Challenges of Entrepreneurship - Essay Example

? Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship entails the process of identifying a business idea and actualizing it by organizing and using the necessary requirements while still being aware of the risks involved. The passion of becoming an entrepreneur is usually a force that is driven my many factors in an individual. According to the video case, many people venture into entrepreneurship because they want to make profits in business. However, making profits is not the only reason why people get into entrepreneurship. Another reason is the urge for one to be his or her own boss, as well as the need to grow. The challenge to change an idea into reality is also a factor that drives people into entrepreneurship (Gasparski, 2011). The video case breaks down some of the different types of entrepreneurship. Micropreneurship refers to the entrepreneurship whereby a person starts a business venture with a goal of having a balanced lifestyle and not to grow big. The second type of entrepreneurship is “entrepreneurial teams”, where a group of two or more people begin a business with a view of pursuing their passion and making profits. The last type of entrepreneurship is intrapreneurship, which occurs when large companies create opportunities for their employees to grow in business. These companies can offer the training for their employees and give them the necessary recipe for great business ventures (Hatten, 2012). Pillow Pets is a company in the United States of America that was created by Jennifer Telfer and her husband Clint. This company operates under another company, called CJ Products. This is an entrepreneurial team type of entrepreneurship since it was a formation by two people. Through the story that the video case narrates about the inception and progress of the Pillow Pets Company, we learn several lessons about the traits that a person should have to be a successful entrepreneur. A successful entrepreneur must naturally possess certain traits that will make their business venture to boom. There is the ability to persevere through failure and still be determined to make it. This is important since the world of business is replete with risks and a soft heart can never have the perseverance to see a business grow to its greatest heights of success. An entrepreneur must also be action-oriented to ensure that he or she is not afraid to test the waters of the business they venture into for better results. There are also acquired skills that an entrepreneur can learn in the quest to achieve good results in business. These include management skills that are essential in the organization and running of the business enterprise. A business with poor management is always bound to fail since there are no proper mechanisms to control the inflow and outflow of finances. This can easily collapse a good business as a result of lost revenues resulting from poor allocation of funds in the various departments of production in the business (Gasparski, 2011). In relation to the video case, the couple was determined to make supernormal profits reason for their good management. They were determined to succeed despite their various failures, which included the designs that did not impress customers in the market. The designs were poorly made and not appealing to customers. Moreover, the competition in the market was rife but the couple induced more creativity in the business, a move which enabled them to broaden their market (Stokes et al., 2010). Entrepreneurship is mostly started as a small business that blossoms into a mega company. In the US, there are over 20 million small businesses, with 750,000 small businesses being started each year. These small businesses are important in the improvement of the US economy since they make 50% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In addition, approximately 80% of Americans find employment in the small businesses, making the businesses the backbone of the economy. Mega companies just make a smaller part of the country’s GDP every year (Stokes et al., 2010). The story of Pillow Pets Company is an inspirational one and an epitome of how people can use existing ideas to make new and better ones. The president of the company, Jennifer Tefler, got the idea of starting the company when she saw her son using a pet doll as a pillow to sleep. She then actualized the idea by inventing the pet dolls that could serve as pillows and the idea was successful. The idea of pet dolls was not new in the market since several pet doll companies exist, but they do not manufacture this specific type of pets. It is an existing idea that was made better by Jennifer’s creativity and that has grown the business into one of the biggest companies in the US. After identifying an idea, a person should inject determination, patience and necessary creativity to realize the fruits of the business (Gasparski, 2011). It is important to understand that businesses are bound to succeed and at the same time to fail. An entrepreneur must always have it in mind that a business can collapse at any time. There are many reasons that can contribute to business failure, with some of them including competition, decrease in demand for the product, poor quality compared to other companies’ products and unprofessionalism (Hatten, 2012). The video case also highlights the problems that an entrepreneur can face when developing the business. It states succinctly that a business requires patience because profits cannot be reaped overnight, and in some cases, a business will always take time before the expected profits are attained. A business must have time to grow and popularize itself through marketing in order to gain a customer base. According to Jennifer Tefler, she was too quick to grow the business and that cost her since she made many losses at first. She then resolved to taking it slow and concentrating on the quality of the products, as well as coming up with good marketing strategies, actions which finally paid off (Hatten, 2012). This is a challenge to people that a simple business idea can blossom into a great company if only a person is disciplined, self-directed, patient, determined and ready to take risks. References Gasparski, W. W. (2011). Entrepreneurship: Values and respinsibility praxiology. New Brunswick: Transaction. Hatten, T. S. (2012). Small business management: Entrepreneurship and beyond. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Stokes, D., Wilson, N., & Mador, M. (2010). Entrepreneurship. Hampshire, UK: South- Western/Cengage Learning EMEA. Read More