Exam 4: Managing Entrepreneurially

Conventional entrepreneurship models start with the business plan. The Timmons model looks at the entrepreneurship process a bit differently. It starts with a market opportunity and _______________________.

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following questions. Growing a Web-Development Company (Scenario) Vincent and Alice are partners in a one-year-old web development business called Spy-der Web Execution. Vincent comes from a graphic design background and specializes in the look and feel of web projects. Alice comes from the computer gaming industry and is a highly experienced programmer and web developer-with a particular leaning toward Wordpress as a website backbone. So far they have brought in less business than they had anticipated-about 25 percent less. As a result, they are operating at just a little below break even, and it is costing them about $500 a month to cover expenses (including rent on a small office space where they meet clients). The situation is disappointing and was not anticipated by either Vincent or Alice. As with many businesses like this that are easy to get into with little investment, they did not do a full feasibility study or business plan. They are unsure about how to divide up their responsibilities (who is responsible for what), and therefore neither person is proactively going after new business, managing each project's budget, and determining even if they are making money on the work. You are now in the role of advising the partners about a number of issues. -You notice that the possibility of operating at a loss was not even considered a possibility by Alice and Vincent. Had they done a proper ________________ they probably would have at least been aware that this could happen.

All organizations started small, and as they grew, the original founders were always at the helm and maintained control throughout the life of the business.

Two key elements of a feasibility study are assessing competitors and researching _____________.

Exiting a venture when an entrepreneur hopes to capitalize financially on the investment in the venture is known as _____________.

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following questions. A Mature Café (Scenario) Sarah has been growing and operating her café in an upscale neighbourhood. She is happy with how the business has continued to increase in revenues as her customer base has become loyal over the years. She has just over 30 employees, two of whom are managers. The lease on the space is coming up for renewal and this has brought up the notion of leaving the business and exploring other interests she has in travelling through Africa and Southeast Asia. Sarah has worked hard and she wants to be sure she gets as much out of the business as she put into it. Another factor is the increasing competition in the area and the sinking feeling she has that it will be next to impossible to differentiate her business from the big chains opening on several street corners. Her fear is that her sales may have plateaued and there in fact will be a decrease in sales in the near future. -She is at the point of seriously considering ______________.

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following questions. Growing a Web-Development Company (Scenario) Vincent and Alice are partners in a one-year-old web development business called Spy-der Web Execution. Vincent comes from a graphic design background and specializes in the look and feel of web projects. Alice comes from the computer gaming industry and is a highly experienced programmer and web developer-with a particular leaning toward Wordpress as a website backbone. So far they have brought in less business than they had anticipated-about 25 percent less. As a result, they are operating at just a little below break even, and it is costing them about $500 a month to cover expenses (including rent on a small office space where they meet clients). The situation is disappointing and was not anticipated by either Vincent or Alice. As with many businesses like this that are easy to get into with little investment, they did not do a full feasibility study or business plan. They are unsure about how to divide up their responsibilities (who is responsible for what), and therefore neither person is proactively going after new business, managing each project's budget, and determining even if they are making money on the work. You are now in the role of advising the partners about a number of issues. -Although a seemingly backwards step, doing a thorough evaluation of their business idea might be a wise exercise because Vincent and Alice could discover answers to all of the following questions EXCEPT ____________________.

It is not vital that an entrepreneur develop a business plan when planning a venture.

For the past two months, Ian has been looking at the potential of a new compact solar capture technology he has developed, which would make it economically feasible for condominium owners to harness the sun on their balconies and use the generated electricity to offset the power purchased from their local electricity provider. If the business takes off, it would revolutionize the relationship between power authorities and their customers-where both sides would be power generators and clients. This process is known as ________________.

Max DePree, the former head of Herman Miller, thinks organization leadership is similar to that of leading a jazz band. He says that the leader of a jazz band has the "beautiful opportunity to _____________________."

When entrepreneurs start to bring on employees for their young ventures, they typically look for all of the following types of employees except _______________.

In a short essay explain in detail the three main issues in controlling an entrepreneurial venture. Give specific examples to support your answers.

There are several reasons entrepreneurs resist implementing a more deliberate organization structure. Which of the following is not one of the reasons?

Failure is a clear indication that one is not suited to entrepreneurial career.

When hiring, entrepreneurial leaders are primarily concerned with matching the _______________ of the potential employee to the ______________ the organization.

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following questions. A New Subsidiary (Scenario) Philip works for a large multinational corporation with offices in 23 countries, 64,000 employees worldwide, and $8 billion in annual sales. The company was involved in several different industries: automotive parts, rapid transit systems, and recreational vehicles. Philip is the executive vice-president of new technology ventures. Philip wants you to investigate and potentially launch a business focusing on alternative energy systems. The first area you are to explore is the potential business opportunity of ocean tidal energy. You are to explore what technology already exists that can be exploited, what additional technology development is needed, and figure out the viability of the tidal energy as an entrepreneurial venture. -To develop tidal energy fully, you will likely need to conduct a wide range of research into what technology exists already, known as ____________, and look for the gaps that would provide opportunities for further _______________.

For many entrepreneurs, one of the challenges of their growing enterprise is having to share decision-making and operating responsibilities with those hired to support the enterprise.

Henrik wanted to launch a new business focusing on custom hockey stick manufacturing-allowing semi-pro hockey players access to similar custom technology that NHL players receive. His potential financial backers kept pushing him to clarify the cost-benefit to his customers since it meant charging 15 percent to 20 percent more for an off-the-shelf hockey stick. They wanted to know his value proposition.

Ingrid has been working as a brand manager for a large multinational consumer goods company for the past 12 years. She is starting to get tired of working for someone else and wants to start her own company. Right now her job is giving her the opportunity to scan the industries her company is involved in and look for opportunities in areas her company cannot address quickly or is not interested in pursuing. She is being ______________.

Besides focusing on controlling critical inflows and outflows, a contingency plan needs to also include identification of specific strategies for cutting costs as well as the possible ________________.