Principles of Entrepreneurship

The setting

You have been working on a plan for a mobile bicycle repair service that comes to the customer. A classmate has just launched almost exactly the same thing in the next town, and it appears to be going well.

Your role

You are to assume the role of an aspiring entrepreneur.

Your task

For several months you have been planning a mobile bicycle repair service that visits customers at home or work instead of making them bring their bike to a shop. You have spoken to cyclists at local rides, priced tools and a van, and started saving.

Last week a classmate launched almost exactly the same service in the next town. It already has a website, a name customers are beginning to recognise, and several positive reviews. You have booked a meeting with an adviser at the local enterprise centre to decide whether to go ahead.

The adviser (judge) wants you to explain whether you still have a business. Explain how the venture idea was generated and what it rests on, explain how you would determine whether it is still feasible now that someone nearby is doing it, explain how you would assess the opportunity that remains, and describe the nature of entrepreneurship as you understand it after this week.

Performance indicators

• Generate venture ideas.
• Determine feasibility of venture ideas.
• Assess opportunities for venture creation.
• Describe the nature of entrepreneurship.

The judge will ask

1. 1.Does a competitor in the next town make your idea better or worse?
2. 2.What would you change about the plan today?

The setting

Your custom cake business has grown by saying yes to everything. You now take wedding orders, corporate orders and children's parties, and you are busy without ever having decided what the business is actually trying to be.

Your role

You are to assume the role of the owner of the cake business.

Your task

Your custom cake business began as a hobby and grew quickly by word of mouth. You now take wedding orders months in advance, corporate orders for office events, and a steady stream of children's birthday cakes, each with its own requirements and timelines.

You are busier than ever but often working late, turning down requests at random when you run out of time, and unsure which kind of work you actually want more of. Your mentor has suggested that the business has grown without ever deciding what it is.

The mentor (judge) wants you to explain where the business is going. Define the business mission, develop the goals and objectives that follow from it, explain the nature of business plans and what yours would need to say, and explain the concept of management as it applies to running the business rather than simply working in it.

Performance indicators

• Define business mission.
• Develop company goals/objectives.
• Explain the nature of business plans.
• Explain the concept of management.

The judge will ask

1. 1.Which kind of order would you stop taking, and why that one?
2. 2.What would the business look like a year from now if this works?

The setting

You started a tutoring service for high school maths. Most of the enquiries you receive are from parents of much younger children, and you have been turning them away because that was not the plan.

Your role

You are to assume the role of the founder of the tutoring service.

Your task

You started a tutoring service to help high school students with mathematics, working evenings from a rented room at the community centre. Your plan, your prices and your advertising were all built around older students preparing for exams.

Most of the enquiries you receive, however, come from parents of much younger children who are struggling with basic arithmetic. You have been politely turning them away because they do not fit your plan, while your evening slots for high school students often go unfilled.

The adviser (judge) wants you to explain what you are going to do about them. Explain how you would determine the opportunities for venture creation in front of you, explain how you would assess those opportunities, explain how the venture idea should be generated afresh if you follow the demand, and describe the entrepreneurial planning considerations either path involves.

Performance indicators

• Determine opportunities for venture creation.
• Assess opportunities for venture creation.
• Generate venture ideas.
• Describe entrepreneurial planning considerations.

The judge will ask

1. 1.Should you follow the demand or stay with your plan?
2. 2.What would you need to learn before teaching younger children?

The setting

Your screen printing venture needs a press it cannot currently afford. A bank loan, money from family and simply waiting until you have saved enough are all on the table, and each of them costs something different.

Your role

You are to assume the role of the founder of the screen printing business.

Your task

Your screen printing business prints shirts for local clubs and events from your garage, using equipment you borrow from a friend. Demand has grown, and to take on larger orders you need a professional press of your own.

You have three options: apply for a small loan from the community bank, accept an offer of money from a family member with nothing in writing, or keep saving and wait several months before buying. You have arranged to talk it through with a lending officer at the bank.

The lending officer (judge) wants you to explain how you would finance the press. Explain the purposes and importance of obtaining business credit, explain the sources of financial assistance available to a venture your size, identify the risks associated with obtaining business credit, and explain how you would assess what the venture actually needs to start.

Performance indicators

• Explain the purposes and importance of obtaining business credit.
• Explain sources of financial assistance.
• Identify risks associated with obtaining business credit.
• Assess start-up requirements.

The judge will ask

1. 1.Which option would you take, and what does it cost you?
2. 2.What is the risk in borrowing from family with nothing in writing?