Minor in Entrepreneurship Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Minor in Entrepreneurship - Assignment Example Here are some of the issues you need to understand when launching and building a new business: 1. Industry Characteristics 2. Competitive Rivalry 3. Influence of Suppliers 4. Substitute Products Most successful entrepreneurs develop an intimate knowledge of these factors by working in the industry in which they start their business. If they haven’t held a job in the industry they are serious and frequent product consumers. Personal experience in the industry provides excellent exposure to the products, services, suppliers, important contacts, competitors, strength and weaknesses of competitors, key customers, channels of distribution, and marketing strategies. In nearly every success story we have collected, extensive experience in the industry revealed the missing piece that led to the business opportunity. Successful entrepreneurs continue to experience their industry first hand after they launch their new venture. All organizations exist in geographical space; the center is the furthest away from customers; the boundary is the place where customers, products, and competitors all interface. Thriving business builders spend a great deal of time in the boundary of their organization rather than inside an office: they interact with customers, work with front-line employees, and study their competitors’ products and services. Living in the boundary provides personal and up-to-date information about new innovations, reactions from consumers, tactics of competitors, changing conditions, and new business opportunities. Abraham Lincoln, one of our greatest American presidents, is a superb example of â€Å"living in the boundary† in the political arena. According to Lincoln, the best way to assess an opportunity was to gather data personally. During his first few years in office, Lincoln spent more days out of the White House than he did in it. He inspected every state regiment that passed through Washington, D.C., he met with his generals in the field, he spent time with the troops in their encampments, he visited the wounded in hospitals, he spent many days in the telegraph office at the War Department to obtain real-time information, he studied new weaponry, and even took charge of several battles, coming under fire on more than one occasion. This approach gave Lincoln first-hand information for quick decisions and effective strategies without having to rely on second- or third-hand information from others (Donald Phillips, Lincoln on Leadership, New York: Warner Books, 1992). In like manner, successful entrepreneurs spend a considerable amount of time on the edge of their organization, rather than in the center. This gives them a broad and deep understanding of their industry and provides valuable information for decision making and strategic planning. By contrast, company founders who fail often create ideas in a vacuum, and then try to push them into unfamiliar territory. In this scenario, the learning curve is long an d steep, and the fragile venture quickly burns through the capital, passion, goodwill, and team members.