages of entrepreneurship.

You may have identified some of the following advantages and disadvantages to entrepreneurship:

Advantages:


 * You are your own boss
 * You are independent and you have freedom and flexibility (working hours, time off from work)
 * You may be able to spend more time with your family
 * You do something that you enjoy
 * You may make more money
 * You will enjoy a challenge that will keep you motivated

Disadvantages:


 * You may have to be prepared to work long hours
 * Work may interfere with your family life
 * Steep learning curve: you have to have a variety of skills and be able to multitask
 * You take a financial risk
 * You may not have any benefits, like medical care, vacation subsidy, etc.

You may have found other advantages and disadvantages. However, the important thing is for you to be able to think through some of the issues and develop strategies to minimize their impact in your business and in your life.