HOMEWORK:
- Define "Entrepreneur" in your own words.
- Entrepreneurs have many personality traits / characteristics. Create a list of at least 10 characteristics that make a good entrepreneur.
- Continue brainstorming ideas for a small business which you would run (for the purposes of classroom exercises).
- Things to plan include:
- How can you describe the business [paragraph]?
- What is your product or service?
- Who would buy your product or service [target demographic]?
- Where should you locate the business?
- How can you attract customers?
- What is your competition?
- How much should you charge for your products or services?
- Some ideas / suggestions to help get you started:
- a business needed in your town
- a business using your own personal skills and talents
- a business that involves exports to another country
- a home-based business
- a business that could be started with $1,000
- a service business
- a partnership between two students in the class
So you want to be an entrepreneur?
By Matthew Toren
Entrepreneurship can be exciting, energizing and an entre to a world of sharp, talented and creative people. You may also find yourself exhausted, broke, discouraged, and unable to even collect unemployment. While some people may fall into starting a business, most make the conscious choice to become an entrepreneur.
If you're debating whether you're ready to start your own business, answering the following questions in today's guest blog may help make up your mind...
Why? Simple on the surface, this may be the most important question you should ask yourself. Do you have a vision for a company that you think could be successful and make a difference. Have you dreamed of working for yourself? Do you want to control your own destiny?
If the first answer to why is that you want to make a lot of money, its absolutely the wrong answer. Sometimes entrepreneurs do very well financially, but often its a struggle. And people who are in it for the money first don't have the right perspective to successfully grow a business. If you want lots of money, look into selling cars or some other big-ticket item. Leave entrepreneurship to people who love the process as much as the results.
Do you absolutely love your dream? Starting your own business is the most time-consuming and absorbing thing you will ever do. Figure on spending almost all of your waking hours working on it, thinking about it, talking about it and selling it to others. Indifference just wont cut it. Without that absolute commitment, you may walk away before your business has a chance to succeed. Its that love and belief that will keep you going when things get tough, and they will.
Are you responsible? You will be asking people for money, making promises, building a group of people who will be counting on you to deliver a product or service, to generate a return on their investment in your company, to keep them employed and paid once you hire them. This means being accountable, taking responsibility, finishing what you start, executing your plans and working your butt off to keep those promises. The bottom line for everything in your business comes down to you.
Can you make tough decisions? The final arbiter on everything to do with your business is you. Are you prepared to look at problems and decide on a solution that you can live with? Can you fire someone who is just not doing their job? Can you tell people theyve made a mistake, or you have, and what needs to happen to fix it?
Are you determined? Its rare for an entrepreneur to start a business and have everything go well. You can lose customers or key employees; you can struggle to make payroll or a delivery date. Investors can walk away at the last minute. Events can fall through or flop. You can fail completely and have to start again. You may lose friends or supporters. It takes faith in yourself and your dream to survive the rough spots and keep going. You have to be able to lift yourself up and start over after every blow.
Are you willing to sacrifice? Big dreams and starting a business can easily take over your life. Personal time, extra cash, a social life, relationships often fall by the wayside because there just isnt enough time or money. Luxuries such as season tickets to your favorite sports team or dinners out at the newest restaurant will probably go by the wayside. You may not remember the last time you just sat down and read a book for fun or went to a movie. Entrepreneurs trade in many things other people take for granted to live their dreams and make them come true. If those choices arent for you, then you may want to head in another direction.
There is a glamour and magic to starting your own business. Its exciting and amazing, particularly when everything starts to come together. But it is a demanding life, and not for everyone. Make sure its a fit for you before jumping into the world of entrepreneurship.
Young Entrepreneurs:
By Matthew Toren
Entrepreneurship can be exciting, energizing and an entre to a world of sharp, talented and creative people. You may also find yourself exhausted, broke, discouraged, and unable to even collect unemployment. While some people may fall into starting a business, most make the conscious choice to become an entrepreneur.If you're debating whether you're ready to start your own business, answering the following questions in today's guest blog may help make up your mind...
Why? Simple on the surface, this may be the most important question you should ask yourself. Do you have a vision for a company that you think could be successful and make a difference. Have you dreamed of working for yourself? Do you want to control your own destiny?
If the first answer to why is that you want to make a lot of money, its absolutely the wrong answer. Sometimes entrepreneurs do very well financially, but often its a struggle. And people who are in it for the money first don't have the right perspective to successfully grow a business. If you want lots of money, look into selling cars or some other big-ticket item. Leave entrepreneurship to people who love the process as much as the results.
Do you absolutely love your dream? Starting your own business is the most time-consuming and absorbing thing you will ever do. Figure on spending almost all of your waking hours working on it, thinking about it, talking about it and selling it to others. Indifference just wont cut it. Without that absolute commitment, you may walk away before your business has a chance to succeed. Its that love and belief that will keep you going when things get tough, and they will.
Are you responsible? You will be asking people for money, making promises, building a group of people who will be counting on you to deliver a product or service, to generate a return on their investment in your company, to keep them employed and paid once you hire them. This means being accountable, taking responsibility, finishing what you start, executing your plans and working your butt off to keep those promises. The bottom line for everything in your business comes down to you.
Can you make tough decisions? The final arbiter on everything to do with your business is you. Are you prepared to look at problems and decide on a solution that you can live with? Can you fire someone who is just not doing their job? Can you tell people theyve made a mistake, or you have, and what needs to happen to fix it?
Are you determined? Its rare for an entrepreneur to start a business and have everything go well. You can lose customers or key employees; you can struggle to make payroll or a delivery date. Investors can walk away at the last minute. Events can fall through or flop. You can fail completely and have to start again. You may lose friends or supporters. It takes faith in yourself and your dream to survive the rough spots and keep going. You have to be able to lift yourself up and start over after every blow.
Are you willing to sacrifice? Big dreams and starting a business can easily take over your life. Personal time, extra cash, a social life, relationships often fall by the wayside because there just isnt enough time or money. Luxuries such as season tickets to your favorite sports team or dinners out at the newest restaurant will probably go by the wayside. You may not remember the last time you just sat down and read a book for fun or went to a movie. Entrepreneurs trade in many things other people take for granted to live their dreams and make them come true. If those choices arent for you, then you may want to head in another direction.
There is a glamour and magic to starting your own business. Its exciting and amazing, particularly when everything starts to come together. But it is a demanding life, and not for everyone. Make sure its a fit for you before jumping into the world of entrepreneurship.
Young Entrepreneurs:
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