Starting Your Own Business: The Entrepreneurship Alternative
• Classic Entrepreneurs
• Serial Entrepreneurs
• Social Entrepreneurs
• Being your Own Boss
– Self-management is the motivation that drives many entrepreneurs.
• Financial Success
– Entrepreneurs are wealth creators.
• Job Security
– Over the past ten years, large companies have eliminated more jobs than they have created.
• Quality of Life
– Starting a business gives the founder some choice over when, where, and how to work.
• Vision – entrepreneurs begin with an overall idea for how to make their business idea a success
• High Energy Level – a willingness to work hard
• Need to Achieve – entrepreneurs work hard because they want to excel
• Self-Confidence – fearlessness in the face of difficult odds
• Tolerance for Failure – entrepreneurs are not easily discouraged
• Creativity – entrepreneurs devise innovative ways to overcome difficult problems and situations
• Tolerance for Ambiguity – entrepreneurs take in stride uncertainties.
• Internal Locus of Control – entrepreneurs believe they can control their own fate
• Selecting a Business Idea
– Find something you love to do and are good at doing
– Can your idea satisfy a need in the marketplace?
• Entrepreneurs must be sure that the idea they choose has interest in the marketplace
• Debt Financing
– Credit Cards
– Family and Friends
– Bank Loans (SBA backed)
• Equity Financing
– Venture Capitalists
– Angel Investors
• Business Incubators is a key way government supports new ventures
– Clean Energy Incubator (CEI)
• Enterprise Zones
– Encourage entrepreneurship in specific geographic areas
• Government Legislation
– The Immigration Act of 1990
• Promoting innovation within organizational structures
• An idea to promote creativity
• Companies promote in a variety of ways
– Skunkworks
– Pacing Programs
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