Entrepreneurship

Developing A Business Plan

 Entrepreneurship
• The word “entrepreneur” is derived from
the French verb entreprendre, which
means ‘to undertake’. This refers to those
who “undertake” the risk of new
enterprises. An enterprise is created by an
entrepreneur. The process of creation is
called “entrepreneurship”.
• Entrepreneurship is a process of actions of
an entrepreneur who is a person always in
search of something new and exploits
such ideas into gainful opportunities by
accepting the risk and uncertainty with the
enterprise.
 OBJECTIVES
• IDENTIFY THE MARKET
PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED OR
THE MARKET NEED TO BE MET.
 Business Plan
• Written plans during the first few years of
the enterprise in order to guide the
enterpreneur on which strategies would be
most beneficial for the enterprise to take.
 3 Uses of Business Plan
• It serves the business and entrepreneur
who must set a navigational course.
• It serves investors and cautious financiers,
• It serves the managers and of the
organization so that they will know the
strategies and programs of the enterprise.
 Your market consists of:
• Existing customers: People who have
already purchased your product
• Prospects: People who have not yet
purchased your product but are
considering it
• Target market users: People in your
target market who are not currently looking
for a solution
Traps to avoid when listening
to your market:
Focusing only on Innovation and the
Competition.
• As an entrepreneur, it is easy to focus on
building innovative solutions that do not
connect directl y to market problems; just
because you can innovate doesn’t always
mean that you should.
• It’s also easy to pay too much attention to
what competitors are doing and expend
resources on trying to beat them to
market. In many cases, the customer does
not care about extra features.
 Ask the following questions to ensure that
you are solving a problem for your target
market:
• What problem does this solution solve?
• Is this a problem experienced by my target
market?
• What would my target market do if I didn’t
solve this problem?
. Focusing only on customers.
• Customers understand problems, but they
cannot help you to move your product forward.
They know what you provide, and tend to stay
inside that mindset.
• Customers are a source of input, but not the only
source of input. This is why talking to prospects
and target market users (who have not
purchased your products) is key to rounding out
the picture. They often see things beyond your
current product.
Focusing only on revenue

By listening only to prospects, and

delivering only what the next customer
wants, you will gain revenue but miss out
on market opportunities. It is critical to find
a balance between prospects and
customers to ensure that your future
revenue is protected, while still keeping
existing customers happy.
Stated versus silent market needs
• Stated needs are explicit statements from
your market that declare, “I want a product to
do X.” While stated needs are important, they
are not as powerful as silent needs, which
are problems with as yet undefined solutions.
• When interviewing potential users, your
goal is to understand your target market’s
everyday problems, whether or not you
believe that you can initially solve those
problems.
• Example:
• While doing market research, a major TV
manufacturer uncovered the problem that
people regularly misplace their TV remote
control. Customers did not identify this as
a problem that needed solving, but it was
a common issue. By listening to the
customers’ silent need, the company was
able to develop a feature that resonated
with its target market (a “remote-control
finder” button on the TV itself).
• Using this outside-in approach enables
you to concentrate on and solve your
target market’s problems. It removes the
guesswork from product development and
reduces concerns related what your
competitors are developing. Listening to
the market is the best research you can do
to ensure that you build the right solutions.